Jack Daniel's is the most popular whiskey brand from the United States, with more than 6 million bottles sold annually. Before the proclamation of Prohibition in the United States, there were many alcohol producers in Tennessee; today there are only two “dinosaurs” left - Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel.
Both distilleries produced regular bourbon until 1941. But then the state government decided that, thanks to a special filtration technique, whiskey produced in Tennessee deserved to have the status of geographical origin. All products produced in the state began to be called Tennessee Sour Mash - “Tennessee whiskey made from sour mash.”
Production technology
It is the cold filtration process using charcoal that gives the drink its unique taste and rich aroma. This method was invented by Alfred Eaton, but was named after the county where it was first used - Lincoln County process. It is generally accepted that Jack Daniel built his distillery exactly in the place where Eaton's distillery was previously located. The Lincoln Process is the only technological difference between Tennessee whiskey and bourbon.
Tourists visiting Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg are shown every stage of whiskey production, starting with the burning of the maple logs. This process has been turned into a show and worked out to the smallest detail. Special plant workers pour water on huge stacks of burning logs: if you don’t control the temperature of the fire, you will end up with ash, not coal. The resulting maple charcoal is filled with huge column filters, then Tennessee whiskey is filtered drop by drop through this charcoal for a whole week.
Maple charcoal filtration differentiates Tennessee whiskey from bourbon Since filtration occurs before the spirits are poured into barrels, and not before bottling, already filtered, pure whiskey is aged in oak barrels charred from the inside, which must absorb the aroma and shades of wood. Refined whiskey acquires softness, roundness and a pleasant light smokiness. After this, the drink is sent for aging. Visitors are offered to try freshly distilled whiskey (White Lightning) and unaged whiskey that has been filtered - the difference is huge.
History of Jack Daniel's Whiskey
The history of the brand dates back to 1866, when Jack Daniel purchased a property near Lynchburg that had a source of spring water filtered with limestone. This land was formerly a part of Lincoln county, but is now in Moore county. In the same year, Daniel was the first in the United States to register his whiskey distillery. At that time, the founder of the brand was no more than 20 years old - documents about his birth have not been preserved, so the exact year of birth is not known. Despite such a young age, Jack had very extensive knowledge: he bought his first still at the age of 14 and made good money making alcoholic beverages.
Company founder Jasper Newton Daniel In the eighties, Jack was joined by his nephew Lem Motlow, who convinced his uncle to sell whiskey not in barrels or ceramic jugs, but in bottles. This became a strategic decision - bottled whiskey could be exported. Another important milestone for the brand was in 1895, when Daniel was shown a square bottle. Since then, Jack Daniel's whiskey has been bottled in such containers. The labels on the bottles were originally green, but after Jack's death in 1911 the color was changed to black.
The brand is now owned by Brown-Forman. Since 2008, the seventh master distiller, Jeff Arrnet, has been at the helm of production.
Awards
For more than a century and a half of the whiskey distillery's existence, Jack Daniel's has received many awards:
- 1904 - Gold medal at the World's Fair in St. Louis;
- 1905 - Gold medal at the World Exhibition in the Belgian city of Liege;
- 1913 - Gold medal at the Ghent Whiskey Competition;
- 1914 - Gold medal of the Anglo-American Exhibition in London;
- 1915 - Gold Medal and Certificate from the Institute of Hygiene in London;
- 1954 - Star of Quality in Brussels;
- 1981 - Gold medal with palm leaves in Amsterdam.
A special series of “Gold Medals” whiskeys, produced from 1996 to 2006, are dedicated to these awards.
One of the most counterfeited brands in the world - Jack's real name is Jasper Newton Daniel.
- Daniel purchased the plot of land on which the distillery is located today for $2,148. At that time, this was a huge amount, and few people would so easily part with money when purchasing a wasteland. True, the land was located next to a cave from which the Cave Spring spring flowed with fabulously clear water.
- The maturation barrels are made from white oak and are used only once, after which the company sells them to brewers, Scotch whiskey and sauce producers. Each barrel is assembled from 33 planks, connected without the use of nails or glue.
