Jack Daniels Whiskey

Every story has a beginning, and every legend has a starting place. In this case Jasper Newton Daniel was born in September 1846. His mother passed away 5 months after his birth, he was the last of ten children. At age 6 "Jack" as he was called mad the decision to leave home and live with neighbors due to the fact that he did not get along with his stepmother. Uncle Felix Waggoner and his family took Jack in. He lived with the Waggoners for a year then he went to live with Dan Call and his wife Mary Jane.

Dan Call was just 10 years older than Jack and already an accomplished businessman who needed a little helper. He owned a general store, property, and a still where he mad whiskey that he sold in his store. Jack started off by helping Mary Jane in the store. Here he was able to learn things like arithmetic by counting money, reading and writing. First and foremost he learned how to be an honest businessman.

At about age eight Jack began helping Dan at the still, where he learned a considerable amount about making whiskey. Jack saved his money and bought himself a team of mules and a wagon. By the time he was 10 years old he was buying whiskey from Dan Call which he then sold off his wagon to other country stores in the area.

Dan Call not only owned a whiskey still just outside of Lynchburg, he was also a Lutheran minister. In September of 1863, when Jack was only 13 years old he purchased the still from Dan Call when he made the decision to devote his life to his ministry.

In search of the perfect signature bottle, Jack Daniel abandoned the traditional round glass mold bottle for a unique square bottle with a fluted neck. "A square bottle for a square shooter," Jack used to say. Jack Daniel's now familiar square bottle first appeared in 1895 with the first effort at distillery bottling. Up until this point he was still shipping whiskey in barrels and jugs. Once established this bottle shape has remained to this day. Originally only available in quart size, today square bottles are available in all popular sizes for Jack Daniel's Whiskey. Bearing the name of the distillery, the signature bottle is also adorned with the honors awarded to the whiskey since its inception.

The first bottle was clear glass, quart size and 11" high with a fluted bowed neck, cork stopper and embossed with "Old Time Distillery No. 7 (in a circle) Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tenn (c. 1895).

After the Civil War was over Jack moved his distillery to Cave Springs Hollow near the little town of Lynchburg at that time still in Lincoln County, although now in Moore County. About the time he got his distillery settled in the Cave Springs Hollow, the federal government had started the regulation of spirits during the war, which was extended to the South when the war was over. Every distiller was required to register with the government, and a tax was levied in the amount of $2.00 on every proof gallon of whiskey produced.

Mr. Jack filled out his papers on his new distillery. He registered his new Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee. Little did he know that more than one hundred years later these papers would make his distillery the oldest registered distillery in the country.

A new still, a new name. And now, Mr. Jack showed his pride by labeling the whiskey he made. The barrels and jugs sported stencils showing that they contained Jack Daniel's Whiskey. Mr. Jack had begun to advertise!

As it is stated on the official website, "Some folks might think the label on our Old No. 7 Whiskey Bottle is kind of cluttered. But there's a lot packed on that label. A list of gold medals Jack Daniel's has won. A little history, and some of the many stories that make Jack Daniel's unique!"

AWARDS

• 1904 First gold medal won by Jack Daniel's Whiskey at the World's Fair in St. Louis


• 1905 First international gold medal won in Liege, Belgium


• 1913 Won gold in Ghent, Belgium


• 1914 Gold medal awarded during the Anglo-American Exposition in London


• 1915 The Certificate of the Institute of Hygiene was presented in London.


• 1954 The Star of Excellence awarded in Brussels, Belgium


• 1981 Gold medal from Institute Pour Les Selections De La Qualite, Amsterdam

Come and explore the label of Jack Daniel's Old No. 7

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In 1907, Jack Daniel gave the distillery to his nephew, Lem Motlow. Why after so much success did Jack leave the distillery to his nephew? As the story goes, Jack arrived at work early one morning and tried to open the safe in his office. The thing is he couldn't recall the combination. In his frustration, he gave the safe a good, solid kick. The blow broke his toe and an infection set in, leading to the blood poisoning that would take his life in 1911. Some people say Jack Daniel not only left his Tennessee Whiskey behind, he left us all a valuable lesson as well: Don't go to work early.

With the introduction of prohibition in 1920 until 1933 all production ceased. Even the Twenty first Amendment enactment did not allow production in Lynchburg to restart as the state prohibition laws were still in effect. Motlow, as a Tennessee state senator, helped repeal these laws, allowing production to restart in 1938. The five year gap between national repeal and Tennessee repeal is commemorated in 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.

The U.S. government banned the manufacture of whiskey during World War II and a little beyond, 1942 - 1946 Motlow resumed production of Jack Daniels only in 1947 after good quality corn was again available.

When the company was later incorporated, it was incorporated as "Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow, Prop., Inc" This has allowed the company to continue to include Lem Motlow, who died in 1947, in its marketing, since mentioning him in the advertising is technically just citing the full corporate name. Likewise, the advertisements continue to say that Lynchburg has only 361 people, thought he 2000 census reports 5,740. This is allowable because the entire label was trademarked in the early 1960s when this figure was the actual population cited by the Census Bureau, changing the label would require applying for a new trademark or forfeiting a trademark protection. However, the census population includes all of Moore County, as the county and city governments are consolidated. Moore County, where the Jack Daniel's distillery is located, is one of the state's many dry counties. Therefore, 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, regardless of county statutes. Jack Daniel's now sells Gentleman Jack and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel at the distillery's White Rabbit Bottle Shop.

Jack Daniel's do things a little differently, that's part of what gives Jack Daniel's its distinctive character. They Charcoal Mellow their whiskey drop by drop, then let it age in their own handcrafted barrels. They do not follow a calendar. Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey is ready only when their tasters say it is. They use their senses, just like Jack Daniel himself did. In fact, more than a century later, their Tennessee Whiskey is still judged the same way. By the way it looks. By the way it smells. And of course, by the way it tastes.

Why And How Do They Charcoal Mellow:
Jack Daniel believer "Every day we make it, we'll make it the best we can." For him, that meant mellowing his whiskey drop by drop through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal. Seven generations later, they still mellow their whiskey just as Mr. Jack did. The reason is simple: it imparts a distinctive smoothness folks have come to expect from Jack Daniel's. Charcoal Mellowing makes Jack Daniel's what it is - a Tennessee Whiskey and not a Bourbon. It refines their whiskey's rich flavor ever before they fully mature it in barrels of their own making. It's a painstaking process that demands extra attention and makes their whiskey a bit more costly to craft. But Mr. Jack wouldn't have it any other way.

A Mature Taste:
We all know age isn't the same thing as maturity. It's true of people and it's true of whiskey. Experience determines maturity. It's what a whiskey experiences while inside the barrel and not simply how long it's been there that gives it the rich color, character, and taste that we call mature. Mellowing their whiskey through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal, crafting their own barrels, and placement in the barrelhouse, each contribute to how the whiskey matures. Age by itself isn't a reliable measure of a whiskey's quality and character. Which is why their tasters tell when the whiskey is ready. They judge its quality the same way we do - with a sip.

It's Not Just Any Barrel
An important part of making a quality whiskey is making a quality barrel. That's why they devote the same care and attention to barrel making as they do to making Jack Daniel's itself. We start by selecting the very best white oak for the barrel staves. Their craftsman fit the staves together by hand, then carefully toast and char th inside of the barrel to caramelize the wood's natural sugars. It's from the toasted oak that the whiskey draws its rich amber color, distinctive flavor, and finish. They entrust their whiskey only to new white oak. The barrel's quality is o important to them that they are the only distiller who goes to the extra effort and expense to craft their own barrels.