Author C.J. Box’s main protagonist Joe Pickett likes to drink bourbon, and now he will have 1,000 bottles named after him.
That is the secret that was spilled in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Box late last week and confirmed Monday by the author, who said he was approached by Wyoming’s Pine Bluffs Distilling about the idea at the Wyoming breakfast at the National Finals Rodeo last year.
Joe Pickett is the protagonist in more than 20 novels Box has written starting with “Open Season” in 2001. The series has pitted Pickett, an everyday family man kind of hero, against the likes of “environmental terrorists, rogue federal land managers, animal mutilators, crazed cowboy hitmen, corrupt bureaucrats, homicidal animal rights activists and violent dysfunctional families,” according to Box’s website.
Box was approached by Chad Brown, co-owner of the Pine Bluffs Distilling, about the idea to create 1,000 bottles of a special bourbon blend honoring Joe Pickett. A portion of sales would be donated to a charity of Box’s choice.
“I just thought it would be really cool if we have this Wyoming game warden, who drinks bourbon in the book, if he had his own bourbon,” Brown said.
After Box agreed to the idea, Box, his wife, along with Gordon and others came out to the distillery in Pine Bluffs to sample different whiskey barrels to create the right taste that reflects Joe Pickett.
“You know, Joe Pickett drinks bourbon and I drink bourbon,” Box said. “My wife is on the board of the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, Jennie Gordon’s group. And so, the proceeds will go to that, which is a great cause. I’m very excited about it.”
Brown said he had the idea to approach Box because of the iconic character he has created in Joe Pickett and the stories of Pickett’s life that now are awaiting release of a 25th book — “Battle Mountain” in spring 2025.
Special Mix
Box, Brown and others spent an afternoon at the distillery sampling a mix of different ryed bourbon barrel blends. Brown said each barrel has its own flavor characteristic that might be sweet or distinct.
“Chuck was like, you know I want a sweeter bourbon,” Brown said. “And I said let’s try and find some barrels that have the flavor characteristics that you like. And so, that’s what we spent the afternoon doing.”
Once the barrel selection and mix for the 1,000 bottles was determined, Brown said he started the process of working to design a label. Once designed and approved by Box, it will need to get approved by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau that oversees distilled spirits labeling.
Brown plans to have a bottling event in the spring and have the Joe Pickett bourbon available as Box releases his next novel in the Joe Pickett series and goes on a book tour.
Box said he continues to work with Brown on the label and “so far, what they’ve shown me looks pretty cool.”
The Wyoming author of a Wyoming character said it was important for Wyoming distillery to be the one to produce a Joe Pickett bourbon. Box said knowing that Pine Bluffs uses locally sourced grains is “very important.”
Box said it was hard for him to remember back to the formation of the character and any decisions he initially made about whether and what to have Pickett drink.
“I mean it goes back a long way where at night he would have a bourbon and water, and for a while he and his friend Nate Romanowski would have Wyoming Whiskey,” he said.
A barrel is sampled in preparation for the Joe Picket bourbon at Pine Bluffs Distilling. (Courtesy Pine Bluffs Distilling) 
First lady Jennie Gordon signs a barrel at Pine Bluffs Distilling. A portion of sales of the Joe Pickett Bourbon will benefit the Wyoming Hunger Initiative led by Gordon. (Courtesy Pine Bluffs Distilling) 
The taste testers for a Joe Pickett bourbon to be released in 2025 include, from left, Jennie Gordon, Laurie Box, C.J. Box, Theresa Brown and Pine Bluffs Distilling co-owner Chad Brown. (Courtesy Pine Bluffs Distilling)
Choosing Bourbon
But the real reason Pickett drinks bourbon is because Box said that is his own drink of choice.
“And it fits with the character, too,” he said.
Box said typically with each book he produces, his daughter will create different theme products that fans can purchase, but this is the first time one of his characters has generated a product on such a large scale.
Brown said depending on how the Joe Pickett project goes, he and Box have talked about having another product in a following year about another one of Box’s characters, potentially Romanowski.
The Joe Pickett bourbon product is the first Pine Bluffs Distilling has done with a character from a book, but Brown said they’ve done projects with companies that want to do a 1,000-bottle project for their employees at Christmas or a special event.
The tentative release date for the bourbon honoring Joe Pickett is April 19.
Since his social media post on X, Box said he has already heard from fans.
“I’ve got a lot of followers who have weighed in saying they can’t wait to get it, buy it and try it,” he said. “So, I assume it will go well.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
