Jack Daniel's kickstarts Tennessee Calling

Jack Daniel's has announced the third year of its Tennessee Calling cocktail competition, which will start this October at London Cocktail Week.

Inspired by the mentorship of Jasper ‘Jack’ Daniel by Dan Call
and master distiller Nearest Green, Tennessee Calling calls upon industry visionaries to share their knowledge, expertise and secrets with those bartenders willing and hungry to learn how to craft their very own story.

The winning bartenders will present their cocktails at New York bar, The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in December before discovering the home of Jack in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Kicking off with seminars at The Tennessee Sessions on Tuesday 2 October during London Cocktail Week, bartenders will hear about Entrepreneurialism and how to create an award-winning business from DrinkUp.London’s Hannah Sharman-Cox and The Dead Rabbit’s Rebekkah Dooley before welcoming Erik and Jillian who will present Creativity by sharing their thoughts and advice on the art of delivering the perfect drink - from taste to innovation.

Finally, Jack Daniel’s very own assistant master distiller Chris Fletcher and Cam Dawson, UK brand ambassador, will close the session by exploring the quest
for Quality and Consistency.

Hosted at The Bike Shed Motorcycle Club in Shoreditch, bartenders will be charged with creating a bespok serve in only 20 days that best represents the three most valuable insights from the esteemed panellists.

Cocktails can be uploaded at www.TennesseeCalling.com closing on Wednesday 31 October.

Inspired by the topics explored in the initial Tennessee Sessions, competing bartenders will be graded against a strict criterion including entrepreneurialism, creativity, consistency and quality.

The top 10 finalists will then be selected by the mentors-cum-judges in a format unique to Jack Daniel’s whereby judges visit each competitor in their respective accounts to sample their portfolio of cocktails, before crowning the three winners.

Unlike other competitions, there is no first, second or third – instead the three
winners will showcase their serves to trade and consumers alike for one night only at The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in December, before flying to Lynchburg, Tennessee to explore the home of Jack Daniel’s.

Nidal Ramini, head of advocacy, Europe & Africa at Brown Forman says: “Jack Daniel’s is excited to continue its pioneering support of the UK on-trade with Tennessee Calling III. Mentorship is the cornerstone of how Jack Daniel’s became one of the best-known brands in the world and we feel privileged that we’re able to give the next generation of bartenders the opportunity to be mentored by some of the biggest stars in the industry.”

26 September 2018 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, editor