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Jack Daniel’s Back on the Menu
In 2021, I organized a Ricochet meetup involving a tour of the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. It was a fun day. The origin story of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey was compelling, if maybe a bit romanticized. And I became an enthusiastic consumer of Jack Daniel’s.
But then came their sponsorship of LGBTQ+ and DEI. I am generally a tolerant fellow, but this was beyond the pale: the sexualization of children in targeted drag shows and their abuse and mutilation in “gender-affirming care” is unspeakably evil. I could not support any corporate entity that “celebrated” and promoted that activity. And so Jack Daniel’s was banished from the liquor cabinet. (Of course, other bourbons and whiskeys were available to fill the void.)
Brown-Forman will stop linking bonuses and pay to DEI progress, end its participation in an annual ranking of companies with an LGBTQ-friendly environment and throw out its plans to push for a more diverse group of suppliers, according to a copy of an internal memo posted on X.
The company previously tied 10% of executives’ short-term compensation to progress on DEI goals, according to a 2023 annual report.
Why? Consumer pressure. “Go woke, go broke” is the only way to fight back.
“Since [2019], the world has evolved, our business has changed, and the legal and external landscape has shifted dramatically, particularly within the United States,” company executives told employees in a letter on Wednesday.
“With these new dynamics at play, we must adjust our work to ensure it continues to drive business results while appropriately recognizing the current environment in which we find ourselves.”
So, now, Jack Daniel’s is back on the menu.
Cheers.
Published in General
Customers everywhere need to realize the enormous power they have to influence corporate decision-making. Good for them!
It also pays to be professionally skeptical: those harpy HR women won’t leave willingly. They have been governing extravagant consulting budgets for the last 5-7 years on this stuff. Dining out on it and going to conferences. And you can’t fire female employees of the darker persuasion. I expect companies will drop the DEI designation but look for reports of continuing employee education under another rubric. I’d bet the HR headcount doesn’t go down.
The dropping of DEI is both good and bad. Understand that the LGBTQ+ / DEI stuff was pushed forward as very large companies that were making very good money was looking for angles to sell new product to new customer areas. While there are many that do not care for it, mostly they made more money selling stuff. I suspect what we are now seeing is the economy collapsing much larger and faster than the government is telling and corporation fell may be a long period of time depending on who wins the election. In such a case a good company will follow the Elon Musk view of getting lean and tough. DEI is a game many may not want to play if they need to get lean at this time.
The titles may change but the personnel and functions will remain.
Probably so. Reason enough to continue any boycott for now, as with Bud Light et al.
Otherwise, it’s like, what, they only victimized a FEW children for a while, so it’s okay to start buying again?
Only as long as they remain profitable. If things tighten up, you dump dead weight.
You dump dead weight that is less likely to sue you for discrimination. You might even dump non-dead weight if it’s less likely to sue you than the dead weight is.
I like Jack Daniels, and still drank it in spite of wokeness. However, I’m starting to shift over to Maker’s Mark as my favorite. Tastes change . . .
Nothing wrong with that.
Maker’s on the rocks is my go-to tipple.
Hard to do better.
I drink one finger at room temperature, and it does the trick. [hic] Pardon . . .
Trust but verify. On second thought, don’t trust but do verify.
I drink Jim Beam except for special occasions. I’m drinking Maker’s Mark, the 101 proof, these past few days because it’s all I’ve got: I buy my booze in New Hampshire when I’m there on business, since the state-run liquor stores cost me about half what I pay in New York. (About doubles the value of my car when I have it loaded with my own plus friends and family purchases.)
Both Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark are owned by a subsidiary of the Japanese beverage giant Suntory. Were it Chinese I’d switch brands, but I have no beef with Japan.
Which finger? And which way do you hold it?
Why, the biggest finger (get more booze that way). And I hold it slightly tilted toward the mouth . . .
Jack is my regular go-to whiskey. My favorite is Middleton Very-Rare, but that is just a first sippin’ whiskey and pair it with a My-Fathers-Cigar. It comes in it’s own cute little casket.
I’ve been through the JD tour in Lynchburg. Hint: Gentlemen Jack is a waste of money. The only difference is they run it through the 12′ charcoal filer twice.
The Bud Light fiasco has taken root. All the woke companies have to be running scared. I didn’t pay attention to JD’s wokeness until Robby Starbuck was about to do a story on them. Bud Light, Tractor Supply, Target, Harley, they all caved and I believe we started an avalanche. We do have the power to set these companies straight.