Bourbon: from backwoods, tax-evading Kentucky farmers to $5,000 Pappy Van Winkle bottles.

From frontier survival drink to a bottle people will literally steal for — this is the wild history of Pappy Van Winkle and the rise of bourbon in America. Why does a bourbon with a retail price of a few hundred dollars sell for $5,000+ on the secondary market? Why do states run lotteries for the chance to buy it? And how did whiskey once made by isolated Kentucky farmers become one of the most hyped luxury goods in the country? 00:00 Intro 01:00 Frontier Corn Turned Into Whiskey 03:40 The Whiskey Tax And Rebellion 06:39 Bourbon Becomes A Real Industry 08:33 Pappy Van Winkle Enters The Story 09:40 Prohibition, Survival, And Recovery 12:27 Pappy’s Wheated Bourbon Philosophy 13:22 The Family Loses The Distillery 14:22 Pappy Becomes A Modern Legend 16:55 The Pappy Heist And Bourbon Crime 19:15 Kentucky’s Bourbon Empire 20:13 Outro