November 16, 2021
Kelly L/Pexels.com
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's limited-release lotteries for rare whiskeys include 425 bottles. The deadline to enter the lotteries, which give winners the right to purchase the alcohol, is Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.
Whiskey drinkers in Pennsylvania soon will have a chance to get their hands on some rare limited-release bottles, including bourbon and rye whiskey from Kentucky's Buffalo Trace distillery.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced it will hold a series of five limited-release lotteries encompassing 425 bottles of rare whiskey. Winners will gain the opportunity to purchase the alcohol.
Pennsylvania residents and licensees of legal drinking age will be able to enter each of the lotteries until 5 p.m. Friday. The PLCB will notify all winning and non-winning entries by email in the following weeks.
Consumers and licensees interested in entering the lottery drawings must have an active account with Fine Wine & Good Spirits. They must provide a verifiable Pennsylvania billing address and identify a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store for delivery at registration. Resale of any products won in the lotteries is prohibited under the terms of entry and violations will result in disqualification from future lotteries, PLCB officials said.
The first lottery features the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which is in shorter supply this year due to quality issues. The distillery will not be selling any 2021 bottles of George T. Stagg Straight Bourbon because the 15-year-old barrels did not meet taste standards. Instead of pulling from next year's batch, Buffalo Trace opted to forgo new bottles this year.
The following bottles will be included in the lottery, each with a retail price of $109.99:
•Eagle Rare Straight Bourbon 17 Year Old 101 Proof – 12 for individual consumers, three for licensees
•Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey 18 Year Old 90 Proof – 23 for individual consumers, seven for licensees
•William Larue Weller Straight Bourbon Barrel Proof – 68 for individual consumers, 22 for licensees
•Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey Barrel Proof – 135 for individual consumers, 45 for licensees
The other four lotteries will have their own drawings. Participants are invited to enter one, several or all of these lotteries, which will be held for the following bottles:
•Eagle Rare Double Eagle Very Rare Straight Bourbon 90 Proof, $1,999.99 – one for individual consumers
•Mister Sam Tribute Whiskey 133 Proof, $249.99 – 15 for individual consumers, four for licensees
•Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Warehouse C Straight Bourbon Botted in Bond 100 Proof, $69.99 – 23 for individual consumers, seven for licensees
•Old Forester Birthday Straight Bourbon 2020 98 Proof, $129.99 – 45 for individual consumers, 15 for licensees
The lotteries come as Pennsylvania continues to work through pandemic-related supply shortages that led the PLCB to implement rations on 43 products earlier this fall. The rations affect about 2% of the state's products and will remain in effect until supply rebounds.