- Whiskey is produced in the “dry” Moore County, where the sale of alcoholic beverages is still prohibited, so you can only purchase whiskey directly at the distillery or through the distillery’s website.
- Frank Sinatra was one of the most devoted fans of the brand: the musician was even buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old No.7.
There are several myths of varying degrees of authenticity regarding the appearance of the name Old No.7. Romantics believe that “seven” encrypts the number of girls to whom Jack was partial at different times. Perhaps this is how Daniel described the most successful recipe, the seventh in a row. Another version concerns the story of the disappearance of a batch of whiskey carried by train number 7.
How to drink Jack Daniel's whiskey
The ideal temperature for Jack Daniels is room temperature, between 18-22 °C. At higher temperatures, the taste becomes harsh; over-chilled whiskey loses its rich aroma. Most connoisseurs of Tennessee whiskey are inclined to believe that it is best to drink it undiluted.
The only thing that can complement the magic of a bouquet is a good cigar.
Types of Jack Daniel's whiskey
- Jack Daniels, 40%. Classic whiskey of a noble amber-golden hue. The aroma contains spices, nuts, and vanilla. The taste is elegant, rich, multi-layered, first notes of caramel appear, and then a bright aftertaste of smoke.
- Jack Daniel's Old No7, 40%. The most “titled” whiskey of the brand. It has a sweet aroma with tones of burnt caramel, milk chocolate, figs, and tobacco. The taste contains notes of vanilla, wood, sweet fruit, and toffee. The aftertaste is long, bright, warm, with notes of oak, vanilla, and a creamy finish.
- Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, 35%. Whiskey based on honey liqueur is an excellent choice for the fair sex. It has a pronounced honey taste and aroma. The aftertaste is long, enveloping, fruity.
- Gentleman Jack, 40%. Whiskey has a pleasant aroma with tones of burnt oak, light nutty and citrus intonations. The harmonious taste is enriched with hints of licorice and spices; special softness and smoothness is ensured by repeated filtration after ripening. There is a legend according to which Jack developed the recipe for the drink for one of his mistresses, which is where its name comes from.
- Jack Daniel's Unaged Rye, 40%. Unaged white whiskey with a unique grain composition: 70% rye, 18% corn and 12% barley malt. The aroma is smooth and fresh, with malty notes, floral tones, and woody nuances. The taste is balanced, bright, with hints of ginger.
- Jack Daniel's White Rabbit Saloon, 43%. The release of the limited edition was timed to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the White Rabbit bar, opened by Jack Daniel. The aroma is quite intense, with hints of vanilla, caramel, candy, spices, and there are bright oak notes. The taste is sweet, soft, rounded, there are notes of baked apple, banana, and a slight tannin. The aftertaste is salty, with a slight nutty bitterness.
- Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Rye, 47%. Super premium whiskey, double carbon filtered. The bottle shows the bottling date and barrel number. The bouquet is replete with tones of caramel and oak, which complement the shades of candied fruits. The taste is rich, with maple-corn sweetness and barely audible sourness. Ideal in its pure form, if you add ice, then one cube is enough.
- Jack Daniel's Sinatra Century, 50%. Limited edition released to commemorate Frank Sinatra's 100th birthday. The numbered bottles are packaged in gift boxes and come with a live CD of Old Blue Eyes. The bouquet is rich with sweetish notes of creme brulee, nutmeg, peanuts, and warm ripe watermelon. The palate is velvety and layered, with a hint of vanilla cream.
- Jack Daniel's 150th Anniversary, 50%. Released for the company's 150th anniversary. Aroma with notes of honey, cinnamon, hints of sweet fresh fruit. The taste is soft, quite light and round, sweetish-tannin with notes of nuts, caramel, and pollen. The aftertaste of the drink is pleasant, of medium duration; oak and vanilla are felt at the finish.
We thought about it and decided to organize a “Success Story” section. In it we will tell the stories of ordinary people whose bold ideas grew into successful businesses. Everyone could use a little motivation and inspiration sometimes.
What kind of business?
Jack Daniel's is the only drink of its kind that bears the name of its founder. Whiskey has an incomparable taste, a special recipe and the famous tetrahedral bottle.
