Pappy & Company X Tom Beckbe
A well worn hunting jacket with expired shell casings hung in the small closet. A shotgun sat nestled in the corner. A cozy fire beckoned you inside to a softly lit room filled with treasures. Old bottles, artifacts, and awards placed haphazardly around as they would be in a real living room. Not the office setting you would have expected from someone now regarded as an icon in the bourbon industry, but one where you were just as likely to be invited on a mid-day hunt as you were to sit for a meal instead of a more formal business meeting.
Such was the normal course of business at the Stitzel- Weller Distillery, where visitors were greeted by the “heavy paneled door, on which hung, instead of a knocker, a ring of heavy brass keys.” As recounted by our aunt, Sally Campbell, in her book, But Always Fine Bourbon. Intentional decor, these five rings which symbolized the five steps of the bourbon making process, came to represent the keys to hospitality, and were the first indicator that stepping inside the doors of Stitzel- Weller wouldn’t be exactly what you expected.
This was an office that felt more like a home. A distillery nestled amongst lush landscaping and fields of magnolia trees, where a roaming crew of loyal bird dogs accompanied Pappy on his daily turns about campus, or in hunting season, on his daily hunts.
“Pappy’s office was brick and had a fireplace that was always lit in winter. It was cozy, and looked out through the magnolia trees to the meadow, where on most afternoons in hunting season, he could be found, dressed in full camouflage -lord of the fields.”
For some, this may seem an odd dichotomy. But for those who knew Pappy, this was simply who he was. A man equally as passionate about making fine bourbon as he was about enjoying the things he loved. A man who understood that business meetings didn’t need to be stiff formal affairs, but rather conversations that happened naturally. Decisions were best when made authentically, and maybe even, from the field.
Heritage can be shared in many ways. It often begins with a story, or a memory, shared over the years until it becomes worn down into an idea that is passed along and held, like a picture in your mind. It can be conjured up and envisioned often with a simple phrase, scent, or sound.
These are the stories that linger in our collective memory. They loom so large in our minds that they have become a constant guidepost and source of inspiration. The five keys, the image of Pappy in the field, the vision of his office “filled with hunting jackets and shotgun shells, and {the smell} of oil and leather” that we come back to time and again.
Pappy & Company was founded on the shared principles we inherited, to honor these beloved traditions and to share the spirit and legacy of our great-grandfather Pappy Van Winkle, with a whole new generation.
It is this heritage and tradition that is behind our continued collaboration with Tom Beckbe, makers of premium outdoor and hunting apparel. Of course, what would a Pappy & Company partnership be without a dash of serendipity? Tom Beckbe was founded in 2015 by Radcliff Menge, who just so happens to be the son of some of our parent’s college best friends. Recognizing a common thread of creativity, passion, and an adherence to high quality products, they saw a collaboration in the making before we did. What’s the old saying, your mother is always right? Well, sure enough, she was (she usually is).
A common history, where a legacy is built on a singular mission to focus on one product. In the case of Tom Beckbe, the genesis for Radcliff and Mary Menge was “simply an idea for a better outdoor jacket - American in style and manufacturing, designed for rugged sporting wear and equally suited for life outside the woods.”
We initially collaborated with them back in 2018, with a small production of only 100 limited edition jackets, designed to honor our shared heritages. Those sold out almost immediately so we introduced a similar style vest in 2019.
These initial launches were more than just jackets. At first, a representation of our brands as we were both just building our companies, we recognize now that they were also a reflection of who we wanted to be and the kinds of products we wanted to make and the people we wanted to work with.
We knew the time was right to introduce a new style in our continued collaboration with Tom Beckbe, and more importantly, this time around, we wanted one too. Introducing the Pappy & Company X Tom Beckbe Piedmont and Blakeley, in our exclusive custom color, Stave Brown. Meant to invoke the stunning and deeply rich color of the barrels that represent our bourbon legacy, they are a nod to the tradition, the craftsmanship and the passion and dedication of our shared heritage. Each one includes an interior label that is numbered and signed by Julian Van Winkle.
We’ve always been drawn to the effortless combination of rugged sophistication that a traditional hunting jacket offers, perhaps a naturally instilled inclination of traditions and family lore passed down through generations from that original waxed jacket that hung at the ready in Pappy’s office.
With rugged design, timeless style, and precise craftsmanship, these stunning jackets are built with the traditions of yesterday for today’s living. Classic heritage pieces with unmatched versatility, multi-use wear that are equally as at home in the fields as they are in the streets of the city, these jackets are meant to be worn for your lifetime, and passed on to the next.
