Fans wait hours in Towson for bourbon — and a moment with ‘Best Man’ duo

How long would you wait in line for a bottle of bourbon? What if Morris Chestnut was also waiting at the end?

For Tikeria Hill, 37, and her mother, Tabitha Hill, 53, three hours on a brisk Saturday morning in Towson were well worth a signed bottle of Sable bourbon from the star of “The Best Man” and the creator of the franchise, Malcolm D. Lee. Several members of “The Best Man” franchise started the bourbon business.

“I grew up watching Morris Chestnut with my mom, and then as I got older I became a fan,” Tikeria Hill said.

Tabitha Hill said she drove over at 6 a.m., just after she got off her eight-hour overnight shift, to see her “all-time Hollywood crush.”

“I waited 25 years to see him,” she said.

The bottle-signing event, hosted at Total Wine & More on Loch Raven Boulevard, was the second in Maryland since the launch of the liquor brand. Last year, Taye Diggs and Harold Perrineau were in attendance at a similar event in Laurel.

The mother-daughter duo from Towson were among more than 100 fans who showed up to get their signed bottles of bourbon and pictures with Lee and Chestnut. A line wrapped around the building, and an overflow of people waited to be called over from the parking garage.

Down the line, 47-year-old Fernetta Easley wore a T-shirt with the word “Morris” written in rainbow colors. She said Chestnut is one of her “favorite actors.” Easley was with a handful of people cheering and excited to see the man they loved on the screen in the flesh.

One member of the group, Mary Howard, 57, said she watched the latest episode of the TV series “Watson,” which stars Chestnut. At the end of the episode, he began traveling to Baltimore, she said.

“So I thought, last night, he’s going to be here tomorrow,” Howard said. Others in group chuckled and agreed.

R&B music poured out of the store as employees allowed customers to enter one at a time. Another employee helped escort those waiting in the parking garage.

“The Best Man” franchise has been around since its first movie released in 1999 and has gained a cult following. There have been two sequels: “The Best Man Holiday,” in 2013, and a series, “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” in 2022. Lee, the franchise’s screenwriter and director, wrote a novel called “The Best Man: Unfinished Business,” published last year.

Their liquor brand, Sable, sells for about $60 on the company’s website. The bourbon, made in Kentucky, is described as having aromas of “burnt sugar and allspice” with hints of “mocha and an oak-forward spice.”

Toward the middle of the line Saturday, Maya Ruffin and her friends Piney Johnson and Janae Brown brought foldable chairs as they waited two hours to see Lee and Chestnut. Ruffin said they were there to support “Black men and Black artistry.”

Brown added that she loves the bourbon.

“When I realized that he was signing the bottle, I came straight here,” Brown said.

Minutes after the friend group entered, all three exited with bottles in hand and photos in their camera rolls. Although each spent only a few seconds with Sable founders, they said the two were kind, wished them a good morning and gave them a hug.

“I would wait two hours again,” Brown said.

For those who missed out on the event, Lee and Chestnut will join Diggs at Costco at 2441 Market St. NE in Washington, on Sunday from 1-4 p.m.