By Lisa Frania, Guest Blogger

It’s time for your mug shot 

Meet Julie Kershaw of Marana, AZ

A huge fan of Death Wish Coffee, Julie knew that buying DWC instant coffee for her avid-hiker dad would be a perfect holiday gift. But what she didn’t expect was a Golden Ticket when she added that gift under the Christmas tree! 

When the anticipated DWC box was delivered, she was both confused and shocked. “I remember thinking it was a bit odd that I received such a large box for only an 8–pack of instant coffee. I was too excited to wait until I got back to my apartment, so I pulled it out and opened it up.” 

With the Grampus mug in hand, Julie still wasn’t convinced she was a lucky winner. She thought she must’ve been given the mug by mistake. “I’ve never won anything, so it didn’t occur to me that I could’ve been a Golden Ticket winner.” She even asked her boyfriend to hold onto the mug while she checked her order—it just had to be a mistake.  

And that’s when he pulled out the Golden Ticket.  

Julie admits, “I think I might’ve cried tears of happiness—yeah, I definitely cried. I called everyone to tell them about it. I never win anything, so that was huge for me! It probably was the highlight of my day for the entire month!”  

Meet Paul Butler of Sunland, CA  

Like most Death Wish fanatics, Paul was fully aware of what a Golden Ticket mug was and had tried to win every GT mug available, reading emails and posts (full of jealousy) from the lucky few that had previously won.   

Paul recalls that when the Space Oddity mug came out, everybody wanted it. “I don’t know if there was ever a more anticipated mug drop, and I’ve been a fan for a long time. Then, Death Wish released the picture of the Golden Ticket version, the space mug, but in orange. “It was amazing, and I wanted it.” 

Paul stopped at the grocery store on his way home from work. His hands were full when he walked around the corner and saw the box labeled with Death Wish Coffee tape and marked “Fragile” sitting on the ground under the mailbox. 

“I did a whiplash–inducing double take and said out loud, ‘Death cups aren’t fragile!’ That’s when the excitement really kicked in.  I could not get the box open fast enough.  While I had hoped to win all the previous Golden Ticket mugs I had tried for, this was the one I truly wanted.” 

Paul immediately took pictures, texted his nephew Matt so he could be the first to know, and then shot a video for the community page.   

“I love the Death Wish community.  People were every bit as excited for me as I was for myself and that elevated the feeling and kept it alive for days.”  

(No doubt Paul also loves that others are just a little bit jealous of his big win now too!) 

Meet Scott Johnson of Roseburg, OR

“I can’t really remember when I first started drinking that delicious nectar of the gods,” Scott shared about his Death Wish Coffee obsession. But he does remember getting a text from DWC one day about the upcoming Golden Ticket day with a chance to win an exclusively colored Dropkick Murphy mug. 

After waiting for about a week for his new purchase, a DWC vacuum container—and even meeting his mail carrier at the mailbox with the DWC box in hand, Scott remembers immediately assuming the box he received wasn’t big enough for a Golden Ticket mug AND his ordered container.  

“So, I walked back to the house a little down in the dumps, but when I got into the kitchen and opened the box, I was shocked. I stood there, looking at this mug in its box thinking, ‘This isn’t real. I actually won!’” 

Scott shared, “It’s been my daily driver since I got it. I’m really glad I got to add it to my ever-growing collection of mugs from Death Wish [Coffee].” 

Meet Tyler Travis of Clifton Park, NY

Our closest-to-home Golden Ticket winner in Clifton Park, New York, Tyler had previously bought Death Wish Coffee at local coffee shops and tried a bag at home from his local market. Yet despite receiving the newsletter and a few Golden Ticket alerts, he never ordered anything directly from the site—until a horror–classic theme on Valentine’s Day of Frankenstein’s monster and the bride caught his eye.  

“I was in.” 

When his order reached the house and there was a much larger box than expected, Tyler remembers, “I opened it up, and to my surprise, I got a Golden Ticket on my first–ever purchase from the site!!! I have been chasing that lightning ever since!”  

Tyler now proudly owns a third Death Wish Coffee mug, which sits alongside his Friday the 13th (black cat) and the Kraken.  He added, “I will continue to add more horror–themed mugs!!  

Meet Gail Dunmyer of Tallahassee, FL 

 
One of Death Wish Coffee’s OG superstars, Facebook guru and ride-or-die caffeinator, Gail is also a part of the lucky Golden Ticket winner club!  

“I first learned of Death Wish Coffee Company’s Golden Ticket Day by listening to the Fueled by Death [pod] Cast.” Placing orders on GT day ever since it started, Gail says she had been “chasing an elusive variant.” Mug collecting fanatics like Gail know that the GT mugs offer a new twist—AKA variant—because of their unique colors and glazes, making them very rare and highly collectible.  

For Gail, the wait was finally over.  

One day at the mailbox she was greeted by a mysterious box labeled “FRAGILE!” Could it be? 

“Yes, in fact, it was a juicy orange GT mug, perfect for Florida! The Society of Strong Coffee [mug] was the best luck ever since. That medallion represents and embodies why we come together on our community page—our love for the World’s Strongest Coffee!” 

In a place of honor, her Golden Ticket mug now rests on her Death Wishmas tree! 

Meet Jesse Zerbe of San Angelo, TX 

Jesse remembers quickly scanning over the available merch and selecting the Death Wish Coffee logo T-shirt, shoving it into his virtual shopping cart and checking out.   

For Jesse, the Frau Perchta Golden Ticket offering made him particularly excited since it would come with a set of TWO mugs! “I thought the unique set would be very cool!”  

His package arrived in a box waaaay too big for just an ordered T-shirt. On top of everything was a shiny Golden Ticket.  

Jesse recalls, “I tore open the box like it was Christmas Day, and I was still seven years old!  I unpacked the mug set, admired the unique green glazing, and made myself a cup of DW’s Valhalla Java (my personal fave).” 

RELATED: Mug shots of Golden Ticket winners