Buckle your seat belts friends, because the ride is going to get a bit bumpy over the next few weeks as you get tossed from one side of the pond to the other. Europe isn’t a done deed, but as Jimmy and I make our way from Chicago to Key West over the next three weeks, I know I won’t be able to contain my excitement with the new terrain.
Factor in my caffeine consumption, cabin fever from being home for the holidays and Jimmy’s propensity for mischief, and excitement is just the prologue to my ramblings.
Factor in my caffeine consumption, cabin fever from being home for the holidays and Jimmy’s propensity for mischief, and excitement is just the prologue to my ramblings.
Jimmy just can't keep his hands off me. I love it!
Case in point: we met an old codger named Jack Daniel while driving through Tennessee a week ago. Known for his independent spirit, his story of craftsmanship is marketed as the epitome of the American Dream.
I'm not sure what the American Dream is anymore. By today's standards, that dream has become a nightmare. Might be time to wake up and simply smell the roses (or the whiskey, as the case may be). Nonetheless, I was curious to learn more about the self-made man behind the world's top selling whiskey.
I'm not sure what the American Dream is anymore. By today's standards, that dream has become a nightmare. Might be time to wake up and simply smell the roses (or the whiskey, as the case may be). Nonetheless, I was curious to learn more about the self-made man behind the world's top selling whiskey.
Jack Daniel only stood 5'2" but he towered over the competition when it came to whiskey.
Little Jasper Newton “Jack Daniel” didn't start out as a dreamer. He was a pragmatist. As the youngest of 10 children born to Lucinda and Calaway Daniel, Jack was still just a child when his mother died. At six years of age, he chose to live with an uncle after his father remarried. To earn his keep, he worked in the shop of local minister and storekeeper Dan Call, but it was Mr. Call’s personal still out back that interested Jack the most.
By the time Jack was 13, he owned that still. The rest, as they say, is history, history that Jimmy and I got the chance to see up close during our tour of Jack Daniel’s now National Historic Site in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Our tour began at the Visitor’s Center, just outside the town limits of Lynchburg, population 361 (at least according to the 1960 census, when the trademark for the new Jack Daniel label that bears the same information was established).
By the time Jack was 13, he owned that still. The rest, as they say, is history, history that Jimmy and I got the chance to see up close during our tour of Jack Daniel’s now National Historic Site in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Our tour began at the Visitor’s Center, just outside the town limits of Lynchburg, population 361 (at least according to the 1960 census, when the trademark for the new Jack Daniel label that bears the same information was established).
Looks a bit like the Cracker Barrel Restaurant chain, with rockers all over the porches.
The Visitor’s Center was as classy as the black packaging for Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Brand Whiskey, the people as warm and hospitable as the whiskey going down (or so I’m told). You can take the whiskey out of Tennessee, but you can't take Tennessee out of the whiskey.
Some say Old No. 7's black label was in honor of Jack's passing.
This was Jimmy’s gig, although more yesterday’s news than today’s headlines. Age will do that to you.
Apparently Jack Daniel stood a little larger than life in this bronze statue; Jimmy is 5'10".
There were plenty of headlines and displays to tell the story of Jack Daniel and his version of the American Dream. There was no mention of the conglomerate that now owns Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Brown-Forman.
Why Old No. 7 showed up on Jack Daniel's bottles of whiskey remains a mystery.
Most grand endeavors start out small.
Whiskey aged on the top floors of a warehouse is darker than those aged on lower floors.
It was risky business brewing all that whiskey.
Jimmy and I opted for a behind-the-scenes look at this American Dream sitting in the middle of Moore County, which just happens to be a dry county. Go figure! Really, I’m not dreaming up this stuff.
The biggest piece of Jack Daniel’s success, besides his tenacity, was and still is the Cove Spring on which Jack built his beanstalk; oops, I mean his still. Every bottle of whiskey starts with the iron-free spring water. The source of that spring is still a mystery almost 150 years later.
The biggest piece of Jack Daniel’s success, besides his tenacity, was and still is the Cove Spring on which Jack built his beanstalk; oops, I mean his still. Every bottle of whiskey starts with the iron-free spring water. The source of that spring is still a mystery almost 150 years later.
Mother Nature always does it best.
