I’m a Nightlife Editor Who Only Drinks Jack Daniel’s, and My Go-To Drink Is Becoming a Rare Find

Inside the battle for bar shelf space, tequila’s takeover, and why classic spirits are being pushed aside by the next big thing.

  • By: Julianne Elise Beffa

There are a few things people learn about me pretty quickly: I always know what parties are happening, I somehow know every bouncer at every door, I probably have a story about the venue we’re standing in, and no matter where we are, I will be ordering a Jack & Coke.

As a nightlife editor who built a career covering the newest restaurants, trendiest bars, and the venues everyone is dying to get into, my drink order is probably the most surprising thing about me. While the industry continues chasing the next viral cocktail, the newest celebrity-backed spirit, or the latest bottle designed to dominate a bar’s Instagram feed, I have remained loyal to a Tennessee whiskey that has been around for more than 150 years. My personal aesthetic probably screams anything but a Jack Daniel’s drinker, which is exactly why my drink order tends to catch people off guard.

My relationship with Jack Daniel’s goes far beyond simply having a favorite drink. I am a Tennessee Squire, a distinction given to nominated members of the Tennessee Squire Association, a group created in 1956 to recognize devoted friends and supporters of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. Select members such as myself receive a symbolic deed to a small piece of land connected to the Lynchburg distillery, making them part of a community built around preserving the history and legacy behind one of America’s most recognizable whiskey brands. For me, Jack Daniel’s is not just a bottle with a long history; it is part of my own. My grandmother drank it, my mom drinks it, and now I do too. It has become a generational tradition passed down through family moments, celebrations, and nights out, creating a connection that goes far beyond what is actually in the glass. It is less of a drink order and more of a family ritual- a reminder that some brands are not just consumed, they become part of the stories people tell.

Essentially, I am the type of person who has a tiny connection to Lynchburg, Tennessee, a town I have never visited, and still gets teased by my friends for ordering the drink they claim makes me “drink like an old man.” They are not entirely wrong. Whenever we go out, someone inevitably looks at my order and laughs, especially when I ask for an espresso martini with Jack Daniel’s. Trust me, it’s amazing.

 In a world where people are ordering cocktails infused with smoke, served in elaborate glassware, or made with ingredients that require a bartender’s full explanation, my preference is almost aggressively simple. I like what I like, and what I like is Jack Daniel’s.

Which is exactly why I have developed a very specific frustration as a nightlife editor: I am increasingly walking into bars and discovering that they do not carry it. And yes, I realize how dramatic that sounds. But there is something strangely jarring about sitting down at a bar, scanning a wall filled with dozens of bottles, and realizing the one thing you are looking for is nowhere to be found. My friends already know what happens next. The bartender tells me they do not have Jack Daniel’s, I briefly question how the establishment made that decision, and I start wondering if this is a sign that we should simply go somewhere else.

The irony is that I spend my career writing about the evolution of nightlife, yet here I am, personally resisting one of the biggest changes happening behind the bar. Because my disappearing Jack Daniel’s is not really about whiskey. It is about how dramatically the places we go out have changed.

Walk into almost any popular bar, rooftop, restaurant, or nightclub today, and the back bar tells a story. There are bottles with celebrity names attached to them, beautifully designed labels meant to be photographed, and tequila brands that seem to have taken over every corner of nightlife. The bottle selection is no longer just about what people drink; it has become part of the atmosphere. And whether we want to admit it or not, tequila has become the main character.

Over the last decade, tequila has transformed from something many people associated with vacation cocktails and birthday shots into the drink that feels synonymous with going out. It is at the hottest restaurants, the biggest parties, the celebrity events, and the festivals everyone wants an invite to. Ordering tequila has become less about the drink itself and more about the moment attached to it. That shift did not happen by accident.

Tequila brands figured out something that nightlife has always understood: people do not just remember what they drank. They remember where they were, who they were with, and how the night felt. The brands that have taken over are the ones that have become part of those memories.

Few brands understand that better than Casamigos. The tequila brand did not simply become popular because it was backed by celebrities. It became popular because it created an entire world around the bottle. Casamigos feels like a mansion party in Los Angeles, a dinner with friends, a warm night somewhere you do not want to end. It is associated with a lifestyle before it is associated with a drink and that is why you see it everywhere.

It shows up at restaurants people are trying to get reservations for, events everyone wants to attend, and moments that immediately feel social media-worthy. It is not just asking people to order tequila; it is making people want to be part of the experience around it.

The best brands are not waiting until someone is sitting at a bar to introduce themselves. They are showing up earlier- at the concert where someone discovers their favorite artist, the festival where they make a weekend of memories, the celebrity event they see online, or the restaurant opening they have been trying to get into.

Nightlife has never really been about the drink, the drink is just the thing you hold while the night is happening.

That is why tequila has had such a powerful moment. It became attached to experiences before it became attached to orders. People are not just ordering a tequila soda; they are ordering into a feeling they have already seen, whether that is a rooftop in Miami, a table at a packed restaurant, or a party they have been waiting all week to attend.

And that is where my Jack Daniel’s dilemma comes full circle. The reason it bothers me when a bar does not carry Jack Daniel’s is not because I think every person should order what I order. It is because brands like Jack Daniel’s represent something that is becoming harder to find in nightlife: history.

My grandmother drank it. My mom drinks it. I drink it. It is a small tradition that connects three generations through something as simple as a drink order. But nostalgia alone cannot keep a brand alive in a world where every night out has become a competition for attention. The brands that last are the ones that can honor their history while continuing to show up in the moments where new memories are being created. Because the battle happening behind the bar is not really about whiskey versus tequila.

It is about which brands become part of the stories we tell after the night is over. And as someone who will probably still order a Jack & Coke anyway, I am just hoping the classics remember that being iconic is not only about how long you have been around. It is about making sure people still have a reason to choose you.

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