(NewsNation) — Whiskey connoisseurs may wish they lived in Virginia.
The state is one of a handful in the country that owns liquor stores. It gets its hands on some prized products, and later this week, it will open up a lottery to distribute some of them at what amounts to a steep discount.
A bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year could cost almost $1,300 at a liquor store. But if you win Virginia’s lottery, you could buy it for $79.99. There are 361 bottles in the lottery.
There are also bottles of Special Reserve 12 Year, which is similarly sold for as much as $1,400, that a lottery winner could buy for $89.99.
The competition will likely be steep. Earlier this month, Virginia had a similar lottery for 15-, 20- and 23-year bottles of Van Winkle. There were 176,000 entries vying for the right to buy one of 247 bottles.
The Van Winkle brand dates back to the 19th century, and has been called “the bourbon everyone wants but no one can get.”
The lottery is only available to Virginia residents with a valid ID, and some of the stock will be held for licensees to buy and sell.
