Jim Myers

jtmyers@tennessean.com

They're calling it the "Pappy Hour."

96 golden tickets to taste Pappy Van Winkle's rare portfolio of coveted brown liquor with the great grandson of the great Pappy himself.

I call that Happy Slappy Pappy.

This special happy hour takes place next month at the Music City Food + Wine Festival, whose organizers are the masters of the slow trickle tease, just now releasing this significant nugget for all the potential buyers and fence sitters.

If you buy the all-in ticket ($500) or the Sunday day pass ($150), you've got a chance to be one of the lucky 96. But you need to buy that ticket before September 7th, so you can get the super-secret email about how to register for the tasting. The event itself is Sep. 17-18 on the grounds of the Tennessee State Bicentennial Mall.

For many bourbon drinkers, Pappy has been the gold standard. One of the few wheated bourbons, meaning softer wheat is used in place of the bite of rye as the flavor grain, it lends itself to longer aging where rich and mellow flavors seep from the oak barrels and make an exceedingly complex product. When bottles are released, it's a feeding frenzy due to limited production to keep the price at a premium.

Though the original product that put this boutique label on the map was overstock from Pappy's old Stitzel-Weller distillery, the new juice is now produced at Buffalo Trace using the same recipe as the line of Weller bourbons. The Van Winkle family gets the pick of the litter for the barrels that are selected for extended ageing.

For more information on the festival, participating chefs and vendors and tickets, go to musiccityfoodandwinefestival.com.

Reach Jim Myers at 615-259-8367 on Instagram@culinarityand on Twitter@ReadJimMyers.