Jack Daniel's

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Jack Daniel's whiskey. For people named Jack Daniels, see Jack Daniels.
Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lem Motlow Prop, Inc.
Type Private
Founded Lynchburg, Tennessee, U.S., 1875
Founder Jack Daniel
Headquarters Lynchburg, Tennessee, U.S.
Key people Jack Daniel (Founder)
Jeff Arnett (7th Master Distiller)
Industry Manufacturing and Distillation of Liquors
Products Distilled and Blended Liquors
Net income $121,700,000
Employees 365
Parent Brown-Forman Corporation
Website JackDaniels.com
Manta company profile
Jack Daniel Distillery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location: TN 55
Lynchburg, Tennessee
Added to NRHP: September 14, 1972
NRHP Reference#: 72001248

Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey (not to be confused with bourbon) known for its square bottles and black label; they also produce a cheaper "green label," and the premium Gentleman Jack and Single Barrel varieties. 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 (most notably Lynchburg Lemonade, as sold in pre-mixed bottles in the USA).[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.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early

Founder Jack Daniel.
Founder Jack Daniel.

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 because the birth records were destroyed in a courthouse fire. 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 and Scottish descent.

Because Jack Daniel never married, and he 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 that resulted from an infection in 1911.

Statue of Jack Daniel at the distillery taken in November 2004.
Statue of Jack Daniel at the distillery taken in November 2004.

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).[8] 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.[9] 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 has been filtered through sugar maple charcoal in large wooden vats prior to aging.[10] Tennessee whiskey, by definition, is not Bourbon whiskey as defined by Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 1, Part 5, Section 5.22.[11]

According to their web site, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is made using pure cave spring water from a hollow next to the distillery. This is generally believed to be the reason the distillery location was originally chosen and why it is still there today.[12]

[edit] Tennessee Squire

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.

Tennessee Squires receive letters every year containing funny and sometimes bizarre stories as well as the occasional "gift". Gifts in the past have included strings of chewing tobacco, worry stones, and Jack Daniels glasses.

[edit] Famous Squires

[edit] 21st century

Whiskey barrels in the distillery
Whiskey barrels in the distillery
Jack Daniels belt buckle
Jack Daniels belt buckle

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 later years, a third product, "Gentleman Jack", was created. It has 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). A 94 proof "Single Barrel" product, available in some markets, has been sold in commemorative bottles at the distillery.

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.

[edit] Product name

According to the Jack Daniel's website, Daniel's reason for naming his whiskey "Old No. 7" remains a mystery, because no one had thought to ask him.[13]

[edit] New Master Distiller for 2008

The Jack Daniel's brand has recently begun to advertise via email and to members of the Jack Daniel's Squires that Jimmy Bedford (the sixth Master Distiller) has retired from his position at the age of 68. Having worked for the company for forty years and as the Master Distiller for twenty the change marks a new era for the brand. Jeff Arnett, a company employee since 2001 has since been appointed the new Master Distiller and the seventh since Jack Daniel himself took care of the duties.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Halley, N. (1996). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Drink: An A–Z of Alcoholic Beverages. Ware: Wordsworth Reference.
  2. ^ Boxcar, D. S. (2003). Donna Sue's Down Home Trailer Park Bartending Guide. New York: Citadel.
  3. ^ Kaufman, A., Ortenberg, N., & Rosset, B. (2004). The Outlaw Bible of American Literature. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.
  4. ^ Plasketes, G. (1997). Images of Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977–1997: The Mystery Terrain. [Binghamton], New York: Haworth Press.
  5. ^ Sherrill, R. A. (2000). Road-book America: Contemporary Culture and the New Picaresque. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
  6. ^ Adams, D. R. (2002). Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press.
  7. ^ Brant, M. (2002). Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story New York: Billboard Books.
  8. ^ Freeth, N. (2005). Made in America: from Levis to Barbie to Google. St. Paul, MN: MBI.
  9. ^ The Tennessee Legislature passed a 1994 special act for selling commemorative decanters containing Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey on January 2, 1995.
  10. ^ Axelrod, A. (2003). The complete idiot's guide to mixing drinks. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha.
  11. ^ Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 1, Part 5, Section 5.22.
  12. ^ [1] November 16, 2007 Spring Water for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
  13. ^ http://www.jackdaniels.com/stories.asp

[edit] Further reading

  • Axelrod, A. (2003). The complete idiot's guide to mixing drinks. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha.
  • Waymack, M. H., & Harris, J. F. (1995). The book of classic American whiskeys. Chicago, Ill: Open Court.
  • Krass, P. (2004). Blood and whiskey: the life and times of Jack Daniel. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

[edit] External links