The Jack Daniel’s Barrel Tree auction will be live through Dec. 21, giving fans of the brand an opportunity to give to Operation Ride Home. The program, which launched in 2011 by Jack Daniel’s and Armed Services YMCA (ASMYCA), sends junior enlisted service members home for the holidays.
Since 2011, Jack Daniel’s and Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) have helped more than 10,000 service members get home for the holidays through “Operation Ride Home.”
The Lynchburg, Tenn. distillery built its first 26-foot tall tree from 140 American white oak whiskey barrels in 2011 to bring holiday cheer to local residents. This year, replicas were constructed nationwide in Nashville, Tenn.; Lynchburg, Tenn., Tampa, Fla.; Miami, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Anaheim, Calif.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Washington D.C.; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; and Milwaukee, Wis.
The top barrel of each will be auctioned to help junior-enlisted service members and families travel home from their place of military service, often for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each charred oak barrel, which was entrusted to mature Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey only once, will be signed by Master Distiller Chris Fletcher and customized with laser engraving.
Since 2011, Jack Daniel’s and ASYMCA have helped send over 10,000 individual service members and their families home – including this year’s travelers – while raising more than $2 million in donations. Men and women from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard have been assisted with travel to all 50 states.