Introduction:
Jack Daniel’s takes great pride in adhering to the traditional recipe developed by its founder, Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel. Legend has it that this recipe, which led to the creation of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, was his seventh attempt to achieve the perfect mash for the whiskey. There are various theories about the “7” in the name: some believe it refers to his seventh experiment, others suggest it was a government registration number, and still others speculate it might have been a tracking number from a railway company on a barrel. While the exact origin of the “7” remains uncertain, what’s clear is that Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 is renowned worldwide.
This whiskey boasts a light and smooth body, with a slightly oily texture and sweet aromas reminiscent of honey and vanilla. It also features notes of oak and chocolate, contributing to its distinctive flavor profile.
The Production:
Jack Daniel’s not only maintains its traditional recipe but also adheres to a classic production process. While modern technology is incorporated, the methods of mashing, distilling, charcoal mellowing, and maturing remain true to the nineteenth-century approach.
Following the original recipe created by founder Jasper Daniel, Jack Daniel’s is crafted from a mash comprised of 80% corn, 12% malted barley, and 8% rye. The corn and barley are sourced from the United States, while the rye originates from various regions in Canada. The grains are stored in large silos, with eight for corn, two for rye, and two more for barley.
The Mashing:
A key contributor to the smooth flavor of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is the water sourced from a nearby spring. This water flows through layers of limestone, effectively filtering out any iron content. The outcome is exceptionally smooth water, free from bitterness, making it perfect for mashing corn, barley, and rye. Notably, no external enzymes are introduced to initiate the conversion from starch to sugar; the process relies solely on the natural enzymes present in the malted barley.
Jack Daniel’s distillers adhere to the traditional sour mash process, wherein a small portion of the previous batch’s mash is added to the new one. This practice contributes to the consistency and character of their whiskey.
The Fermentation:
Jack Daniel’s operates 64 fermenters, each with a capacity of 40,000 gallons. While this might seem substantial, it’s necessary to meet the demands of a continually expanding whiskey market. To maintain consistency and aroma over time, Jack Daniel’s employs its proprietary yeast strain for fermentation. This yeast is introduced to the mash and works its magic over a span of several days until the beer is fully prepared for the next steps in the process.
The Distillation:
The beer is transferred to column stills that are heated from the base using steam. These stills are crafted from copper, a crucial material as copper acts as a catalyst, enhancing the smoothness of the spirit. After passing through the column stills, the spirit proceeds to a copper doubler, where it undergoes a sort of second distillation. Once this process is completed, the spirit is cooled via condensers, bringing it to the next stage.
If the spirit were filled into barrels and aged, it would be referred to as Bourbon. However, to meet the criteria for Tennessee Whiskey, it undergoes charcoal mellowing.
The Charcoal Mellowing:
The newly distilled spirit, often referred to as white whiskey, is directed into large tanks containing charcoal. This process is meticulously done drop by drop, allowing the white whiskey to trickle slowly through the charcoal. During this journey, which spans 10 feet (3.3 meters) of finely ground and compacted charcoal, the spirit is meticulously filtered. This filtration step further enhances the already smooth character of the spirit.
The charcoal utilized in this process is produced on-site. It’s created by a gradual burning down of bundles of wood specifically, the wood sourced from hard sugar maple trees.
The Warehouses:
Jack Daniel’s employs multi – level warehouses for aging its whiskey. These warehouses vary in height, some reaching three stories while others extend to seven stories. Each warehouse houses thousands of barrels ranging from seven thousand to even more used in the maturation process.
The distinct temperature variations between the bottom and top of these warehouses result in slight differences in how the whiskey matures. Jack Daniel’s strategically leverages this variance by storing barrels for different products in specific positions within the warehouses. The aging process typically spans four to six years at the Jack Daniel Distillery, depending on the particular product and the barrel’s unique influence.
All the barrels are crafted from fresh American white oak and are toasted before being filled with the white whiskey. To ensure the quality of the casks, Jack Daniel’s maintains its own cooperage.
The Bottling Lines:
Given the scale of production at Jack Daniel Distillery, multiple bottling lines are in operation. These lines are tailored to the various whiskey products, such as the Jack Daniel’s Single Cask Edition. The bottling, labeling, corking, and quality checks are all carried out in sequence on these lines.
Interestingly, the label on Jack Daniel’s bottles hasn’t always been black. In its early days, founder Jasper Jack Daniel began with a green label. It was only after his passing that his nephew made the decision to change it to the iconic black label we recognize today.
