Julian Van Winkle, the third-generation head of the Pappy Van Winkle distillery, now is thought of as something like the Buddha of Bourbon. His grandfather presided over a magical kingdom of craft and connoisseurship, but, when Julian took over the business after his father's death, he faced the challenge of his lifetime- how to preserve the taste of Pappy, the taste of his family's heritage, in a new age? Wright Thompson was invited to be his wingman as he set about to try. The result is an extraordinary testimony to the challenge of living up to your legacy and the rewards that come from knowing and honoring your people and your craft. Wright learned those lessons from Julian as they applied to the honest work of making a great bourbon whiskey in Kentucky, but he couldn't help applying them to his own craft, writing, and his upbringing in Mississippi, as he and his wife contemplated the birth of their first child. May we all be lucky enough to find some of ourselves, as Wright Thompson did, in Julian Van Winkle, and in Pappyland. The New York Times bestseller! "A warm and loving reflection that, like good bourbon, will stand the test of time."-Eric Asimov, The New York Times "Bourbon is for sharing, and so is Pappyland."-The Wall Street Journal The story of how Julian Van Winkle III, the caretaker of the most coveted cult Kentucky Bourbon whiskey in the world, fought to protect his family's heritage and preserve the taste of his forebears, in a world where authenticity, like his product, is in very short supply. Following his father's death decades ago, Julian Van Winkle stepped in to try to save the bourbon business his grandfather had founded on the mission statement- "We make fine bourbon-at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon." With the company in its wilderness years, Julian committed to safeguarding his namesake's legacy or going down with the ship. Then he discovered that hundreds of barrels from the family distillery had survived their sale to a multinational conglomerate. The whiskey that Julian produced after recovering those barrels would immediately be hailed as the greatest in the world-and soon would be the hardest to find. Once they had been used up, a fresh challenge began- preserving the taste of Pappy in a new age. Wright Thompson was invited to ride along as Julian undertook the task. From the Van Winkle family, Wright learned not only about great bourbon but about complicated legacies and the rewards of honoring your people and your craft-lessons that he couldn't help but apply to his own work and life. May we all be lucky enough to find some of ourselves, as Wright Thompson did, in Pappyland.