Jack Daniel's is a brand of
Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee Whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee Whiskey disclaim references to ...
produced at Jack Daniel Distillery in
Lynchburg, Tennessee, which has been owned by the
Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956.
Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" Tennessee whiskey sold 12.9 million nine-liter cases in 2017. Other brand variations, such as Tennessee Honey, Tennessee Apple, Gentleman Jack, Tennessee Fire, and
ready to drink
Ready to drink (often known as RTD) packaged beverages are those sold in a prepared form, ready for consumption. Examples include iced tea (prepared using tea leaves and fruit juice) and alcopops (prepared by mixing alcoholic beverages with fru ...
(RTD) products brought the total to more than 16.1 million equivalent adjusted cases for the entire Jack Daniel's family of brands.
Early life of Jasper Daniel
The Jack Daniel's brand's official website suggests that its founder,
Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel, was born in 1850 (his tombstone bears that date
), but says his exact birth date is unknown.
The company website says it is customary to celebrate his birthday in September.
["People" section of Jack Daniel's website]
Retrieved: March 20, 2014. According to the Tennessee state library website in 2013, records list his birth date as September 5, 1846. It maintains that the 1850 birth date seems impossible since his mother died in 1847.
In the 2004 biography ''Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel'', author Peter Krass said his investigation showed that Daniel was born in January 1849 (based on Jack's sister's diary, census records, and the date of death of Jack's mother).
Jack was the youngest of 10 children born to his mother, Lucinda (Cook) Daniel, and father Calaway Daniel. After Lucinda's death, his father remarried and had three more children.
Calaway Daniel's father, Joseph "Job" Daniel, had emigrated from
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with his
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
wife, the former Elizabeth Calaway.
[Jeanne Ridgway Bigger, "Jack Daniel's Distillery and Lynchburg: A Visit to Moore County, Tennessee", ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring 1972), pp. 3-21.] Jack Daniel's ancestry included
English, and
Scots-Irish as well.
Jack did not get along with his stepmother. After Daniel's father died in the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, the boy was legally adopted by a family friend named Felix Waggoner, but was soon taken in by another local farmer named Dan Call.
Career of Jasper Daniel
As a teenager, Daniel was taken in by Dan Call, a local lay preacher and
moonshine
Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...
distiller. He began learning the distilling trade from Call and his Master Distiller,
Nathan "Nearest" Green, an enslaved African-American man. Green was known to specialize in the
Lincoln County Process, a distilling process that filters the whiskey through sugar maple charcoal.
This process created the distinction between
bourbon and the Tennessee whiskey known today. While under Green as an apprentice, Daniel was taught the Lincoln County Process.
Green continued to work with Call after
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
.
In 1875, on receiving an inheritance from his father's estate (following a long dispute with his siblings), Daniel founded a legally registered distilling business with Call. He took over the distillery shortly afterward when Call quit for religious reasons.
The brand label on the product says "Est. & Reg. in 1866", but his biographer has cited official registration documents, asserting that the business was not established until 1875.
[ (page 7 saying "after he was born in 1849", and page 19 saying "By the time Jack was born in January 1849, ...")]
After taking over the distillery in 1884, Daniel purchased the hollow and land where the distillery is now located.
By the 1880s, Jack Daniel's was one of 15 distilleries operating in Moore County, and the second-most productive behind Tom Eaton's Distillery.
[Carroll Van West, Megan Dobbs, and Brian Eades]
National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Lynchburg Historic District
Southern Places Database (MTSU Center for Historic Preservation), 1995. He began using square-shaped bottles, intended to convey a sense of fairness and integrity, in 1897.
According to Daniel's biographer, the origin of the "Old No. 7" brand name was the number assigned to Daniel's distillery for government registration.
He was forced to change the registration number when the federal government redrew the district, and he became Number 16 in district 5 instead of No. 7 in district 4. However, he continued to use his original number as a brand name, since the brand reputation had already been established.
An entirely different explanation is given in the 1967 book ''Jack Daniel's Legacy'' which states that the name was chosen in 1887 after a visit to a merchant friend in Tullahoma, who had built a chain of seven stores.
Jack Daniel's had a surge in popularity after the whiskey received the gold medal for the finest whiskey at the
1904 St. Louis World's Fair. However, its local reputation began to suffer as the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
began gaining strength in Tennessee.
Jack Daniel never married and did not have any known children. He took his nephews under his wing – one of whom was Lemuel "Lem" Motlow (1869–1947).
In failing health, Jack Daniel gave the distillery to Lem Motlow and another nephew in 1907.
