No one is quite sure of Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel’s exact birth date — it’s only known that he was born in September 1850. There has been no success in finding his birth certificate; some say it’s been lost to time while others suggest fires that occurred in both the courthouse and his home may have engulfed it. So instead of one special day, people around the world can celebrate his 159th birthday for the entire month.
In Lynchburg, Tenn., Daniel’s birthplace, a month-long celebration is considered an appropriate amount of partying; after all, this is the man who created the Silver Cornet Band in Lynchburg to draw crowds to the town square and his two saloons, and also had a ballroom in his home to entertain guests. As part of the annual celebration, they offer a traditional toast: “Here’s to Mr. Jack, more than 150 years old and still out in the bars every night.”
This year, the Jack Daniel Distillery will go online to celebrate the big day (well, month). On Sept. 1, it launched a “Give a Toast” application on Facebook and a “Toast Jack” feature on Twitter to encourage virtual and viral celebrations for people over 21.
The “Give A Toast” Facebook application analyzes a user’s friend list and identifies friends to toast based on their profile information and Facebook activity, according to the company. The friends are ranked into seven categories based on their data: social friend, photogenic friend, musical friend, mysterious friend, all-around friend, active friend and interesting friend. Then, the user can pick one of three toasts and one of four cocktails to send to these friends, and toasts are encouraged for any friends who share Daniel’s birthday month. Once a toast is sent, it gets posted on the recipient’s wall.
To ensure toasts are only going to people over the age of 21, the application screens each user’s age. To find the application, visit http://apps.facebook.com/giveatoast/.
On Twitter, users can tweet a toast to Jack Daniel using the hashtag #ToastJack. Then, an interactive map aggregates all of the tweets including the hashtag and displays them showing the location of each tweet. To take part or just to view toasts, visit ToastJack.com.
Meanwhile, in the real-life world, Jack Daniel’s created a “Liquid Cake” celebratory drink (see recipe). So whether you’re online or at the bar, raise a toast to the legendary Jack Daniel, the man, and Jack Daniel’s, the whiskey, this September.
Jack Daniel’s Liquid Cake
1 ounce Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
½ ounce Tuaca
¼ ounce toasted marshmallow syrup*
3 ounces lemon-lime soda*
In a shaker filled with ice, add ingredients and roll to mix. Serve over ice in a tall glass. Garnish with a marshmallow.
*For testing purposes, Jack Daniel’s used Monin Toasted Marshmallow Syrup and Sprite.