What's The Woop-De-Doo About Jack Daniel's?

[Dramiel McHinson]

Originally Posted by cowdery

I agree pretty much with everything in your post except the paragraph above, plus I'm not so sure about those underground ducks.

Your last sentence above is more correct than your first, which is an insult to every happy Jack Daniel's drinker who thinks it tastes better than every other liquid on the planet. You're saying they're so flummoxed by marketing that even their taste buds deceive them. I don't think you mean to say that, but you do.

Also, other than the proof cut from 86 to 80 that was made more than six years ago, what have the 'bean counters' at Brown-Forman done that has degraded the product, in your opinion?

Let me see if I can elaborate. But first a caveat. I never intend to disparage someone of enjoying whatever drink or brand they prefer. I do have my own ordered list of preferences and while I remain rigidly flexible, I still have to say no sometimes.

I don't dislike JD at all. I can't drink the Old #7 and Gentleman Jack straight. It just doesn't work for me so when I drink it, I mix it. I also enjoy a lot of the other aspects of the JD community. For all the folks that just like the whiskey and don't care about the extended JD community then I believe this is simply a matter of personal taste and there is no right or wrong. For me, I enjoy the total more than the piece. I think they do a great job of making JD more than just a shot in a glass.

The ducks are almost always swimming in the area shown to the public as the cave entrance and also in the stream that flows in front of the entrance to the visitor center. I'm not alone in some of the observations there about the ducks. It's a joke. We all have commemorative bottles under our arm from the White Rabbit saloon while we are questioning the duck's contribution to the whiskey.

With regard to bean counters. I could have left that statement off. That is a personal glitch in my appreciation for all things artisan in the making of bourbon. Although I poked at Brown Foreman, many spirits corporations past and present are in the same boat in my opinion. Sometimes when they get it wrong. They and their product go away and their dedicated followers mourn the loss.

In spite of all that Jack Daniels or other brands are to all consumers, whiskey is often a product of corporate decisions. In every effort there is trade space. Often the final product is the result of necessary compromises in cost, schedule and performance. I suppose if it was easy, the world wouldn't be littered with defunct distilleries and the lineage of iconic brands wouldn't be traced through a long list of owners.

What is my nebulous point you ask? I guess I'm trying to say I am more fond of the artisan skill that produces fine bourbon than I am of all the business decisions that got it to my table. That's not realistic, I know. But, that's how I compartmentalize size ten thoughts in my size 5 brain.