Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/288975
74 / the tasting panel / april 2014 COVER STORY "When my dad died in 1979," Ethan recalled, "I was 17 years old and we were living in Newport Beach. I remember they took everything in the house, scooped it up, and put it in storage. Years later, I started thinking, 'I'd better find out what we have in that warehouse.' One of the first things I found was an old rag wrapped around something heavy. It turned out to be Dad's Oscar for Best Actor in True Grit. That's when I started going through everything in his archives." Not surprisingly, one of the treasures Ethan found were boxes marked Wine & Spirits. Ethan took a crowbar, pried open the lids and discovered unopened bottles of the Duke's favorite Kentucky bourbon. With him that fateful day were Jayson Woodbridge and Chris Radomski, both of whom had been introduced to Ethan by their mutual friend, Richard Howell. The whiskey, according to the tax stamp, had been bottled in 1972—the same year John Wayne was working on Cahill U.S. Marshall and The Train Robbers. Ethan, Woodbridge, and Radomski decided— after toasting the Duke with his favored libation—that, as a tribute to John Wayne's bourbon, they would recreate An early photo of Ethan Wayne with his legendary father. TP0414_072-101.indd 74 3/21/14 2:52 PM