Tennessee passed a statewide
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
law in 1910, effectively barring the legal distillation of Jack Daniel's within the state. Motlow challenged the law in a test case that eventually worked its way to the
Tennessee Supreme Court. The court upheld the law as constitutional.
In 1911, Daniel died from
blood poisoning. An oft-told tale is that the infection began in one of his toes, which Daniel injured one early morning at work by kicking his safe in anger when he could not get it open (he was said to always have had trouble remembering the combination). Daniel's modern biographer has asserted, however, that this account is not true.
Because of prohibition in Tennessee, the company shifted its distilling operations to
St Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, Missouri, and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, Alabama. None of the production from these locations was ever sold due to quality problems.
While the passage of the
Twenty-first Amendment in 1933 repealed prohibition at the federal level, state prohibition laws (including Tennessee's) remained in effect, thus preventing the Lynchburg distillery from reopening. Motlow, who had become a
Tennessee state senator, led efforts to repeal these laws, which allowed production to restart in 1938. The five-year gap between national repeal and Tennessee repeal was commemorated in 2008 with a gift pack of two bottles, one for the 75th anniversary of the end of prohibition and a second commemorating the 70th anniversary of the reopening of the distillery.
From 1942 to 1946, the Jack Daniel's distillery ceased operations when the U.S. government banned the manufacture of whiskey due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Motlow resumed production of Jack Daniel's in 1947 after good-quality corn was again available.
Motlow died the same year, bequeathing the distillery to his children, Robert, Reagor, Dan, Conner, and Mary, upon his death.
The company was later incorporated as "Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow, Prop., Inc.", allowing the company to continue to include Motlow in its tradition-oriented marketing. Likewise, company advertisements continue to use Lynchburg's 1960s-era population figure of 361, though the city has since formed a
consolidated city-county
In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...
government with
Moore County. Its official population is more than 6,000, according to the
2010 census.
In 1956, the company was sold to the
Brown–Forman Corporation.
In 1972, the Jack Daniel's Distillery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
In 2012, a Welshman, Mark Evans, claimed to have discovered the original recipe for Daniel's whiskey in a book written in 1853 by his great-great-grandmother. Evans said that his great-great-grandmother's brother-in-law, John "Jack the lad" Daniels, had taken the recipe to Tennessee.
Recent history
Lowering to 80 proof

Until 1987, Jack Daniel's black label was historically produced at 90 U.S.
proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a co ...
(45%
alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...
). The lower-end green label product was 80 proof. However, starting in 1987, the other label variations also were reduced in proof. This began with black label being initially reduced to 86 proof. Both the black and green label expressions are made from the same ingredients; the difference is determined by professional tasters, who decide which of the batches would be sold under the "premium" black label, with the rest being sold as "standard" green label.
A further dilution began in 2002 when all generally available Jack Daniel's products were reduced to 80 proof, thus further lowering
production cost
Cost of goods sold (COGS) (also cost of products sold (COPS), or cost of sales) is the carrying value of goods sold during a particular period.
Costs are associated with particular goods using one of the several formulas, including specific ident ...
s and
excise tax
file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
es.
["Weaker Jack Daniel's Becomes Spirits Strongman"]
''Advertising Age
''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...
'', May 16, 2005. This reduction in alcohol content, which was done without any announcement, publicity or change of logo or packaging,
was noticed and condemned by ''
Modern Drunkard Magazine'', and the magazine formed a
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
drive for drinkers who disagreed with the change.
The company countered that it believed consumers preferred lower-proof products, and said that the change had not hurt the sales of the brand.
The petition effort garnered some publicity and collected more than 13,000 signatures, but the company held firm with its decision.
["A Legacy Betrayed"]
, Modern Drunkard Magazine, 2002. A few years later, ''
Advertising Age
''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...
'' said in 2005 that "virtually no one noticed" the change, and confirmed that sales of the brand had actually increased since the dilution began.
Jack Daniel's has also produced higher-proof special releases and premium-brand expressions at times. A one-time limited run of 96 proof, the highest proof Jack Daniel's had ever bottled at that time, was bottled for the 1996 Tennessee Bicentennial in a decorative bicentennial bottle. The distillery debuted its 94 proof "Jack Daniel's Single Barrel" in February 1997. The Silver Select Single Barrel was formerly the company's highest proof at 100, but is available only in
duty-free shops
A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...
. Now, there are '
single barrel barrel proof' editions, ranging from 125 to 140 proof.
