Peabody Hotel celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, offering room package deals, selling special merchandise, and hosting events like the upcoming Jack Daniel’s Tasting and Dinner.
“Without Jack Daniel’s, there might not be Peabody ducks,” says Kelly Brock, director of marketing and communications at The Peabody Memphis. “It was Jack Daniel’s that our general manager Frank Schutt and his friend Chip Barwick were drinking in 1933 when they decided to play a prank and put ducks in the fountain.”
Peabody Memphis
Whiskey off a duck’s back
The ducks have been a staple in the hotel ever since this event, often referred to as “the taste that started a tradition.”
“Over the years, we’ve created a connection between ourselves and Jack Daniel’s,” says Brock. “We have now had two teams of ducks that have retired to the Jack Daniel’s distillery’s cave spring. So they swim around in the same water that is used to make Jack Daniel’s, and they feed off the corn from the back of the truck.”
On the 75th anniversary of the Peabody ducks in 2008, The Peabody and Jack Daniel’s developed an official partnership when Jack Daniel’s began supplying single barrels of whiskey, carefully selected by the hotel staff with the guests in mind, called Jack Daniel’s Peabody Select Single Barrel.
The whiskey has been a centerfold in the hotel’s menu ever since, and now, JD’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett leads a drink tasting, featuring the Jack Daniel’s Peach Sour, limited edition whiskeys (including Jack Daniel’s own 150th anniversary variety), and whiskey-inspired hors d’oeuvres. Afterward, guests will enjoy a three-course dinner paired with whiskey-infused glazes and sauces.
Jack Daniel’s Tasting and Dinner, The Peabody Memphis, Thursday, November 7th, 6-10 p.m., $150.