Where did it all start?
Many businessmen dream of their name being cemented in history, but only a few are able to make a brand out of a name.
One of the most striking examples is Jack Daniel. He is known throughout the world for having founded a luxury whiskey company and named it after himself. In fact, Jack is a family nickname; his real name is Jasper Daniel.
The future tycoon was born into a poor family in Tennessee and was the youngest of 10 children. Apparently, this gave him the necessary qualities to fight in creating the greatest brand. Due to the fact that his mother died when the baby was only a year old, the priest of the church, Dan Call, played the role of mentor in Jack's life.
From the age of 7, the boy worked part-time at a distillery (a small factory where bread wine is made) for this clergyman. After Call’s death, as a reward for his work and a sign of his father’s love, he decided to inherit the plant to his successor. So at the age of 13, Jack became the owner of an entire business.
The history of the company, which dates back to 1866, has many ups and downs. She had to survive several wars, prohibition and changes in power. However, this not only did not bankrupt them and did not destroy the business. The brand was able to gain worldwide recognition and receive many international awards. This undoubtedly serves as proof of the highest quality of the product.
Now what?
The secret of Jack Daniel's success is not just words about the value of preserving traditions, but sincere love and respect for the family business. Everything, from the name of the drink to the appearance of the bottle, is the work of Daniel himself.
After his death in 1911, his nephew took over the helm of the company and decided not to change the ideal whiskey recipe. He made every effort to ensure that the life’s work of his uncle, who never had time to start a family due to work, flourished. The business leaders from its very foundation are only Jack's descendants.
The company now has annual revenues of over $125 million and only 365 employees.
This is a truly striking example of the fact that business is not education and parents’ money. Rather, it is hard work, strong motivation and boundless love for what you do. The Jack Daniel's whiskey brand is a combination of competent marketing, perfectly calibrated production technology and respect for family traditions.
The company's golden rule:
“Everything I do, I must do well. As long as we make whiskey, we will make it as good as we can.”
"Mayak 13" is your beacon in the world of business.
Actually, speaking, “Jack Daniel’s” is not a person, but a brand. This is the name of the brand of whiskey, which is produced in the USA in the state of Tennessee. This whiskey is famous for its good taste and also for the fact that it does not irritate the throat, like other drinks with a high alcohol content.
The softness of Jack Daniel's whiskey and its special taste are due to three factors. Firstly, because it is prepared using the purest spring water without iron impurities. It was to such a spring, gushing from a mountain near the city of Lynchburg, that Jack Daniel at one time moved his whiskey production enterprise, which will be discussed below. Secondly, the fact that the whiskey is aged for about four years in branded charred American white oak barrels. Moreover, these barrels are not reused. They are either sold to wineries or broken down and made into furniture from the staves. They say the furniture turns out to be fragrant! The third and most important secret of Jack Daniel’s is the slow filtration of freshly produced whiskey through a three-meter layer of coal. This coal is obtained by burning sugar maple logs, which grow only in North America. With this filtration, the whiskey is completely cleared of fusel oils and the rough taste that these oils impart to the product. Thanks to this, the whiskey tastes very pleasant. Even gentle ladies can drink it without any harm to health. Joke.
As you can see, in the production of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, so many purely American products are used that it can only be produced in America. And if you also consider that Jack Daniel’s is made from corn and a small amount of barley, then no doubts will arise. Before us is purely American whiskey, bourbon. After all, in Europe whiskey is made from wheat and barley.
So, having proven that “Jack Daniel’s” is not a “who,” but a “what,” let’s tell you a little about the man who gave probably the most famous American whiskey his first and last name, Jack Daniel.
Jack Daniel's real name was Jasper ( Jasper Newton Daniel). He was born in 1850. His European ancestors include Welsh, Scots and Irish. So Jack’s subsequent interest in the production of strong drinks can be said to be genetically determined.
Jack Daniel was born in Lynchburg, Tennessee. At the age of seven, he got a job at a distillery owned by the priest Dann Call, where they made whiskey, a favorite drink among the people. It was here that he saw how whiskey was refined using maple charcoal. When, at the age of 13, Jack himself purchased a distillery, he began to practice this expensive production method there, which, however, produced a wonderful product.
