So says Jack's Daniel's web site. Rather inspiring,
isn't it? Such noble sentiments should warm the
cockles of the most cynical drunkard's heart.
Unfortunately, not a word of it is true. For
the second time since the Brown-Forman Corporation
acquired the distillery in 1956, they have lowered
the proof of Jack Daniel's Black Label Tennessee
Whiskey. Fifteen years ago they dropped its original
90 proof to 86, and very recently, and might I
say with zero fanfare, they degraded it to 80 proof.
Alert drunkard Chris Sharp brought this unfathomable
blasphemy to my attention and I feel it my sworn
duty to bring it to yours.
"I was outraged," says Sharp, a once avid Jack
drinker. "They continue to claim in their ads that
they stick to tradition. Tradition, my ass. If
they think that people will take this sitting down
they are sadly mistaken."
You're probably wondering why they would do such
a thing. Why would they tamper with the 138-year-old
recipe their entire reputation is built upon? A
formula as storied and mythic as the man who created
it? The Brown-Forman Corporation wouldn't return
my calls, but they did deign to respond to Mr.
Sharp's seething emails.
The main reason we lowered the proof is because
we’ve noticed in recent years folks tend
to prefer lower-proof products, and this includes
most of our friends who enjoy our Tennessee Whiskey.
This has not hurt sales of Jack Daniel’s.
There you have it. You see, this historic liquor,
this icon for drinkers the world over is now merely
a "product" at the mercy of a cynical corporation's
most recent marketing survey. It's akin to turning
the Gettysburg Battlefield into an amusement park
because, by Mammon, a survey says that's what some
anonymous "folks" want. They crunched their numbers
then promptly sold out the legacy Jack Daniel and
his descendents spent their lifetimes building.
Well, I have a news flash for the smug whiz kids
in the marketing department at the Brown-Forman
Corporation. There are one helluva lot of people
who prefer Mr. Daniel's original 90 proof recipe,
the very recipe they lie about "remaining true" to.
Furthermore, the reason their treason hasn't hurt
their bottom line is because no one knew about
it. If they truly believed it was what the "folks" wanted,
why didn't they tell anyone? After a very thorough
search, I turned up not a single mention
of their decision in the media. Until now.
The gallant Mr. Sharp has started an online petition
and boycott designed to right this grievous wrong.
I urge you to visit
www.petitiononline.com/JD002/
and make your voice heard.
Brown-Forman is, of course, a private corporation
and they can do whatever the hell they want with
their "product." They can lower the proof to zero
and call it lemonade if they like. But that doesn't
mean we have to drink it.
Which is why the MDM staff has unanimously sworn
off Jack until Brown-Forman honors the legacy of
the man whose name is on the bottle. For the love
of Jack, I hope you'll join us.
Update: The response has been
tremendous. In a few short weeks the petition has
gathered over 13,000 signatures, their treachery
has been thoroughly exposed in the mainstream press,
and Brown-Forman is strictly on the defensive.
However, because B-F is much more interested
in profits then honoring a true American tradition,
it's going to take a lot more heat to make them
restore Jack's legacy.
With this in mind, please take a moment to email
Phil Lynch (VP of Corporate Communications and
Public Relations at Brown-Forman) and let him know
how you feel.
phil_lynch@b-f.com
