Why is the bourbon so expensive and difficult to find?Updated a year ago

 The bourbon is and always has been made in small batches, the youngest being 10 years...that said, you can't speed up time. What is aged in 10 years simply cannot be consolidated into 10 weeks, or even a few years for that matter. The bourbon, up until more recently, was not in the high demand that it is these days. As the Van Winkle's have continued to make the bourbon the way they always have, as their slogan would say  "We make fine bourbon at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon" this is very clearly a testament to their long standing commitment and dedication to the brand and to producing a superior quality product, regardless of monetary profit and/or what class the consumers happen to fall into. 

In regards to the high price tags seemingly associated with the bourbon, for reference, the 23 year family reserve is the highest priced bottle, retailing for $299. The 15yr, 12yr and 10yr all fall below that. That said, anyone that is paying north of $300 for ANY bottle of Pappy, (as almost everyone is) is contributing to exactly why it has become near impossible to find...consumers willing and anxiously waiting to pay an exorbitant price for a bottle of bourbon.

Lastly, when the bourbon is ultimately bottled and then allocated among the distributors and liquor stores around the globe, it becomes their sole discretion to decide whom they sell it to and how much they sell it for, fair or not. Unfortunately, that is one aspect completely out of the distillery's control. Most liquor stores can guarantee THEY themselves are going to profit hugely by increasing the price tag upwards of $900 and then some on a single bottle and then pocketing the difference...all while having a line out their door of people willing and ready to pay it. Again, nothing to do with the distillery and/or the Van Winkle family.