Jack Daniel Distillery - Lynchburg, TN

This may be an obvious post, given that we live in Lynchburg, but the Jack Daniel Distillery is a neat place to visit. 

Holding the distinction as the oldest registered distillery in the United States, is the location where every drop of Jack Daniel whiskey is produced.  The history of the distillery is interesting as well, as Jack Daniel was an actual historic person. 

Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel was born in 1850.  The exact date of his birth is in some dispute. Jack was one of 13 children born to his father Calaway Daniel.  His mother Lucinda Cook Daniel bore 10 of those children prior to her death. Calaway Daniel remarried, but apparently Jack did not like his step-mother.  After his father's death in the Civil War, Jack ran away from home at the age of 7.

Jack was taken in by a local moonshiner/preacher named Dan Call and began to learn the craft of distilling whiskey.  Recently, documentation has come to light that suggests that Daniel learned the trade not from Call but from his slave Nearis Green. 

Daniel gradually took over the business after Call had a spiritual reawakening and eventually purchased the land that currently contains the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. 

Competition, however, was fierce in Moore County with Jack Daniel's still being one of 15 operating stills in the county.  Daniel started to gain greater fame in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair where he was the gold medal for the finest whiskey there. 

In his personal life, Jack Daniel never married - although he had the reputation of being a ladies man.  In 1911, Daniel died from blood poisoning which was said to have originated after he broke his big toe while kicking a safe in his office. This story is still being told on the tour of the distillery in spite of the belief in some circles that it may not be true. 

Upon his death, one of Jack's nephews, Lem Motlow, ran the distillery for the next 40 years. The distillery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the major employer in Moore County, TN.  In spite of the fact that whiskey is made in here, Moore County technically remains a dry county. 

We toured the Distillery shortly after moving to Lynchburg.  It had been more than 20 years since I had originally done the tour, but little had changed, except for the building of a new visitor's center. This tour also coincided with a visit by my parents. 

Dad and Zac outside the Visitor Center at Jack Daniel Distillery

The "new" (since my last visit) visitor's center is quite nice.  When we did the tour, it was still free.  I understand that Jack Daniel is now charging for even the basic tour.  There is also a tasting tour which is a little more pricey, but worth it if you want to drink from the source.

This is a "life-sized" statue of Jack Daniel in the Visitor Center

The tour start with being bused up to one of the warehouses located on the property. There are warehouses all over Moore County, but these are the oldest.  This is one of the tour changes since my last visit when we were allowed to enter one of the warehouses.  They said that was stopped due to the damage caused by tourists.  The warehouses are generally unheated/uncooled and run about 7 stories tall.  If memory serves correct, there are three layers of barrels on each floor and they are laid out in 90 square barrels.

Dad and Remiel talking to our tour guide.

Our first official stop was the rickyard, where all of the charcoal for the distilling process is made.

The rickyard from on high. 

Sugar maple wood is burned down to make charcoal which is an important part of the Lincoln County Distilling process.

Wood waiting to be burned into charcoal

 As we walked down the hill from the rickyard, we passed the old fire equipment which is maintained on the property.

The next stop on the tour was the cave spring which is the source of the water for Jack Daniel.

 According to our guide, the water is actually drawn well back within the cave.

Dad and Remiel

 Our next stop was the old office for the distillery.

The safe on the left is the one that Jack kicked, which according to our guide, lead to his death.

Moving on, the next stop was the still house.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the stop is the heart of the distilling process for Jack Daniel.

 Here's a panoramic view from the top of the still house steps.

 

One of the warehouses on the Distillery grounds.

 Our tour ended again at the Visitor's Center.

Since we did this , Jack Daniel has begun charging for the tour. I'm not sure exactly how much this is, but is under $20 per person for the regular tour and a few dollars more for the tasting tour.  Additionally, the Distillery has put in a new parking lot across the street to handle the flow of about 250,000 or so visitors every year. You can get more information about the tour here.

Whether your an aficionado of Jack Daniel or not, the tour of the distillery is an interesting look at the process and history of the making of Tennessee whiskey.