Books: Pappyland

In Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last, sportswriter Wright Thompson chronicles a very different kind of superstar - Julian Van Winkle III, the bourbonmaker behind one of the world's most sought after whiskeys, "Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve." Bottles of "Pappy's" sell for thousands of dollars, and have been the subject of counterfeiting, robberies, and other mischief through the years. But behind the high-dollar glitz is a simple story of a family trying to make good bourbon in hard times.

If you're looking for in-depth treatise on whiskey making, look elsewhere. Pappyland is more of a memoir, of Julian, of the author, and of the bourbon business. Nostalgia for lost fathers and lost times seeps through its pages, punctuated by epistolary segments from Julian's family. It's slow at times, but still worth savoring, like a bourbon sipped in a dimly lit lounge after dinner.