Saturday Happy Hour — Make Your Own Fake Pappy

Old Man Suderman, explained.

This week’s subscriber-only newsletter covered a trio of low-proof cocktails. Understandably, I received a few incredulous responses wondering why, after the week that was, I hadn’t recommended something higher octane. 

So to anyone looking for something higher-ABV, let me recommend a glass of overproof whiskey. And since this is a cocktail newsletter, focused on the fine art of mixing drinks, I’ll recommend a make-your-own blend designed to mimic what is arguably the most sought after whiskey of them all: Pappy Van Winkle. 

Over the past decade or two, Pappy has become so prized in the whiskey world that it’s almost impossible to find a bottle. And bottles that get passed around on the secondary market can easily run four figures. I’ve had a few sips in my time. It’s pretty good. But it’s not $1,000-a-bottle good — especially since you can make something reasonably comparable for a lot less by blending two readily available bottles.   

Up until a few years ago, the usual trick was to mix Old Weller Antique 107 and W.L. Weller 12 year in a 60/40 split, in a blend that became known as Poor Man’s Pappy. Like Pappy Van Winkle, the Wellers are wheated bourbons, in which wheat is a secondary grain in the mashbill, distilled by Buffalo Trace, so they have a lot in common. 

On occasion, it’s still possible to find these bottles at prices that aren’t insane. But as word has traveled that these ordinary Wellers could serve as Pappy substitutes, the prices shot up: These days, even those bottles — once widely available for less than $35 — can fetch hundreds of dollars. 

So if you want to make copycat Pappy at home, you’ll probably have to work with other bottles. Fortunately, there is an alternative. In his book Hacking Whiskey,  whiskey writer Aaron Goldfarb’s published his recipe for Poorer Man’s Pappy. Like the original Poor Man’s, it’s a two-bottle split made by combining wheated bourbons. But his version uses Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, which costs about $50, and Larceny, which runs about $28. These don’t come from Buffalo Trace, so the flavor profile is a little different, and it’s not quite as effortlessly balanced the Wellers. But it’s still pretty tasty. 

It also benefits from some aging. Although the blend tastes good the minute you make it — meaning you can drink it tonight — it tastes even better after it’s been bottled for a few days, or even a few months. Make it now, have a sip tonight, and then enjoy the rest of your creation next month, or next fall. Goldfarb’s spec calls for 67 percent Maker’s and 33 percent Larceny, but I typically make mine at 70/30, then bottle it in with a homemade label, as Old Man Suderman. 

The photo on the label is a picture of me as a child, standing next to my grandfather, who I’ve always looked like — and who I expect to continue looking like as I grow older. Like all whiskey, it’s a comforting reminder of the passage of time. It’s also easy drinking, delicious, and, importantly, quite high proof. You’re welcome.