Filtering the whiskey through ten feet of crushed sugar maple charcoal one drop at a time is another step you don’t see in the production of most whiskey. The charcoal is produced on site in the Rickyard using maple trees grown locally.
They get fired up when it comes to making whiskey at Jack Daniel's.
This unique mellowing process is a signature piece of Jack Daniel’s ‘Tennessee Whiskey’.
Better than a barrel of monkeys!
The business of making and selling his Tennessee Whiskey was not without its challenges, including the Civil War, World War II and Prohibition, when production was suspended. Jack, of course, didn’t have to contend with all of those obstacles, but his nephew did.
Lem Motlow worked for Jack Daniels for years and inherited the business in 1907 (Jack never married and never had children, although he did like the ladies) when Jack’s health began to fail as the result of a bizarre incident.
Lem Motlow worked for Jack Daniels for years and inherited the business in 1907 (Jack never married and never had children, although he did like the ladies) when Jack’s health began to fail as the result of a bizarre incident.
This was Jack Daniel's original office, circa late 1800's.
Seems Jack had a tough time remembering the combination to his safe. One morning he kicked the safe in frustration and crushed his big toe. The toe never healed properly and eventually became gangrenous. Six years later Jack Daniel kicked the bucket, too. Oh, that was so wrong on so many levels, but so right for the literary moment.
Better safe than sorry wasn't quite the case for Jack Daniel.
Jimmy and I walked the grounds and toured the distillery (no pictures allowed inside the distillery; seems the flash from a camera combined with all the alcohol fumes can be quite combustible) with a handful of other guests, our tour guide, Big John, leading the way. You can catch the entire process and a good bit of history on the Jack Daniel's Website though.
Big John was as entertaining as he was informative; and he could walk backwards.
It was all a dream (an American Dream, as I recall) with the fumes from the fermentation, distilling and aging process adding just the right dose of magic to make it all an intoxicating experience (didn't seem to matter we'd missed the sampling tour by minutes).
Thousands of barrels of whiskey sit in multiple, 7-story warehouses aging for almost 5 years.
Some might call this the stairway to heaven.
This is where they 'roll out the barrels' of fun.
I was drunk with information at the end of our 90 minute tour; and amazed at the ingenuity and tenacity of one man when it came to a little corn, barley and rye.
This is where the fun begins.
What's not to like about small-town boy putting his heart and soul into his life's work and finding deep satisfaction; that's my dream of success. I'd drink to that dream, but as I mentioned earlier, Moore County, where it's all happenin', is a dry county. So Jimmy and I just sat for a spell on the front porch, enjoying the moment and our own dreams.
I didn't factor in all the humidity in my dreams doing such a number on my hair.
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The bottom line on the Jack Daniel's Distillery:
Verdict: Fans of Jack Daniel’s whiskey won’t want to miss this iconic piece of Americana. I like a good story. Both were delivered with a hometown feel that is as genuine as it is unique.
Insider Info: Bring your walking shoes; you're going to walk a mile in Jack Daniel's shoes while seeing the nuts and bolts (or barrels and bottles, as the case may be) of an American icon. Leave backpacks and large bags in the car; they're not allowed on the tour. Arrive early if you want the tasting tour; those fill up fast. You could sign up, then do lunch in town proper while you wait. You don't want to miss seeing Lynchburg's town square; it's a piece of Americana all too often lost to progress.
How to Get There: Take exit 81A on Interstate 24 and follow the signs to Jack Daniel's Distillery OR as per directions on the Jack Daniel's Website: merge onto TN-10 S/US-231 S/S Church St/Shelbyville Hwy/US-231 Scenic S toward Shelbyville. Continue to follow TN-10 S/US-231 S 23.1 mi. Continue onto N Main St 0.3 mi. Continue straight onto Public Square E 344 ft. Continue onto S Main St 0.4 mi. Continue onto S Brittain St 0.3 mi. Turn left onto TN-82 S/Kingree Rd Continue to follow TN-82 S.
Nearby Food: There were plenty of options in the town square of Lynchburg that were reminiscent of the Mom and Pop places where the food represents the best of hometown cooking and the service makes you feel like family. A favorite of Jack Daniel was Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Restaurant, 295 Main Street. The Bar-B-Que Caboose Café and the Iron Kettle Restaurant are also on Main Street.
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