Eight Row Flint in Houston, TX, knows what guests really want for Christmas: Pappy Van Winkle. The Texas icehouse hosts Pappy Van Winkle Day every year on Dec. 26, during which it sells the coveted bourbon at cost in 1 ½-oz. tastings to the first 100 guests.
The idea came from Eight Row Flint co-owner and beverage director Morgan Weber. While standing in line for Eight Row Flint’s annual allocation of Pappy Van Winkle in 2015, Weber witnessed the stress and animosity it was creating among his peers in the beverage industry. He decided to turn the exclusivity on its head and created Pappy Van Winkle Day to celebrate the bourbon and make it more accessible to the Houston community.
This year’s Pappy Day celebration will be the seventh. Guests arrive at Eight Row Flint as early as 3 a.m. to save their spot in line; last year’s line wrapped around the bar. Once the celebration is complete, the bottles are smashed to prevent anyone from filling an empty bottle with cheap bourbon and reselling it on the bourbon black market.
