Jack Daniel's Whisky

Jack Daniel's whiskey is most often consumed on the rocks, in shots, neat, and in mixed drinks or as an ingredient in multiple libations. The Jack and Coke is an extremely popular drink. The Jack Daniels whiskey and brand have been frequently showcased in songs, movies and novels. The brand has a strong association with rock and roll, country music, the biker culture and macho myths. Brown and Forman has owned Jack Daniels since 1957 and the base of the operation is out fo Lynchburg, Tennessee.

History

Early

The founder of the Jack Daniel's brand of whiskey was born in September of 1850 to the name Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel. Due to the fact that the records were destroyed in a courthouse fire, no one knowns the exact date of his birth. The distillery was founded in 1866, therefore, Jack may have become a licensed distiller at the age of 16. There are some other records that indicate that Jack's birthday was September 5, 1846 and also reports by author Peter Krass in his 2004 biography Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel that the distillery was not actually founded until 1875. Jack was of Irish / Scottish descent and was born into a family of 13 children.

Jack Daniel never had any children and never married, however took Lem Motlow, his favorite nephew under his wing. Motlow was very good in math and performed most of the distillery's bookkeeping. As Jack Daniel's health faded in 1907, he gave the distillery to Len Motlow, his nephew. Jack died in 1911 of a blood poisoning infection.

When the Jack Daniel distillery was incorpoated, the corporate name of the company was "Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow, Prop., Inc." With this name, the company continued to use the name of Lem Motlow in their marketing, even after his death in 1947. Many advertisements for the Jack Daniel brand continue to state that the city of Lynchburg only has 361 people, however in 2000, the cities population was 5,740. Jack Daniel's is able to do this because the company intuitively trademarked the whole label in the early 1960's when the town only had 361. Currently, Jack Daniel's sells Jack Daniel's Single Barrel and Gentleman Jack at the distillery's Bottle Shop called the White Rabbit.

Tennessee whiskey "sour mash" is very similar to bourbon however differs in in that this beverage is filtered through maple charcoal in big wooden vats before the liquor is aged. Another key difference is that Tennessee whiskey is not affected by regulations concerning bourbons. These regulations may cover the low level of distilling proof and the use of new barrels.

Recent

Jack Daniel's announced in 2004, that all available products under the brand would be bottled at 80 United States proof. 80 proof is 40% alcohol by volume. 80 proof is also the highest proof permitted under numerous United States jurisdictions. As a benefit to Jack Daniels, this simplified the production process of the whiskey. Before this change, the famous Black Label Brand of Jack Daniel's whiskey, which was the higher priced and better quality product was bottled at 86 proof and sold in jurisdictions where legal. However the lower end green label Jack Daniels product was bottled at 80 proof. Both of these whiskey products are composed of the same ingredients, however the difference between as conclusively determined by professional whiskey tasters determines which of the products will be worthy of reciving the more prestigious black label.

The Gentleman Jack product is the third and latest entry into the Jack Daniel's brand. Gentleman Jack has always remained at 80 proof since it was first introduced. Gentleman Jack is Jack Daniel's premium product that is produced in a similar fashion as many other Tennessee whiskeys however after the aging process of the liquor and before it is bottled, the Gentleman Jack brand is put through the Lincoln County Charcoal Filtering Process. Jack Daniel's also released a Single Barrel, 94 proof, bottle in some markets.

Part of the American Whiskey Trail sits the distillery at 280 Lynchburg Highway. On September 14, 1972, the distillery was listed within the reputable National Register of Historic Places. Jack Daniel's shipped 7.5 million cases in 2005 and the company continues to experience a 15-20% growth. By 2009, Jack Daniel's estimates that it will ship 10 million cases.

Along with a wide variety of reasons, brand loyalty is extremely strong with the Jack Daniel's brand. Frank Sinatra buried a flask with Jack Daniel's with him and Sinatra was instrumental in boosting sales through the 1950s and 1960s in America. The rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd frequently consumed Jack Daniel's before concerts and used the bottle logo in many T-Shirt designs.

Jack Daniel's sponsored a team in the Australian V8 Supercar series in 2006 and also in 2006 sponsored the number 07 racecar in NASCAR which is driven for Richard Childress Racing by Clint Bowyer.

In 2006, Jack Daniel's sponsored the team Jack Daniel's Racing in the Australian V8 Supercar series. Also in 2006, Jack Daniel's sponsored the number 07 car (numbered after the "Old No. 7") in NASCAR, driven by Clint Bowyer for Richard Childress Racing.

Why # 7?

Though there have been many stories and rumors regarding the use of Old No. 7, no one really knows why Jack Daniel named his whiskey Old No. 7. All stories are simply a guess because nobody ever asked Jack Daniels himself.

Introduced 1875

• Login or register to post comments