As already mentioned, the taste of whiskey is determined mainly by the quality of the water. When a spring was discovered in the vicinity of Lynchburg, the water in which was very tasty, Jack Daniel “captured” this territory, transferring all his production to the spring. Today, at the source, there is a monument to Jack Daniel, proudly trampling on an oak barrel buried in the ground in which the drink matures. The Jack Daniel's Distillery is the oldest whiskey distillery in the United States.
Jack Daniel was not married and had no children. But this does not mean at all that, while producing a cheerful drink, he himself was deprived of the joys of life. Not at all, as drunken intellectuals say. According to Lynchburg gossips, he had 7 mistresses. That is why, these old witches claimed, Jack gave number 7 to the best variety of his whiskey.
The success story of the popular Tennessee whiskey Jack Daniel's clearly shows us that it is not at all necessary to graduate from prestigious universities or be the heir of a wealthy father in order to succeed in your business. Ardent interest in what you do and the desire to win are the basis of success.
Perhaps the most popular whiskey in the world, Jack Daniel's, was created by a man who had neither an MBA nor wealthy parents. However, this brand embodies the perfect combination of unrivaled marketing and a meticulous technological process.
How it all began
Jasper Newton Daniel was born in Tennessee in the 1840s. They simply called him Jack for short. His family was large, and Jack was the youngest, the tenth child of his parents. His childhood was difficult - he did not remember his mother at all; she died when Jack was barely one year old. Then he began to live either with relatives or with family friends. At the age of 7, Jasper got his first job. Then he did not know that it was this part-time job that would determine his future life.
He began helping priest Dan Call at the distillery, who was producing alcoholic beverages. Among his clients there were a lot of whiskey fans, so Dan Call devoted most of his time to the production of this particular drink. His young assistant turned out to be much smarter than one might think. Jack absorbed everything his mentor taught him like a sponge. Thanks to his ability to produce drinks, at the age of 13 he began to manage the distillery on his own.
Dan Call taught Jack a special technology for making whiskey, and it was then that the teenager realized: “Everything I do, I must do well”. Subsequently, he transferred this motto to his brand. The Jack Daniel's brand slogan is: “As long as we make whiskey, we will make it as good as we can.”
The technology Jack mastered was both simple and complex at the same time. It was called Lincoln County Process, and was quite popular in the area after which it was named. The secret was to slowly filter the drink, using large amounts of sugar maple charcoal. After this procedure, the whiskey acquired a special softness and refinement. However, many whiskey producers at that time believed that a real man's drink should not be smooth and were not willing to invest in the use of this technology.
In addition, to produce good whiskey it was necessary to use tasty water. Near his hometown, Jack noticed a spring, the water in which turned out to have a special taste. He began to use it in making whiskey. These two components are the production technology Lincoln County and spring water - and made Jack's whiskey special. The drink, with a taste unlike any other, was originally called Belle of Lincoln.
First fame and worldwide recognition
In 1866, Jack Daniel's company received a patent for the production of alcoholic beverages. It is this figure that can be seen on the labels of the drink, despite the fact that the official registration of the company as a factory occurred only 9 years later.
The first fans of this drink purchased it in clay bottles with oak stoppers. On each bottle, Daniel himself carved his own signature inscription – “Mister Jack”. A little later, glass containers for alcohol became popular, and Jack began to bottle and sell his drink in round-shaped glass bottles. All bottles were engraved with the name of the plant.
Nowadays, for us, the square Jack Daniel’s bottle is familiar and recognizable, but in 1895 (it was then that Jack decided to change the external shape of the container), a square bottle simply broke all ideas about drink containers. In practice, Jack liked this shape - it was more convenient for transportation, took up much less space when transporting a large number of bottles, and looked unusual and attractive in appearance. At the same time, he also replaced the oak stopper with a twist-on stopper, which was also much more convenient.