Sales and brand value status
Jack Daniel's Black Label Tennessee Whiskey is the best-selling whiskey in the world and remains the flagship product of Brown–Forman Corporation. In 2017 the product had sales of 12.9 million cases. Underlying net sales for the Jack Daniel's brand grew by 3% (−1% on a reported basis). Other brand variations, such as Tennessee Honey, Gentleman Jack, and Tennessee Fire, added another 2.9 million cases to sales. Sales of an additional 800,000 equivalent cases in
ready to drink
Ready to drink (often known as RTD) packaged beverages are those sold in a prepared form, ready for consumption. Examples include iced tea (prepared using tea leaves and fruit juice) and alcopops (prepared by mixing alcoholic beverages with fru ...
(RTD) products brought the fiscal year total to more than 16.1 million equivalent adjusted cases for the entire Jack Daniel's family of brands.
Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire were also solid contributors to the total underlying net sales growth of 3% (flat on a reported basis) for the Jack Daniel's family of brands. They grew underlying net sales by 4% and 14% (3% and 18% on a reported basis), respectively. Premium brand Gentleman Jack grew underlying net sales mid-single digits, while the RTD/RTP segment increased underlying net sales by 6% (3% on a reported basis).
In the IWSR 2013 World Class Brands rankings of wine and spirits brands, Jack Daniel's was ranked third on the global level. More recently, in 2017, it ranked at number 16 on the IWSR's Real 100 Spirits Brands Worldwide list. Additionally, the brand evaluation consultancy ''Intangible Business'' ranked Jack Daniel's fourth on its Power 100 Spirits and Wine list in both 2014 and 2015.
Sponsorships

From 2006 until 2015, Jack Daniel's sponsored
V8 Supercar teams
Perkins Engineering and
Kelly Racing. Jack Daniel's also sponsored the
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...
07 car (numbered after the "Old No. 7") in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States.
The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
from 2005 to 2009, beginning with driver
Dave Blaney
David Louis Blaney (born October 24, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. Blaney was a successful Sprint car racing, sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR, competing in both the Sprint Cup Series ...
and soon moving to
Clint Bowyer. Jack Daniel's also sponsors
Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...
's tours.
In September 2022, Jack Daniel's signed a multi-year partnership deal with
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
starting from the 2023 season onwards. As part of the partnership, Jack Daniel's released a McLaren Racing limited edition of the Old No. 7 which paid tribute to the founders of both companies – Jack Daniel and
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
. For the
2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren raced a special Jack Daniel's branded livery with a Jack Daniel's collage highlighted across both cars' rear sidepod and engine cover.
Master distillers
Former Master Distillers include
Nathan "Nearest" Green (1875–81), Jess Motlow (1911–41), Lem Tolley (1941–64), Jess Gamble (1964–66), and Frank Bobo (1966–92).
Jimmy Bedford held the position for 20 years.
Bedford retired in mid-2008 after being the subject of a $3.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the company that ended in an out-of-court settlement, and he died on August 7, 2009, after suffering a heart attack at his home in Lynchburg.
Jeff Arnett, a company employee since 2001, became Master Distiller in 2008. On September 3, 2020, Arnett announced that he was stepping down from the company. On April 20, 2021, he announced that he and partners were opening Company Distilling, a new whiskey distillery, near the Great Smokey Mountains.
Chris Fletcher became the 8th Master Distiller in 2020 after serving as Assistant Master Distiller for six years prior. Fletcher is the grandson of former Master Distiller, Frank Bobo.
Tennessee Squires
A Tennessee Squire is a member of the Tennessee Squire Association, which was formed in 1956 to honor special friends of the Jack Daniel's distillery. Many prominent business and entertainment professionals are included among the membership, which is obtained only through recommendation of a current member. Squires receive a wallet card and deed certificate proclaiming them as "owner" of an unrecorded plot of land at the distillery and an honorary citizen of
Moore County, Tennessee.
Production process
The
mash for Jack Daniel's is composed of 80% corn, 12% rye, and 8%
malted barley, and is distilled in copper stills.
It is then filtered through stacks of
sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
.
The company refers to this filtering step as "mellowing". This extra step, known as the
Lincoln County Process, removes impurities and the taste of corn.
The company argues this extra step makes the product different from bourbon. However, Tennessee whiskey is required to be "a straight Bourbon Whiskey" under terms of the
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...
and Canadian law.
A distinctive aspect of the filtering process is that the Jack Daniel's brand grinds its charcoal before using it for filtering. After the filtering, the whiskey is stored in newly handcrafted
oak barrels, which give the whiskey its color and most of its flavor.
The product label mentions that it is a "
sour mash
Sour mash (or sourmash) is a process used in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to adjust the acidity of a new mash. The term can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in such a process, and a bo ...