The History:
Jasper Newton Daniel, commonly known as Jack Daniel, was born in Lynchburg. The exact date of his birth remains uncertain, with sources suggesting 1846, 1850, or a more specific September date. Jack lost his mother shortly after birth and due to a large family and his father’s remarriage, he left home at around six or seven years old. He was taken in and raised by Dan Call, a local Lutheran Minister and distiller. Under Call’s guidance, Jack learned about the art of whiskey-making.
Around the age of 14, Jack purchased the distillery in Lincoln County from Call. He soon relocated to Lynchburg, drawn by the pristine spring water that was ideal for whiskey production. Jack refined the production process, developed his signature whiskey recipe, and registered his distillery, becoming the first registered distillery in the United States.
Although Jack Daniel never married or had children, he named his nephew, Lem Motlow, as his heir. Jack passed away in 1911, reportedly due to complications from a toe injury that led to infection and blood poisoning.
During Prohibition, which began in Tennessee in 1910, Lem Motlow moved to St. Louis to continue distilling. As Prohibition expanded across the country in 1920, the Jack Daniel Distillery was forced to close. Lem Motlow returned to Lynchburg and, as a Tennessee state senator, successfully lobbied for the re-opening of a distillery in Lynchburg. The distillery resumed operations in 1938, though Lem had to promise not to permit on – site consumption of the whiskey.
After Lem Motlow’s death in 1947, his children managed the business until they sold the Jack Daniel Distillery to the Brown – Forman Corporation in 1956.
Visitor Center
Despite the fame brought to Lynchburg and Moore County by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, the consumption of alcohol remains prohibited in the area. This is due to a law dating back to the Prohibition era that has not been overturned. There’s a small exception to this rule: the sale of whiskey is permitted at the distillery and its visitor center.
The visitor center, constructed in 1999, offers insights into the history of Jack Daniel and the distillery. Guided tours, lasting about an hour, are available from Monday to Sunday, running from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
Visitor information:
Jack Daniel’s Distillery
133 Lynchburg Highway
Lynchburg
Tennessee 37352, USA
Tel: +1(615) 759-6180
Information about the Distillery: |
|
| Number of bottles: | 0 Bottles |
| Country, Region: | USA, Tennessee |
| Coordinates: | -86.368101 35.285284 |
| Status: | Active |
| Company: | Brown Forman |
| Official Website: | http://www.jackdaniels.com/ |
Introduction:
Jack Daniel’s takes great pride in adhering to the traditional recipe developed by its founder, Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel. Legend has it that this recipe, which led to the creation of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, was his seventh attempt to achieve the perfect mash for the whiskey. There are various theories about the “7” in the name: some believe it refers to his seventh experiment, others suggest it was a government registration number, and still others speculate it might have been a tracking number from a railway company on a barrel. While the exact origin of the “7” remains uncertain, what’s clear is that Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 is renowned worldwide.
This whiskey boasts a light and smooth body, with a slightly oily texture and sweet aromas reminiscent of honey and vanilla. It also features notes of oak and chocolate, contributing to its distinctive flavor profile.
The Production:
Jack Daniel’s not only maintains its traditional recipe but also adheres to a classic production process. While modern technology is incorporated, the methods of mashing, distilling, charcoal mellowing, and maturing remain true to the nineteenth-century approach.
Following the original recipe created by founder Jasper Daniel, Jack Daniel’s is crafted from a mash comprised of 80% corn, 12% malted barley, and 8% rye. The corn and barley are sourced from the United States, while the rye originates from various regions in Canada. The grains are stored in large silos, with eight for corn, two for rye, and two more for barley.
The Mashing:
A key contributor to the smooth flavor of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is the water sourced from a nearby spring. This water flows through layers of limestone, effectively filtering out any iron content. The outcome is exceptionally smooth water, free from bitterness, making it perfect for mashing corn, barley, and rye. Notably, no external enzymes are introduced to initiate the conversion from starch to sugar; the process relies solely on the natural enzymes present in the malted barley.
Jack Daniel’s distillers adhere to the traditional sour mash process, wherein a small portion of the previous batch’s mash is added to the new one. This practice contributes to the consistency and character of their whiskey.
The Fermentation:
Jack Daniel’s operates 64 fermenters, each with a capacity of 40,000 gallons. While this might seem substantial, it’s necessary to meet the demands of a continually expanding whiskey market. To maintain consistency and aroma over time, Jack Daniel’s employs its proprietary yeast strain for fermentation. This yeast is introduced to the mash and works its magic over a span of several days until the beer is fully prepared for the next steps in the process.