Jack always knew that a quality product is good, but you also need to be able to attract the attention of consumers to it. His first marketing method was the use of a non-professional orchestra. The musicians played near his establishments “Red Dog” and “White Rabbit”, located in the city of Lynchburg, where Jack was born and raised.
The Jack Daniel's whiskey brand was invented by its creator independently. Jack himself developed the name of the drink and the logo. The full name sounds like Jack Daniel's Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey, but everyone is used to shortening it to the first two words. Jack Daniel's whiskey received its first recognition at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. Whiskeys from all over the world participated in the exhibition. The jury tasted samples of drinks that barely fit on 24 huge tables and recognized Jack Daniel's whiskey as the best in the world.
Business continuation
Jack Daniel was so immersed in his favorite business all his life that he never made time for his family. He had no wife or children, so after his death his nephew Jess Motlow became the heir to the business. Respecting and admiring what his uncle had done in his life, Jess did not dare change anything in the production of whiskey. And there was no need to do this - after all, they loved the drink as it was. When Prohibition and World War broke out, business was in critical decline. Selling whiskey was prohibited, and the distillery risked going bankrupt and disappearing. However, Motlow managed to overcome these times. A couple of years after the end of World War II, activity resumed and began to flourish again.
The first change in whiskey production technology was made in 1988, when Jack Reir began managing the company. His changes to the drink's recipe included filtration (this process was now done twice), as well as the type of charcoal used - instead of sugar maple charcoal, charcoal was used.
Jack Daniel's now
The Jack Daniel's whiskey that we can buy now is only a 4-year-old whiskey. Previously, producers experimented with 12-year-old and even 25-year-old whiskey, but it was decided that the drink acquired its best taste after 4 years of aging. Currently, the Jack Daniel’s line consists of four types of drink: “Gentlemen Jack”, “Silver Select”, “Single Barrel” and “Green Label”.
The current head of the company is Jeff Arnett, who has held this position since 2008. He is the seventh follower of Jasper Daniel's cause. The company employs only about 300 people, and the annual profit of the enterprise is approaching $125 million.
While tasting almost the entire Jack Daniels line, it would be wrong not to tell the story of Jack himself and his distillery. Moreover, there is something to tell. Also unusual for America, the distillery was sold only once in its history, and was run by only two families (Daniels-Motlow, then Brown-Forman). And for a century and a half, not many people have made this whiskey since Jack Daniels himself; today's master distiller Jeff Arnett is only the seventh person to hold this position.
The distillery has always been known for its cutting-edge marketing, even when the word probably didn't exist yet. She always managed to seem smaller than she really was. It grew to a serious industrial scale very quickly, but it has long retained the image of a small farm distillery.
Jack Daniel
Jasper Newton Daniel, better known as Jack Daniel, was born in 1846. He was the youngest, tenth child in a large family. His mother died shortly after his birth, his father remarried, but Jack had a bad relationship with his stepmother and father. Already at the age of six, he left home and began to live with his neighbor Felix Waggoner. Felix and his wife were not related to the Daniels family, but they accepted Jack as their own son. Although he did not stay with them either, at the age of seven he moved in with Dan Cole and his wife Mary Jane. Dan was a Lutheran minister. But the main thing is that this married couple had their own store, and Jack helped them there at first. And in addition to the store, there was also a distillation cube, on which Dan distilled whiskey, and then sold it in his store. But while Dan was combining these activities, the Temperance Movement was gaining momentum across the country, and in the end Dan had to respond to his family's requests and stop selling whiskey.
The cube, interestingly, remains there, but young Jack begins to manage it, but he can no longer use Dan’s store, so he begins to travel to Huntsville, Alabama and sell whiskey there. During the Civil War, Jack continues his activities. Huntsville was occupied by Northern soldiers. Little is known about his activities during this period, most likely because the sale of alcohol to soldiers was prohibited, and Jack (as an adult his height was 160 cm and weight 50 kg) was simply engaged in smuggling.
When Jack was 18 years old, the Civil War ended, but by this time he had already saved a lot of money and gained invaluable practical experience by selling his whiskey. After paying Dan Call in full for his equipment, he realizes he needs to move closer to the railroad tracks to grow, so he heads to Tullahoma. Teaming up with Colonel John Mason Hughes, a Civil War hero who had just returned home from the war, he moved equipment to his Lynchburg farm—and greatly expanded production in the process.
