Every December, the Forum lights up a towering Christmas tree in its parking lot near the corner of Prairie and Manchester avenues to welcome guests to its end of the year concerts.
But on Tuesday night the iconic concert venue debuted a unique addition to its holiday decor.
In front of a small gathering of staff, press and community members, they lit up a new holiday tree, one comprised of 144 Jack Daniel’s whiskey barrels that once aged the popular spirit. The Forum partnered with the Lynchburg, Tenn. whiskey maker to bring one of the company’s 13 barrel holiday trees to Southern California for the very first time.
“Jack Daniel’s has such a rich history in music and we like to do everything we can to tie into that heritage from all the people who drank it over the years — like Keith Richards and Tom Petty, and now we have a lot of country stars like Chase Rice and you name it — but with that history and the Forum being such a legendary music venue, it makes sense,” said Colin Coleman, the Southern California brand ambassador for Jack Daniel’s.
Each year, Jack Daniel’s constructs these seven-tier barrel trees in major cities throughout the country to celebrate the season. The tree takes about eight hours to build and each barrel weighs approximately 127 lbs.
The company then auctions the barrels that top the trees to benefit its Operation Ride Home program, which helps junior enlisted members of the military and their families travel home from their place of service for the holidays. Jack Daniel’s and the Armed Services YMCA launched this program in 2011 and to date have raised over $2 million in donations, Coleman said.
Bidding for the top-tier barrels will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at jackdaniels.com.
“These things sell like hotcakes,” Coleman said, adding that the barrels are only used once to age the whiskey and are then sold off to consumers or other spirit makers. Through his years with the company, he says he’s seen people repurpose the barrels as tables for their home bar, patio or bathroom decor and even cut in half and used as planters.
As for the extra barrels, the Forum is currently running the Make It Count sweepstakes on its official website through Wednesday, Dec. 8 at thelaforum.com/jdbarreltree. They will choose seven winners to receive four tickets to any show at The Forum with Forum Club access and VIP parking, as well as two barrels from the Jack Daniel’s barrel holiday tree and a Jack Daniel’s prize pack. Entrants must be 21 and older to enter.
Kimberly Cantor, vice president of marketing partnerships at the Forum, said the remaining barrels will be used as tables in the eating and drinking areas in the outdoor terrace.
“The tree we do in our parking lot for our community has always been a wonderful central focal point for sure,” she said. “But it feels good to say, ‘Hey, that top barrel is going to help reunite military families’ and those barrels end up going for thousands of dollars, which is so wild. The barrel tree has been out in our parking lot for about two weeks now but lit up, it’s festive, it’s beautiful and it’s in a visible area for people coming into The Forum or even SoFi Stadium. It definitely adds a festive vibe.”
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