The Distillation:
The beer is transferred to column stills that are heated from the base using steam. These stills are crafted from copper, a crucial material as copper acts as a catalyst, enhancing the smoothness of the spirit. After passing through the column stills, the spirit proceeds to a copper doubler, where it undergoes a sort of second distillation. Once this process is completed, the spirit is cooled via condensers, bringing it to the next stage.
If the spirit were filled into barrels and aged, it would be referred to as Bourbon. However, to meet the criteria for Tennessee Whiskey, it undergoes charcoal mellowing.
The Charcoal Mellowing:
The newly distilled spirit, often referred to as white whiskey, is directed into large tanks containing charcoal. This process is meticulously done drop by drop, allowing the white whiskey to trickle slowly through the charcoal. During this journey, which spans 10 feet (3.3 meters) of finely ground and compacted charcoal, the spirit is meticulously filtered. This filtration step further enhances the already smooth character of the spirit.
The charcoal utilized in this process is produced on-site. It’s created by a gradual burning down of bundles of wood specifically, the wood sourced from hard sugar maple trees.
The Warehouses:
Jack Daniel’s employs multi – level warehouses for aging its whiskey. These warehouses vary in height, some reaching three stories while others extend to seven stories. Each warehouse houses thousands of barrels ranging from seven thousand to even more used in the maturation process.
The distinct temperature variations between the bottom and top of these warehouses result in slight differences in how the whiskey matures. Jack Daniel’s strategically leverages this variance by storing barrels for different products in specific positions within the warehouses. The aging process typically spans four to six years at the Jack Daniel Distillery, depending on the particular product and the barrel’s unique influence.
All the barrels are crafted from fresh American white oak and are toasted before being filled with the white whiskey. To ensure the quality of the casks, Jack Daniel’s maintains its own cooperage.
The Bottling Lines:
Given the scale of production at Jack Daniel Distillery, multiple bottling lines are in operation. These lines are tailored to the various whiskey products, such as the Jack Daniel’s Single Cask Edition. The bottling, labeling, corking, and quality checks are all carried out in sequence on these lines.
Interestingly, the label on Jack Daniel’s bottles hasn’t always been black. In its early days, founder Jasper Jack Daniel began with a green label. It was only after his passing that his nephew made the decision to change it to the iconic black label we recognize today.
The History:
Jasper Newton Daniel, commonly known as Jack Daniel, was born in Lynchburg. The exact date of his birth remains uncertain, with sources suggesting 1846, 1850, or a more specific September date. Jack lost his mother shortly after birth and due to a large family and his father’s remarriage, he left home at around six or seven years old. He was taken in and raised by Dan Call, a local Lutheran Minister and distiller. Under Call’s guidance, Jack learned about the art of whiskey-making.
Around the age of 14, Jack purchased the distillery in Lincoln County from Call. He soon relocated to Lynchburg, drawn by the pristine spring water that was ideal for whiskey production. Jack refined the production process, developed his signature whiskey recipe, and registered his distillery, becoming the first registered distillery in the United States.
Although Jack Daniel never married or had children, he named his nephew, Lem Motlow, as his heir. Jack passed away in 1911, reportedly due to complications from a toe injury that led to infection and blood poisoning.
During Prohibition, which began in Tennessee in 1910, Lem Motlow moved to St. Louis to continue distilling. As Prohibition expanded across the country in 1920, the Jack Daniel Distillery was forced to close. Lem Motlow returned to Lynchburg and, as a Tennessee state senator, successfully lobbied for the re-opening of a distillery in Lynchburg. The distillery resumed operations in 1938, though Lem had to promise not to permit on – site consumption of the whiskey.
After Lem Motlow’s death in 1947, his children managed the business until they sold the Jack Daniel Distillery to the Brown – Forman Corporation in 1956.
Visitor Center
Despite the fame brought to Lynchburg and Moore County by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, the consumption of alcohol remains prohibited in the area. This is due to a law dating back to the Prohibition era that has not been overturned. There’s a small exception to this rule: the sale of whiskey is permitted at the distillery and its visitor center.
The visitor center, constructed in 1999, offers insights into the history of Jack Daniel and the distillery. Guided tours, lasting about an hour, are available from Monday to Sunday, running from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
Visitor information:
Jack Daniel’s Distillery
133 Lynchburg Highway
Lynchburg
Tennessee 37352, USA
Tel: +1(615) 759-6180
Information about the Distillery: |
|
| Number of bottles: | 0 Bottles |
| Country, Region: | USA, Tennessee |
| Coordinates: | -86.368101 35.285284 |
| Status: | Active |
| Company: | Brown Forman |
| Official Website: | http://www.jackdaniels.com/ |