We already dug Pope Francis for saying wine is necessary for celebration, and for ridiculing the Church for its anti-abortion and gay marriage beliefs. But thanks to Father Jim Sichko, a Kentucky priest, author, and motivational speaker, we now have another reason to love the Pope: The Pope loves Pappy.

During a private event at the Vatican last week, Fr. Sichko, who is one of 100 papal Missionaries of Mercy in the U.S., presented Pope Francis with a bottle of 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle as a gift to symbolize the priest’s home state of Kentucky. When the Pope received the rare bottle, he replied by saying it was “very good bourbon,” the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

“He knew I was from Kentucky so when I handed it him, he immediately said ‘bourbon’ and I said yes, and then he said ‘very good bourbon,’” Sichko said.

Sichko tweeted about the experience, including a photo of himself presenting Pappy to the Pope (along with a selfie, for good measure, which was proudly retweeted by Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky’s Secretary of State).

Proving his generosity even further, Sichko made sure Pope Francis wasn’t the only one going home with a bottle of bourbon that night: gifts included an entire bottle haul of Van Winkle, Knob Creek, Four Roses, and Woodford Reserve.