Wright Thompson

Wright Thompson - Pappyland

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“One of Wright Thompson’s many gifts is his ability to give language to those intangibles of life that are, to the rest of us, indescribable. So his account of the Van Winkle family and its elusive, masterful bourbon is justly rendered in profound, utterly compelling fashion. Success and failure; legacy and sacrifice; the commitments to family and the fight to reclaim something lost to time—Pappyland fits neatly alongside the traditions and scope of great Southern literature and, like the bourbon at the center of the story, captures a special kind of lightning in a bottle.” - Ashley Christensen, James Beard Award–Winning chef, fan of brown water on ice with a lemon twist
“In Pappyland Wright Thompson takes his reader on a journey, indeed a pilgrimage, across times, places, and generations all deeply rooted in the bluegrass country of Kentucky in search of the almost mythical Pappy Van Winkle. In elegant prose Thompson embarks on an odyssey which, like all such endeavors, ultimately returns the hero to home, both for his subject, Julian Van Winkle III, and for the author.” — Dr. Paul M. Pearson, Director of the Thomas Merton Center
“A fast-paced and colorful history of 20th-century Southern culture, told through the story of charismatic cult-bourbon maker Julian P. Van Winkle III. . . . ‘Being Southern,’ Thompson writes, ‘means carrying a responsibility to shake off the comforting blanket of myth and see ourselves clearly.’ Thompson more than fulfills that burden with insight and eloquence.” - Publishers Weekly (*Starred* review)
“In Wright Thompson’s beautifully written and delightful book, Julian Van Winkle’s odyssey to make whiskey in the spirit of his beloved Pappy becomes a story about how we keep faith with the past—with our ancestors and with the legacy of a great craft—and how we move on from it. Pappyland is a beautiful antidote to false sentiment; I cherished it.” — Burkhard Bilger
“A bourbon-laced Book of Hours heady with history, soul-searching, southern shrines, and meditations on fatherhood. Thompson goes in search of Kentucky’s most potent heritage and slowly circles round to his own. It’s a story meant for sipping, rough and sweet on the tongue.” — Walter Isaacson
“Frankly I don’t give a damn about bourbon. But I do care greatly about family and children, about fathers and sons, and about tradition and legacy, and it’s out of these ingredients that Wright Thompson distills this beautiful and life-loving book. Pappyland is the story of bourbon master Julian Van Winkle, told by a master writer reaching across generations for meaning. Which means it is nothing less than the story of mastery itself.” — Tom Junod
“Presented with an opportunity, a friend of mine likes to say, "If you're going to step up to the bell, ring it.” Pappyland reads like a rung bell, like a generous conversation between a great bourbon maker and a smart bourbon drinker, joined in a search for purpose and meaning that spans generations and asks big American questions about losses and redemptions, inheritances and legacies.” — John T Edge author of The Potlikker Papers
“Only Wright Thompson could tell the story of something as beloved as Pappy and make me admire it more. This is a profound book that is every bit as nuanced and lasting as the whiskey it’s about. It made me reconsider the power of mythology, history, family legacy, and the stories we tell ourselves. I also learned a lot about fine bourbon.” — Eli Saslow, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of Rising out of Hatred