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Whisky inspired by incredible plane heist story takes off from south Bristol
Johnny Palmer is no stranger to innovative business ventures as the brains behind the quirky office space and event venue PYTCHAir – a Boeing 727 airliner that sits on a business park in Brislington.
His latest venture takes the aviation theme to the next level with a new whiskey inspired by an enigmatic historic figure who is said to have hijacked a passenger plane and then vanished, remaining today the only unsolved case of air piracy in US history.
Inspired by this incredible tale, DB Cooper Whisky was born.
Speaking about the new venture, Palmer said: “The brand has an Americana feel to it, it is raw, strong and bold.
“While it is from Bristol the brand imagery, language and typography are not of Bristol. But then again, our city is a creative melting pot taking inspiration from all over the world, so why not?”
DP Cooper is a new whiskey brand inspired by the man behind an infamous piracy incident in 1971 – photo: PYTCH
The story goes that DB Cooper boarded a passenger plane from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle. He orders a whisky as he dons a pair of sunglasses. He then passes a note to the air cabin attendant and exhorts, “read!”
The note reveals that he is carrying a makeshift bomb in his briefcase and demands four parachutes and $200,000. When the Boeing 727 lands in Seattle, his demands are met, but the story does not end there.
DB Cooper takes hostage of four crew members and demands the plane to be flown to Mexico City. Some 20 minutes into the journey, the hijacker does something unexpected: jumping off the plane with his $200,000, never to be seen again.
“It’s a crazy story,” Palmer said, on the inspiration behind the venture. “When I first bought PYTCHAir, I read up on its history and quickly heard of DB Cooper.”
“When I heard the story, especially the part about the whisky, I thought to myself ‘someone must have made a whisky in homage to this crazy dude.’ They hadn’t, so I trademarked his name.”
The event venue PYTCHAir is a Boeing 727 airliner that sits on Skyline Business Park in south Bristol – photo: PYTCH
DB Cooper Whiskey is distilled by Pendyrn distillery in Wales and currently sold online and in DBM Wines in Clifton Village.
On the future of the brand, Palmer said: “We have made 500 bottles, so it really is rare stuff. If it sells, I might produce another chapter to the story. But as long as DB Cooper is always for sale in my city I will be happy.”
Main photo: PYTCH
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