" whiskey, which means that when the mash is prepared, some of the wet solids from a previously used batch are mixed in to help make the fermentation process operate more consistently. This is common practice in American whiskey production. (, all
straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, normal person
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing
* Str ...
bourbon is produced using the sour mash process.)
Prior to 2014, the company's barrels were produced by Brown-Forman in Louisville, Kentucky. That year, the company opened a new cooperage in
Trinity, Alabama.
Legal status
On a state level, Tennessee has imposed stringent requirements. To be labeled as
Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee Whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee Whiskey disclaim references to ...
, it is not enough under state law that the whiskey be produced in Tennessee; it must meet quality and production standards. These are the same standards used by Jack Daniel's Distillery, and some other distillers are displeased with the requirements being enshrined into law.
On May 13, 2013, Tennessee Governor
Bill Haslam signed House Bill 1084, requiring the Lincoln County process to be used for products produced in the state labeling themselves as "Tennessee Whiskey", with a particular exception tailored to exempt
Benjamin Prichard's, and including the existing requirements for bourbon.
As federal law requires statements of origin on labels to be accurate, the Tennessee law effectively gives a firm definition to Tennessee whiskey, requiring Tennessee origin, maple charcoal filtering by the Lincoln County process prior to aging, and the basic requirements of
bourbon (at least 51% corn, new oak barrels, charring of the barrels, and limits on
alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...
concentration for distillation, aging, and bottling).
In 2014 legislation was introduced in the Tennessee legislature that would modify the 2013 law to allow the reuse of oak barrels in the Tennessee whiskey aging process. Jack Daniel's Master Distiller Jeff Arnett vehemently opposed the legislation, arguing the reuse of barrels would require the use of artificial colorings and flavorings, and would render Tennessee whiskey an inferior product to Scotch and bourbon.
The company was the subject of a proposal to locally
surtax
A surtax is a tax levied upon another tax, also known as tax surcharge.
Canada
The provincial portion of the value-added tax on goods and services in two Canadian jurisdictions, Quebec and Prince Edward Island, was formerly calculated as a sur ...
its product in 2011. It was claimed that the distillery, the main employer in a
company town
A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
, had capitalized on the bucolic image of
Lynchburg, Tennessee, and it ought to pay a tax of $10 per barrel. The company responded that such a tax is a confiscatory imposition penalizing it for the success of the enterprise. The proposed tax faced a vote by the Metro Lynchburg-Moore County Council and was defeated 10–5.
Moore County, where the Jack Daniel's distillery is located, is one of the state's many
dry counties
In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties no ...
. While it is legal to distill the product within the county, it is illegal to purchase it there. However, a state law has provided one exception: a distillery may sell one commemorative product at a time, regardless of county statutes.
Labels
* Old No. 7, also known as "Black Label": this is the original Jack Daniel's label (80 proof/40%
ABV; previously 90 proof/45% ABV until 1987).
* Gentleman Jack: Charcoal filtered twice, compared to once with Old No. 7 (80 proof/40% ABV)
* Single Barrel: (94 proof/47% ABV)
* 1907: sold in the Australian market (74 proof/37% ABV)
* Añejo Tequila Barrel-Finished Tennessee Whiskey: limited edition
* Bottled-In-Bond only on military bases (100 proof/50% ABV)
* Green Label: A lighter-bodied bottling of Old No. 7 (80 proof/40% ABV)
* No. 27 Gold: Limited release (80 proof/40% ABV)
* Silver Select: (100 proof/50% ABV).
* Sinatra Select: named for
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
(90 proof / 45% ABV)
* Sinatra Century: limited edition released for Sinatra's 100th birthday (100 proof / 50% ABV)
* Single Barrel Barrel Proof (125–140 proof / 62.5–70% ABV)
* Single Barrel Rye: launched 2016 (94 proof/47% ABV)
* Single Barrel Select Eric Church Edition (94 proof/47% ABV)
* Tennessee Rye: (90 proof/45% ABV)
Liqueur
* Tennessee Honey: Honey liqueur blended with less than 20% whiskey (70 proof/35% ABV)
* Tennessee Fire: Cinnamon liqueur blended with less than 20% whiskey (70 proof/35% ABV)
* Tennessee Apple: Apple liqueur blended with less than 20% whiskey (70 proof/35% ABV)
* Winter Jack: Seasonal blend of apple cider liqueur and spices (30 proof/15% ABV)
Distillery

The Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg is situated in and around a hollow known as "Stillhouse Hollow" or "Jack Daniel's Hollow", where a spring flows from a cave at the base of a
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
cliff. The limestone removes iron from the water, making it ideal for distilling whiskey (water heavy in iron gives whiskey a bad taste).
