Tennessee Rye Launch at the Broadview Hotel

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Jack Daniels launch party for their new product, Tennessee Rye. It was held on the rooftop of the beautiful Broadview Hotel, somewhere I’ve wanted to check out ever since the popular rooftop patio opened this summer.
Marta, a Jack Daniels representative told us some pretty cool facts about their new rye whiskey. It’s crafted with 70 percent rye grain bill and natural spring water from an underground spring on Jack Daniel’s property in Lynchburg, Tennessee. The rye is then is poured through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal, which is part of  Jack’s time-honoured charcoal mellowing process. This process is what differentiates a rye from bourbon and gives it that bold balance of spice and smoothness!

The invite only party featured 7 of Ontario’s best bartenders who’ve come up with their own version of the perfect Tennessee Rye cocktail. My friend Becky and I sampled a few that were really creative. One that stood out to us was created by Ottawa bartender Jillian Degenais. It was called the ‘Jack Fancy’, made with Tennessee Rye, sherry, brown sugar syrup, old fashion bitters, carbonated apple cider, apple and cardamom infused foam,  and topped with cinnamon (Whew, what a list). You could tell she really put a lot of effort into her recipe and we were happy to indulge.
Others included ingredients like ginger beer, passion fruit, egg whites, chocolate bitters and lemon juice. There were cocktails to suite every taste! Looking for something a little more ‘classic?’ We would recommend Mitchell Lane’s ‘Jack of all Sage’ concoction with Tennessee Rye, tobacco fig syrup, apple and sage. It kept us warm when snow flurries coated the rooftop.
The Broadview Hotel kitchen seemed to be having fun creating Tennessee Rye infused food, everything from infused pork and ricotta meatballs, tempura shrimp and mushroom pastries were served. It was the perfect complement to our cocktails.
After a few more samples, we joined some new friends in the Jack Daniels escape room. We had to find the recipe to Jack’s new Tennessee Rye before time ran out on the clock or it would be lost forever!...but no pressure. Escape rooms aren’t my forte, and this one was pretty tricky! Maps were pulled out of drawers, longitude and latitudes from Lynchburg were found to crack open the safe, mini Jack Daniel’s barrels were put together, and wooden blocks with ‘secret symbols’ were put together just right to reveal the ingredients.  I have to say, it DOES feel pretty good when you beat the clock!
With the holidays coming up, I would say Tennessee Rye is a great gift for whiskey lover. It was launched into the LCBO about three weeks ago- just in time for the gift giving season. While you’re at it, maybe even grab a bottle for yourself? Hey, I might even see you there!