Latest PLCB rare whiskey lottery now open
Do you like your whiskey aged and extremely hard to lay your hands on?
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has your number.
Now through 5 p.m. Friday, local whiskey lovers have an opportunity to enter two separate lotteries allowing them the opportunity to purchase highly prized, limited-release bottles of the beloved Kentucky spirit.
The PLCB is hosting its latest online lottery, which will give state residents 21 and older, as well as liquor license holders, a chance to purchase one of nearly 2,000 bottles of rare whiskeys from the Pappy VanWinkle and Buffalo Trace Antique Collections.
Two separate lotteries will feature 11 different liquors, each with a separate drawing through the state’s Fine Wine and Good Spirits Limited-Release Lottery web page at fwgs.com.
The first includes 513 750milliliter bottles of five Buffalo Trace straight bourbons and Sazarac and rye whiskeys, each with a retail price of $124.99.
In the second, participants can win the right to purchase one of 1,383 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle spirits. Prices range from $89.99 for each of 282 bottles of 10-yearold Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Straight Bourbon to $399.99 for one of 36 bottles of 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Straight Bourbon.
Limited-edition whiskeys can draw incredibly high prices on the open market and, in the past when the PLCB put them for sale at random times on its website, the e-commerce site would crash, said spokesperson Shawn Kelly — and lots of people “almost never had a chance.” So in 2015, the board initiated limited-release auctions in an effort to keep prices for certain products as close to minimum retail prices as possible for all Pennsylvania buyers.
“If you look at the number of bottles compared to the demand, demand far exceeds supply,” Mr. Kelly said. “We want to make it fair.”
That said, you’ll also need a bit of luck, as tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians typically end up participating in the lotteries. While the PLCB’s first lottery on Oct. 13, 2015, offering 24 bottles of Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection for purchase drew just 6,439 entries, the latest this past October of 4,429 bottles of rare whiskey garnered more than 172,000 participants.
Van Winkle spirits have proven pretty popular, with a January 2020 lottery drawing 145,225 valid individual entries, said Mr. Kelly. “People want these products.”
Participants — who must have an active account with FWGS — are limited to winning the right to purchase just one bottle per lottery. Only one entry per household per lottery is allowed; duplicative entries will be disqualified. Mr. Kelly is encouraging entrants to read the terms of conditions and make sure their credit cards are up to date.
An independent third party will witness the lottery drawings, and winners will be selected at random by computer program. Participants will be notified by email when the lottery process is complete.