Brands
Gentleman Jack launches nationwide Whiskey Sour cocktail battle
30-plus bars across six cities will serve local takes on the classic cocktail
Mumbai: Gentleman Jack has launched Gentleman Sour Month, a nationwide campaign bringing together more than 30 premium bars across Gurgaon, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata to give the classic Whiskey Sour a regional makeover.
The campaign invited bartenders to reinterpret the cocktail using ingredients, flavours and cultural influences associated with their cities. Each participating venue featured two serves: the Classic Gentleman Sour and an original regional expression created exclusively for the campaign.
The initiative culminated on World Whiskey Sour Day on 25 August with a City vs. City Whiskey Sour Battle. Bartenders competed by balancing the traditional structure of the cocktail with distinctive local flavours.
A mystery jury will evaluate entries based on the recipe, presentation and number of serves ordered during the campaign. The winning bartender will receive an opportunity to visit the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, while the top 12 shortlisted bartenders will receive a Jack Daniel’s selection set.
Brown-Forman, director, marketing, Indian Sub-Continent & Maldives, Vinay Joshi said, “The Whiskey Sour has remained relevant across generations because there is a discipline to its simplicity, but also considerable room for imagination.”
Joshi said the campaign aims to explore how a classic cocktail can evolve as it moves from one city to another, with Gentleman Jack providing a consistent base for experimentation.
Gentleman Jack is charcoal mellowed twice, once before maturation and again afterwards. The Tennessee whiskey has oak, caramel and vanilla notes, which the brand says complement both the classic serve and its regional variations.
Participating venues include Slink & Bardot, Permit & Co., Sixteen33 and Bandra Born in Mumbai; Vicoli, Hosa, The Quorum, Lair and Comorin in Gurgaon; and Muro, Bar Spirit Forward and Bar WILD in Bengaluru.
Consumers can order both Gentleman Sour serves at participating venues and contribute to the City vs. City challenge through their purchases. The winning bartender and cocktail will be announced on social media after the campaign concludes.
The campaign puts a local spin on a global cocktail, turning the Whiskey Sour into a city-by-city showcase of bartender creativity.