The spring feeds into nearby East Fork Mulberry Creek, which is part of the
Elk River watershed. Some 1.9 million barrels containing the aging whiskey are stored in several dozen barrelhouses, some of which adorn the adjacent hilltops and are visible throughout Lynchburg.
The distillery is a major tourist attraction, drawing more than a quarter of a million visitors annually.
[Beth Haynes,]
HomeGrown: Jack Daniel's Distillery
", WBIR.com, December 4, 2012. Retrieved: March 21, 2014. The visitor center, dedicated in June 2000, contains memorabilia related to the distillery and a gift shop. Paid tours of the distillery are conducted several times per day and a premium sampling tour is also offered.
In February 2016 a $140 million expansion was announced for the distillery, including a plan to expand the visitors center and add two more barrel houses.
Mixed Drinks
* Jack Daniel's is the alcoholic component of "
Jack and Coke", a common variant of a
highball also known as Bourbon and Coke.
[Walker, Tracy]
Walker
. "It's clear that brown spirits have gained momentum, particularly the Tennessee whiskey segment." Retrieved February 1, 2007. In January 2016'', Food and Beverage'' magazine dubbed the drink "The Lemmy" in honor of singer and bassist from the band
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
,
Lemmy Kilmister
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...
, who died in December 2015, as it was his regular drink.
* Jack Daniel's is also the alcoholic component of "
Lynchburg Lemonade".
* Jack Daniel's is a common choice for the Tennessee Whiskey component of the "
Three Wise Men
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
".
Gallery
File:Grain mill at Jack Daniel's Distillery.jpg, Grain mill at Jack Daniel's Distillery
File:Whiskey barrels.jpg, Whiskey barrels in the distillery
File:Whiskeybarrels.JPG, Inside the barrels
Cultural references
Notable drinkers of Jack Daniel's
*
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
was a Jack Daniel's drinker. He was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel's in 1998.
*
Lemmy Kilmister
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...
of
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
cited Jack Daniel's as his drink of choice. Often in media appearances he would be seen drinking Jack Daniel's and
Coke, and he reportedly drank a whole bottle every day for 38 years.
*
Eric Church
Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released seven studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billb ...
, Country singer/songwriter, wrote a song called Jack Daniels on his Chief album. Later he partnered with Jack Daniels and created Eric Church Single Barrel Select.
Cover art
* The cover of
Mel McDaniel’s 1980 album ''
I'm Countryfied'' featured a design based on the label of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
* The cover of
Patrick Wensink's book ''Broken Piano for President'' featured a design based on the label of Jack Daniel's whiskey, which resulted in a
cease-and-desist
A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the other ...
letter from the company. However, the whiskey company said it could be done upon the book's next reprinting and it would compensate the author if he chose to comply during the current run.
* The cover of
''The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band'', an autobiography collectively written by the members of the rock band
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
, includes a bottle design based on that of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
* The
Charlie Daniels Band
Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and p ...
album ''Way Down Yonder'' depicts bottles of Jack Daniel's on its cover art.
See also
*
Outline of whisky
The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
Whisky (also "whiskey") – Distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage made from Fermentation in food processing, fer ...
*
List of historic whisky distilleries
* Major competitor brands
**
George Dickel, the other major brand of Tennessee whiskey, produced by
Diageo PLC (introduced in 1964)
**
Jim Beam
Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced primarily at James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky by Suntory Global Spirits.
It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohi ...
, the largest-selling Kentucky bourbon whiskey, produced by
Suntory Global Spirits
Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces alcoholic beverages.
It is the th ...
(introduced in 1933)
**
Evan Williams, another high-selling brand of Kentucky bourbon whiskey, produced by
Heaven Hill
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private family-owned and -operated American distillery, founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a vari ...
(introduced in 1957)
* Sister brands produced by Brown–Forman
**
Old Forester, a historically important brand of Kentucky bourbon whiskey (introduced in 1870)
**
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Reserve is a brand of premium small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced at Woodford Reserve Distillery, in Woodford County, Kentucky, by the Brown-Forman Corporation.
It is made from a mixture of copper pot still spi ...
, a newer premium brand of Kentucky bourbon whiskey (introduced in 1996)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Brown–Forman brands
Tennessee whiskey
Distilleries in Tennessee
American brands
Tennessee cuisine
Tourist attractions in Tennessee
Tourist attractions in Moore County, Tennessee
National Register of Historic Places in Moore County, Tennessee
1866 establishments in Tennessee
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
Moore County, Tennessee
Lynchburg, Tennessee