I am a member of the whiskey club, Flaviar, but I’ve yet to get caught up in spirits fever – or maybe you could say I did by joining. Like fine wines, my taste buds simply aren’t sophisticated enough to distinguish the subtleness of aging. I have a bottle of Jefferson’s Very Small Batch on my desk that was this month’s featured brand and can grasp the concept of supply and demand: the less there is…the more it costs. This is the case with Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, a product of the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Franklin, Kentucky.

Meet the Maker: “Julian P. Van Winkle III, the grandson of Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr., who opened the Stitzel-Weller Distillery just outside Louisville on Derby Day in 1935 and produced various brands until he died in 1965. Now made in partnership with Buffalo Trace, his Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve is a grandson’s liquid tribute to his ancestors.” As a tribute to his whiskey stardom, Julian III is even known today as the “Booze Yoda.” For the full story, check out the book, “Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last” by Wright Thompson.

The brand’s lengthy 15 to 23 year aging process and limited supply sells retail for about $120 a bottle – if you can get it. A shot commands about $75 and collectors price it as much as $5,000 a bottle. I have a good friend who was the first to treat me to a shot of Pappy while we were sitting in an Austin restaurant. In repayment, the closest thing we’ve ever found was a box of Pappy Van Winkle chocolates that we gave him for Christmas one year. He sends me articles and keeps me updated on his quest to satisfy an undying thirst for this precious golden distill. He’s one of many that would pay anything to sip this legendary liquid of the gods – or rather Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle III.

Yesterday, I watched on Netflix the new series, Heist, including an episode titled, The Bourbon King. It was a story that I could personally relate to given my college days run-in with the law. It was about some small town folks that worked for the Buffalo Trace Distillery and got caught up in a criminal ring that was dubbed “Pappygate.” It started with simple employee theft that led to greed. It wasn’t as much about the money as it was about satisfying the needs of friends and the popularity achieved in having access to the goods. Eventually, it destroyed friendships and families, in knowing a guy that knows a guy…that knows a guy…that can get you a bottle of this precious Pappy.