Van Winkle Family Holiday Traditions

Celebrating Van Winkle Family Holiday Traditions

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…and also the busiest! We happen to love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, but what we really love the most is celebrating some of our most treasured family traditions! Traditions are meant to be shared, and Christmas is undoubtedly the holiday with the most traditions.

There is a reason so many Christmas songs and movies exist, each attempting to bottle up and describe the potentially indescribablefeeling of Christmas. All in an attempt to capture that magical combination of togetherness, joy, and celebration. The feeling of opening a door on a cold winter night, the warmth of a fire, the sound of laughter, and the welcoming throng of family and friends beckoning you inside. Its garland hung over the fireplace, and Christmas trees dotted with ornaments that feel like treasures. It is the presents wrapped under the tree, with elaborate bows and sparkly wrapping paper, sought out all year long as the perfect gift for each person. The special cookies left out for Santa and the effervescent joy of children who simultaneously can’t fall asleep from excitement but also can’t wait to go to bed to wake up in the morning.

For us, both personally and as the foundation of Pappy & Company,Christmas magicis a legacy that began with our great-grandmother's "over-the-top" approach to Christmas. Everything from her decorations to her menu to the famous Christmas parties she and Pappy would host set the stage for our own family traditions to this day.

Of course, part of the joy of Holiday traditions is not only honoring where and when they began but also celebrating your own additions to them each year. As our aunt, Sally Van Winkle Campbell recounted her memories of growing up with the Christmas traditions of Pappy and Nana inBut Always Fine Bourbon, you can see where our Van Winkle family traditions began. Nana "really got into Christmas," she remembers the decorations, like "silver reindeer" that "would be strung out across the dining room table," and individually themed Christmas trees each year, which almost always was "flocked" as to appear dusted with snow.

But Always Fine Bourbon the legacy of Pappy Van Winkle

While the themes were different each year, they were elaborate. "The tree would be decked with red lights, gold ornaments, and gold beads and ropes, or in all blue with blue lights and silver ornaments." That particular tree, remembered fondly by the children as the "Cinderella" tree loomed forever large in the collective memories of Christmas traditions. "No matter what the design, however, it was always spectacular."

This was the particular magic Nana was known to create, which fostered our love of and inclination towards hosting, entertaining, and traditions. Every occasion was a special occasion, and special occasions were downright extraordinary. While pulling off such feats of display and creativity these days is harder, we have certainly attempted to maintain the same feeling. Holiday Traditions are so deeply rooted to capture some of that hosting magic she so effortlessly embodied. The small moments that linger long in memories and set our own visions of what it means to truly host, entertain, and celebrate. These are the traditions and moments that we want to pass down, create, and share.

Naturally, many of our most favored traditions revolve around festive food and drinks! While Christmas is full of traditions, we'd venture to guess that, like most people's answer to "What is your favorite Christmas tradition?" will involve a favorite menu item! Whether that is baking cookies for Santa, decorating gingerbread houses, or bringing out a treasured family recipe that is only served on Christmas each year, celebrating the holidays for us certainly means the return of some of our most favorite foods and drinks.

Christmas Eve is essentially a large family open house. With multiple generations coming and going, cousins running around, a house full of laughter and decorations, and everyone gathering around enjoying a table full of food whose menu hasn't changed in decades. Certain foods and drinks are all the more special because they only appear on certain occasions. For example, is it even Christmas if you don't have eggnog?

Christmas Eggnog is a particularly special Christmas tradition. Obviously, as far as holiday cocktails go, this one is pretty synonymous with the holiday it represents. Of course, it also happens to be traditionally served with bourbon. (This fact has become its own family lore after a young cousin took a sip and deemed it suitable for adults only, with a note of warning to other curious youngsters.)

Of course, we can't blame him. Served in a gleaming punchbowl, it is the centerpiece of Christmas decor. The mere presence of Pappy Van Winkle's original punchbowl has always been an indicator that an occasion was deemed special and celebratory. Our own recreation of Pappy's punchbowl is our nod to our family's ability to elevate all occasions to special status and to make every family gathering feel uniquely festive.

The magic of Christmas is now expounded by our ability to share some of our family's beloved traditions with you through Pappy & Company. Enjoy some favorite Christmas cocktails and festive food as you celebrate and enjoy your own holiday traditions this year and always. Cheers!