However, he soon moves again - after seeing an offer to lease land near the Cave Spring stream, he instantly responds to it. The purest water of the stream was well known in the area; it remained the same temperature throughout the year - it did not contain iron and was ideal for whiskey. Jack moved production here in 1866 and again significantly increased capacity.
When the US government decides to collect taxes from distillers, it is met with strong resistance and widespread shirking of these responsibilities. Jack Daniels, however, not only immediately fills out the forms, but also heads to Washington to quickly complete the paperwork and become the first registered distillery in the States. Whether he succeeds or not is unknown, but it is absolutely certain that of the current operating distilleries in the United States, the Lynchburg distillery is the oldest, although of course it has been modernized more than once since then.
It must be recalled that at this stage Jack is just reaching the age of 20. In the following years, he continues to develop the business and expand production. The distillery is officially named Jack Daniel's Old Time Distillery, and the whiskey is called Old Time No. 7. All barrels sent to different points for sale are marked with a stencil.
He quickly became a successful businessman. He stood out in the crowd - short, 1m 65cm. Dressed like a Southern distiller from back in the day. Wears a long dark coat and a white hat with a brim. He had a beard and mustache. He was generous and well known in the area. He often hosted large parties at his mansion on the outskirts of Lynchburg.
In 1892, Jack opened two bars in Lynchburg called The White Rabbit and Red Dog. The main trade in alcohol at that time took place in bars, so this became a completely logical step.
When the whiskey begins to be distributed in glass containers, Jack chooses an unusual square bottle, which has retained this shape to this day.
Having received a gold medal at the St. Louis Fair in 1904, Jack made the most of it and used this fact extensively in advertising. At the same time, he released a special edition in specially shaped bottles called Jack Daniel's Gold Medal Whiskey.
Lem Motlow
Jack's nephew came to work for Jack in 1886. He learned a lot over the years, and when Jack died of blood poisoning in 1911 (by unsuccessfully kicking the safe in his office while angry, breaking his toe), Lem inherited the distillery during difficult times. Prohibition was declared in Tennessee in 1910. Moving to St. Louis for the next 9 years, he continued production there until his distillery burned down. Then he moves to Alabama, where he is caught by national Prohibition. Unlike many surviving large distilleries, Lem does not obtain a license to produce whiskey for medical purposes. But during the period of Prohibition he gained fame as a breeder of mules and horses. He was twice elected to the lower house of the state legislature, and then twice to the Tennessee State Senate. Tennessee remained “dry” even after the repeal of national Prohibition, but Lem managed to push through a decision to hold a local referendum on permission to produce whiskey (the sale of whiskey in the county where the distillery is located is still prohibited). The referendum is successful and in 1938 the distillery resumes production.
The trends of new times are immediately noticeable - Lem has to sue Shivel for a long time over the name Jack Daniels, and wins only because he conducts his factory business under the name Jack Daniels Company.
But to launch such production without stocks of old whiskey, a lot of money is needed. Some investors are bailing out, fearing for their investments. Lem offers his old enemies in litigation, Shively, cooperation, but they refuse. As a result, by selling permission to use the name Jack Daniels to sell someone else's whiskey, Lem collects enough money to restart his production.
In 1941, Lem persistently asked government agencies to recognize that his whiskey was different from bourbon. One of the sons goes to Washington with whiskey samples and explains the filtration process and how it affects the character of the whiskey. Finally, tormented by such pressure, the IRS, the American tax authority, responds with a letter in which it says that this Jack Daniel’s whiskey “does not meet the characteristics of bourbon or rye whiskey” and is “a special product that may also be called whiskey.” This is when Tennessee whiskey appears, although before that Jack Daniels was labeled as bourbon.
