Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/960891
46 / the tasting panel / april 2018 Jumpin' Jack ◗ MUSIC'S RELATIONSHIP WITH JACK DANIEL'S INSPIRES DENVER BARTENDERS by Jesse Hom-Dawson / photos by Jennifer Olson Rock 'n' roll has always shared a close relationship with whiskey since its meteoric rise in popularity in the 1950s, and no whiskey brand has been more synonymous with the rock music scene than Jack Daniel's. The company's alignment with music began many years before rock began dominating the charts: Founder Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel worked with a local band to promote his whiskey and Frank Sinatra frequently extoled his love of the label. Yet rock 'n' roll is argu- ably the genre the company is most commonly associated with, and some of the greatest rock musicians of the past 50 years have been known for their consumption of Jack Daniel's, including Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Slash of Guns N' Roses, Lemmy of Motörhead, and Tom Petty. (We could go on, but it's a substantial list.) Rock isn't the only genre to have close ties with the famous whiskey brand, however— legendary country singers from Hank Williams, Jr. to Alan Jackson have mentioned Jack Daniel's in their songs. One of the most iconic visual examples of music's love affair with Jack Daniel's is a photo of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards onstage at a 1973 concert in Denver, Colorado; in the image, Richards faces his amp, on top of which rests two cans of Coors, a bottle of Jack, and a can of Coke. In an homage to this photo, Jack Daniel's National Brand Ambassador Eric "E.T." Tecosky asked a pair of Denver bartenders to create a Jack Daniel's cocktail inspired by their favorite musician. "Music is how I discov- ered Jack Daniel's—my mother fed me rock 'n' roll in utero and my father is all Sinatra, all the time. Those worlds meet at Jack Daniel's, and I thought it would be fun to see how music inspires other bartend- ers," Tecosky explains. Whether it's the song played at the end of a shift or a drink name- dropped in some memorable lyrics, music has long been a creative force in the cocktail industry—and these bartenders prove they're carrying their own talented tune at their respective establishments.