... a soulful journey that blends together biography, autobiography, philosophy, Kentucky history, the story of bourbon’s origins and an insider’s look at how the Van Winkle whiskey is made and marketed.

In Thompson's capable hands, Pappyland blossoms into a moving exploration of his own family history and of his search for life's meaning as he's about to become a father for the first time.

Pappyland reads as a dramatic three-act tale, tracing the rise, fall and redemption of the Van Winkle family and fortune through the eyes of the third-generation Kentucky bourbon baron Julian Van Winkle III.

... a fast-paced and colorful history of 20th-century Southern culture, told through the story of charismatic cult-bourbon maker Julius P. Van Winkle III.

An amiable journey.