Jack Daniel's is a
Tennessee whiskey distillery and brand known for its rectangular bottles and black label. Jack Daniel's is consumed in shots, neat, on the rocks, in mixed drinks (especially "
Jack and Coke") and as an ingredient in several cocktails.
[1][2] It has been prominently featured in movies, songs, and even novels, and is strongly linked to
rock and roll, American
biker culture,
country music and
macho myths.
[3][4][5][6][7] The company, based in
Lynchburg, Tennessee, has been owned by the
Brown-Forman beverage company since 1957.
According to the Jack Daniel's web site, founder
Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel was born in September 1850, although seemingly no one knows the exact date since the birth records were destroyed in a courthouse fire.
[8] If the 1850 date is correct, he may have become a licensed distiller at the age of 16, as the distillery claims a founding date of 1866. Other records list his birthdate as
September 5,
1846, and in his 2004 biography
Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel author Peter Krass maintains that land and deed records show the distillery was actually not founded until 1875. Daniel was one of thirteen children, of
Welsh descent.
Since Jack Daniel never married and did not have any children, he took his favorite nephew, Lem Motlow, under his wing. Lem had a head for numbers and was soon doing all of the distillery's bookkeeping. In 1907, due to failing health, Jack Daniel gave the distillery to his nephew. Jack later died from
blood poisoning from an infection in 1911.
The infection allegedly began in one of his toes, which Daniel injured early one 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).
[9] This incident was the subject of a marketing poster used on the
London Underground in January 2006, with the line: "Moral: Never go to work early."
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 their marketing, as 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, while the current (2000
census) population is actually 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 trademark protection. However, the 361 figure is also used on their website, which has nothing to do with the old label trademark issue. It should be noted, however, that the census designation definition of the city of Lynchburg is the entire area of Moore County, as the county and city governments are consolidated; the actual built area of Lynchburg may still have a small population. Interestingly enough,
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.
[10] Jack Daniel's now sells 'Gentleman Jack', and 'Jack Daniel's Single Barrel' at the distillery's White Rabbit Bottle Shop.
Tennessee ('sour mash') whiskey is similar to bourbon but is different in that it is filtered through maple charcoal in large wooden vats prior to aging.
[11] Tennessee whiskey is also not subject to the regulations relating to bourbons (these regulations cover the use of new barrels and low level of distilling proof).
[12]
In October, 2004 it was announced that all generally-available Jack Daniel's products would thenceforth be bottled at 80
U.S. proof (40%
alcohol by volume), which is the highest proof allowed in some US jurisdictions; this also simplified the production process. (This reduction in alcohol content was condemned by
Modern Drunkard magazine). Previously, the famous black-label brand (the better-quality, higher-priced product) had been 86 proof, where legal, while the lower-end green label was 80 proof; these marked reductions from the previous practice of bottling the black-label product at 90 proof and the green-label product at 86. Both are made from the same ingredients; the difference is determined by professional tasters who determine which of the batches will be graded out as worthy of being labelled with the prestigious black label, the rest being sold under the green label.
In recent years, a third product, 'Gentleman Jack', was created. It has always been bottled at 80 proof since its inception. This premium product is produced in the same manner as other
Tennessee whiskey except that after aging and prior to bottling it is once again subjected to the
Lincoln County Process (charcoal-filtering). There is also now a 94 proof 'Single Barrel' product available in some markets, which has also been sold in commemorative bottles at the distillery in recent years.
The distillery at 280 Lynchburg Highway is part of the
American Whiskey Trail. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on
September 14,
1972. In 2005, Jack Daniel's shipped 7.5 million cases. The company is experiencing a 15-20% growth and anticipates shipping 10 million cases by 2009.
Brand loyalty is strong with the label. Along with an assortment of other items, a flask of Jack Daniel's is buried with singer
Frank Sinatra, whose preference for Jack Daniel's in the 1950s and 1960s helped give the product a very high profile in America.
Lynyrd Skynyrd use the bottle logo design for some of their T-shirts. They were also well known drinkers of Jack before concerts.
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.
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