Heist Pappygate – a Review

The biggest news in Bourbon this week actually happened 8-plus years ago.  Netflix released a new documentary series called “Heist”.  The series follows three different “heists” with two episodes profiling each caper.  Episodes 5 and 6 of the series are called Bourbon King part 1 and 2.  It is these two episodes that tell the story commonly called “Pappygate”.  In case you haven’t seen this show yet and don’t remember all the details of the 2013 story, I’ll try to avoid any spoilers in this quick review.

Bourbon King tells the story of Toby Curtsinger.  Curtsinger was a long-time employee at Buffalo Trace whose greed and ego led him deeper and deeper down a hole of Bourbon theft.  What started out as selling a couple of bottles of Pappy devolved into the recruitment of friends at both Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey to pilfer an untold number of bottles and even barrels of Bourbon for resale to Frankfort’s elite class. 

The story itself is very interesting whether you are a Bourbon fan or not.  The way it was told, however, was uneven and clunky.  On the positive side, the impact all of this had on Curtsinger and his family was effectively portrayed and created sympathy for his wife and children.  I also thought the way the way director Nick Frew introduced the plot twist (no spoilers here) was well done and had the needed “surprise” element.  However, how this twist ultimately played out for Curtsinger was not all that clear in the way episode 2 was wrapped up.

Unfortunately, there was more wrong with the documentary than there was right.  There were reenactment segments scattered throughout both episodes and they are simply horrible.  There is better acting on infomercials for type 2 diabetes drugs.

There was also way too much time dedicated to Curtsinger’s passion for softball.  While it was relevant as that is how he met some of the crew he used to steal Bourbon, that could have been handled in a minute or less.  It felt like far too much time was spent on this part of the story. 

On the flipside there was not nearly enough of these episodes devoted to the actual “Pappygate” theft, the arrest of Curtsinger’s father-in-law or the failures of Sheriff Pat Melton that really led to his re-election loss.  The documentary repeatedly focused on Melton’s desire to be in front of the camera.  While this didn’t help him, the botching of the investigation itself ultimately led to his downfall based on the facts at the time.

If you are into Bourbon at all, you’ll watch this.You know you will.And you will enjoy the story.However, recent Bourbon documentaries have not only told interesting stories, they have also been high-quality telling of those stories.This would include “Neat”, “Bourontucky” and ABV’s own “Kindred Spirits” and “Blending is Trending”.“Heist: Bourbon King” falls short of these technically as a documentary. Watch with tempered expectations…kind of like when you try Pappy for the first time.