Bourbon Update – Of Pappy’s & Pinball
So I have a Bourbon story – actually, and to be precise, I have a Pappy 23 story.
As many of you know, during the early days of the COVID lockdown, everyone was working from home and, to fill the empty weekend hours, I added a variety of rustic, wooden bourbon bars to my home (3 wooden bars in total, 5 if you count the lit-from-the-bottom displays – but who is really keeping track at this point . . .)
Back in 2020, everyone shared their favorite bourbons and, over the COVID years, I have worked to acquire your favorites so that, some day, when we are allowed to travel freely again, your favorites will be waiting for you when you land in Vegas.
Over the last 3 years, I have tried, but failed, to find a Pappy 23. Back in 2020, I thought – “Seriously, how hard can it be to find a Pappy 23 ???”
The answer, of course, is — “It’s Impossible to find a bottle of Pappy 23”
On a quarterly basis, I made the rounds to Total Wine, Lee’s Liquors and other Las Vegas distributors, asking if they had any Pappy’s. In return, there was laughter and smirks. No one has Pappy 23.
But I am part Charlie Brown. And, if anything, Charlie Brown was persistent. And Charlie Brown trusted that the outcome could be different next time, if you just believed. Next time, Lucy won’t pull the football away just as I am about to kick it. . . . Neither Charlie Brown nor I will allow Total Wine and Lee’s Liquors to sap our child-like capacity to dream, hope and believe.
So, I continued to re-visit Total Wine and Lee’s Liquors and I continued to ask them whether they had any Pappy’s.
And each time, their answer was “No”
And each time, the rejection felt like another “disappointment rock” had been dropped in my Charlie Brown “Trick or Treat” Bourbon bag.
But, perhaps one day, if I continued to believe and if I continued to persevere, a kind-hearted bourbon distributor would offer me a Pappy ownership possibility.
Now, my favorite Mom & Pop liquor store is at baggage at the Las Vegas airport. Every time I pick up friends who have flown into town, I do a lap around Mom & Pop’s store to see what they are featuring in the locked, glass liquor cabinet – Mom & Pop always have interesting items but never Pappy 23.
Fast-Forward to Friday, February 4th, 2022
On Friday, February 4th, the cleaning ladies kicked me out of my house, so I went to work to handle Zoom calls etc. Our office is 7 minutes from the Las Vegas airport. At lunch time, I needed to run some errands and the easiest way to access the 215 highway is via the airport connection tunnel.
Now it had been a couple of months since I did my quarterly lap around Mom & Pop’s liquor store. So since I was heading in the direction of the airport, I parked my Honda at short term parking, put on my mask and did my lap.
Now every funny story has a pre-story…
The Beginning of the pre-story
On this particular February weekend, the NHL was hosting its All Star Game and the NFL was hosting its Pro Bowl Game. So on this particular weekend, lots of thirsty travelers were going to be picking up their baggage at the Las Vegas airport, right next to Mom & Pop’s liquor store – Prime Time to feature your best liquors. But I was oblivious to that fact at the time.
The End of the pre-story
So I did my lap around Mom & Pop’s and, as I approached the locked, glass liquor cabinet, I saw a bottle of Pappy 20 – And right next to that was a Pappy 23 !!!
I stopped dead in my tracks
I couldn’t believe my eyes
I turned to Mom and said – “You have a bottle of Pappy 23 ???”
Mom answered – “Our Spring allocation was 1 bottle, and this is it – the bottle arrived yesterday”
QUESTION – So what do you do when you are staring at a lonely bottle of Pappy 23, which has been searching earnestly for a home and which clearly wants to become part of a loving family ???
ANSWER – You call your Bourbon Buddy in Chicago.
BOURBON BUDDY’S ADVICE – You should adopt Pappy. You should make Pappy a part of the family
MY REACTION – I think that is an awesome idea. Inspired. Brilliant really !!!
So I signed the paperwork and now, Pappy 23 is getting to know his new bourbon friends on the rustic, wooden bars. Pappy 23 looks forward to meeting you on your next visit to Vegas.
Rock your Week !!
Today, Charlie Brown is Happy!