Lem Motlow's four sons, who inherited the distillery after his death in 1947, once again expanded production and built many warehouses on the hill around the distillery. Having problems with financing in 1959, they sold the company for $20 million to family-owned Brown-Forman of Kentucky. They themselves remain in charge of production, and one of the sons, Regor Motlow, is on the board of directors of Brown-Forman. The deal turns out to be very successful for Brown-Forman; Jack Daniel’s still brings in more than half of the company’s profits.
Brown-Forman managed its acquisitions as wisely as Jack and Lem. Successful marketing, including the use of stars to promote their whiskey, does its job - whiskey becomes legendary, and America is no longer conceivable without it.
Briefly about miscellaneous things
- It was previously believed that the pioneer of the Lincoln Country Process - filtering whiskey through charcoal - was Alfred Ethan, who used this practice at his distillery in Tullahoma in 1825. Although most students of the history of American whiskey agree that he was not a pioneer, but this simply the earliest documented case. Most likely, such filtration was a common procedure for many early distillers - the product then often turned out not very good, and this was the only way to make whiskey of that time at least a drinkable liquid. Later, documentary evidence was found that such filtration was practiced not only in Tennessee, but also in Kentucky. But Kentucky distillers later abandoned this expensive and slow procedure. Or perhaps aging in charred barrels made this process unnecessary.
- Although Jack Daniels is called Tennessee whiskey and not bourbon, it is produced using exactly the same technology as bourbon, and could very well still be called that. And filtration through coal does not contradict the rules of bourbon, at the same time it is not mandatory for Tennessee whiskey.
- Jack uses a grain mixture with 12-15% rye, 8% barley malt, and the rest is corn.
- At WhiskeyFest in San Francisco in October 2012, Jeff Arnett, master distiller of Jack Daniels, will present a new rye whiskey, apparently Jack will not pass by the rye whiskey boom and will make his contribution.
- There are four whiskey distilleries in Tennessee. Jack Daniel's, George Dickel's, Collier and McKeel and Pricard's. Only the latter does not use carbon filtration.
Well, now let's take a walk...
I visited the distillery in May 2011. I am always infuriated by the bans on photography, and when you can’t take pictures of the most interesting things (the production itself), I lose interest in the camera and often forget that you can also take interesting photos around. But there is something.
Outdoor ovens where stacked cubes made from sugar maple boards are burned.
Here the coal is loaded and taken away.
Here is the coal itself.
Distilleries have always been a fire hazard. Now fire safety is ensured by automation, but back then there was a fire brigade at each distillery. At Jack Daniels it was preserved as a museum exhibit.
The same Cave Spring. The stream in the cave that Jack chose this place for.
And here is the distillery itself.
A warehouse can be seen on the mountain in the center of the frame. In fact, there are more than forty of them.
Very large, simply huge columns. Fully automatic, in the corner of the hall there is a control room fenced off with glass walls, in which there is only one person - a woman looking at the monitors. The doublers don't show us, we go through the fermentation room. Surprisingly, the vats are wooden.
We go out onto the roof.
On the roof you can see many vats that even grow from the roof of the building. For example, a “beer well”, a container where mash is stored after fermentation.
From the roof we walk through the room where the whiskey is filtered. More precisely, on the floor where only the very top of the filtration column is located. The tubes cross over the column and slowly, drop by drop, whiskey drips from numerous holes, and then flows through a multi-meter layer of coal. Coal is changed every six months. We enjoy the smell in this room. We leave and go downstairs.
Below are old low-rise warehouses.
And here is the visitor center.
The scale of the guest center is, of course, amazing. Already in the parking lot. I've been to a lot of distilleries in Scotland and Kentucky, but there's nothing even close to this. The parking lot is the same size as the largest American mall. In this case, you can only stand in the place from which someone else is leaving. Hundreds of people are crowding the visitor center. Groups of 30-40 people go on excursions every five minutes, at each stop we wait a little while the “object” leaves the previous group. It seems like there are another thousand people on the excursion route. Having received a token at the entrance with the group number for your turn, you have to wait another half hour. But it was a weekend and a beautiful sunny day. It should be easier on weekdays.
***The source of information on the history of Jack Daniels were two books - “Classic American Whiskeys” by Mark Waymack and James Harris, and “Bourbon, Straight” by Chuck Cowdery.
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