The first choice of first mates.
They say a good reputation is more valuable than money. And in the eyes of sea-faring pirates, a reputation earned through whiskey is worth a whole lot more.
Jack had an eye for quality that extended all the way to the fixtures in his home. His latest acquisition was an imported Italian marble mantle that was to be the centerpiece of his Lynchburg estate. But before his import could reach the mainland, the vessel carrying it was attacked, looted, and sunk by a band of pirates in the Caribbean Sea. All was lost.
Or perhaps not.
Turns out these pirates were some of the earliest “Friends of Jack.” Upon inspecting their plunder, the pirates discovered the marble mantle…and to whom it was addressed. Just a moment before sinking the ship, they decided to spare Jack’s mantle, all out of apparent regard for the man responsible for their fine Tennessee sippin’ whiskey. Quite the show of respect for a group of men known to show very little of it.
Appears that the lyrics to the classic pirate chantey, “Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum,” might not have been an entirely accurate representation of a pirate’s drink of choice.
