Jack Daniel's Tennessee Squire Association

It was a cold January day during my sophomore year at St. John's.  The phone gave a double ring, which meant that the call came from outside of the all men's campus.  And that meant it could have been a girl.  

After a quick race to the phone, I successfully grabbed the receiver from my roommate and answered with an expectant, "Hello?"  "Hello, Mr. YDP?" came the reply on the other end of the line.  While it was indeed a woman's voice, her calling me by my surname meant this 1) was not going anywhere and 2) likely something bad was going to be discussed.  

She assured me this would be a quick call - she worked for a research company and wanted to talk about adult beverages and my consumption habits.  As college student, talking about drinking seemed like a really good use of my time and I proceeded to provide the nice telemarketing lady my answers, some of which were likely off her charts.  

She concluded by asking what were my favorite top three adult beverages.  "That's easy," I replied, "Beer, whiskey, and vodka."  "No," she corrected, "What are your three favorite brands of adults beverages."  "Easy again - Jack Daniel's, Coors Light, Phillips Vodka." (hey, I was a college kid).  "Mr. Sidders," my telemarketer continued, "I am so happy to hear you say that.  I need to be honest.  I'm not really from the Such and Such telemarketing agency.  I work for Jack Daniel's, and we're looking for loyal customers like you to take part in our Tennessee Squires organization."  She continued to explain to me that as a Squire I would receive a deed for a piece of property down at the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee and that I was encouraged to come down some day and visit my land.  

Sure enough, in the next week, my formal deed arrived in a huge brown envelope, and I still have it to this day.  

Since that time - over 25 years and at least a dozen moves - Jack Daniel's sends me at least one letter from one of my Lynchburg neighbors about my land.  Below is just the latest installment:  

They usually also send one nice gift, usually around Christmas time.  And all of this for zero cost to me.  

So what has this wrought?  Simply my undying loyalty for over 25 years.  Sure, I've drunk other American whiskeys, but I can count on one hand when I've bought anything other than Jack Daniel's.  Heck, I even made a trek to Lynchburg in the '90's to go see the distillery and my property.  They've got me hook, line, and sinker.  

I'm sure every year some new finance guy on their team takes a look at the program on paper and raises the idea of killing off the Squire program to drive the bottom line.  Given what they spend on it on an annual basis, it has to be tempting to drive all of that profit back into the business.  But Jack Daniel's is a unique brand, and I'm sure some senior executive ends up putting their arm around the new finance guy and says something like, "You know, Fuzzy, that's a dern fine idea.  And we sure appreciate you coming up with it.  What say we stop off on the way home tonight and we talk about it over some of Mr. Jack's finest?"  Which is southern for "You don't have a clue, Yankee.  Now shut up."  

For more information on the Tennessee Squires, I found this great website.  Also, any other Jack fans that might be looking for a nomination to the Squires feel free to post up and I'll see what I can do to get you in.