The whale of all whiskey collections, Pappy Van Winkle, is explained here by Bourbon expert Chuck Cowdery in a new post on Drambox.com. Everything you need to know about what Pappy is (and isn’t).
None of the Van Winkles, back to and including Pappy, have been distillers.
At Buffalo Trace, as soon as new wheated bourbon distillate is barreled, Julian and Preston select the barrels they want and store them in warehouse locations they’ve chosen. It is Van Winkle bourbon from that point forward.