+7%

4,642 $m

Alcohol

Jack Daniel’s set records in 60 countries and grew 32 percent in Latin America in 2012. An increasing brand value clearly demonstrates the brand is resonating with consumers globally. Its tried-and-true process keeps the brand consistent in product quality, differentiation, and distinctiveness, exemplified in the success of its Tennessee Honey Whiskey. With its broad appeal, this new offering has brought more diverse demographics, such as women and Millennials, to the brand, earned it one million likes on Facebook, and won two awards from the Australian Liquor Society in its first year. Jack Daniel’s also launched two limited editions: Sinatra Select honoring Frank Sinatra, one of the first celebrity endorsers of the brand, and Unaged Tennessee Rye, the first time since before Prohibition that the distillery used a new grain recipe. Product innovation is expected to continue in the coming year. Like its products, the brand’s new campaigns, “The Order of Gentleman,” the first campaign for Gentleman Jack, and “Legend,” celebrating the brand’s place in rock and roll history, reinforce the brand’s authenticity and iconic status. It will be interesting to see if these campaigns spark deeper dialogue in social media about how the brand’s values and characteristics link to and enhance one’s image. Thanks to consistently upholding its values throughout the entire brand experience, Jack Daniel’s continues to maintain its position as a worldwide leader in its industry.

Jack Daniel’s is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is the highest selling American whiskey in the world.^[1][2] It is known for its square bottles and black label. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown-Forman Corporation since 1956.^[3] Despite being the location of a major operational distillery, Jack Daniel’s home county of Moore is a dry county, so the product is not available for consumption at stores or restaurants within the county.

Although the product generally meets the regulatory criteria for classification as a straight bourbon, the company disavows this classification and markets it simply as Tennessee whiskey rather than as Tennessee bourbon.

Early history[edit]

According to the Jack Daniel’s website, 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.^{[citation needed]} If the 1850 date is correct, he might hypothetically have become a licensed distiller at the age of 16, as the brand label says “Est. & Reg. in 1866”.^[6] Other records list his birth date as September 5, 1846,^[6]and in the 2004 biography Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel, author Peter Krass maintains^[7] that land and deed records show that the distillery was actually not founded until 1875 (the date also suggested by the Tennessee state library,^[6]estimating that he was 29 when the distillery was founded). Jack was one of twelve children fathered by Calaway Daniel. Jack’s mother, Lucinda Cook Daniel, died in 1847^[6](which would have made it difficult for her to give birth to him in 1850), after which his father remarried and had several more children. Jack Daniel’s grandfather, Joseph “Job” Daniel emigrated from Wales as did his Scottish wife to the United States. He was ofWelsh, Scottish, English, and Scots-Irish descent.^[8] In 2012, a Welshman, Mark Evans, claimed to have discovered the original recipe,^[9] in a book written by his great-great-grandmother in 1853, whose brother-in-law emigrated to Tennessee.

Jack died in 1911 from blood poisoning which started from an infection. The infection allegedly began in one of his toes, which Daniel injured one early 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).^[10]

Jack Daniel never married and did not have any children. However, he took his favorite nephew, Lem Motlow, under his wing. Lem was very skilled with numbers, and was soon doing all of the distillery’s bookkeeping. In 1907, due to failing health, Jack Daniel gave the distillery to Motlow, who then bequeathed the distillery to his children, Robert, Reagor, Dan, Conner, and Mary, upon his death in 1947.

Tennessee passed a state-wide prohibition law in 1910, preventing the legal distillation of Jack Daniel’s in the state, and as a result Lem Motlow began distilling operations in St Louis, Missouri and Birmingham, Alabama, though none of the production from these locations was ever sold due to quality problems.^[11] The introduction of prohibition in 1920 (until 1933) through the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution stopped production in St Louis; production in Alabama having been stopped earlier by that state’s prohibition laws. All production then ceased. Even the Twenty-first Amendment enactment in 1933 repealing federal prohibition did not allow production in Lynchburg to restart, as the Tennessee 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 was commemorated in 2008 with 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.^[12]

The U.S. government banned the manufacture of whiskey during World War II and a little beyond, from 1942 to 1946. Motlow resumed production of Jack Daniel’s only in 1947 after good quality corn was again available.^[11]

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, though the 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 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.^[13] Jack Daniel’s now sells Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, the original No. 7 blend (in a commemorative bottle), and a seasonal blend (on rotation) at the distillery’s White Rabbit Bottle Shop.

Recent history[edit]

Tennessee Squires[edit]

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

Lowering to 80 proof[edit]

Jack Daniel’s black label was historically produced at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume).^[16] The lower-end green label product was 80 proof. However, starting in 1987, the other label variations were also reduced in proof. This began with black label being initially reduced to 86 proof. (Both the black label and green label are made from the same ingredients; the difference is determined by professional tasters, who determined which of the batches would be sold under the higher-priced black label, the rest being sold under the green label.)

Then, starting in 2002, all generally-available Jack Daniel’s products were diluted to 80 proof (including both black label and green label).^[17] The reason stated for this was that the distillery’s marketing had found that customers preferred a lower proof whiskey; this also simplified the production process.^{[citation needed]} This reduction in alcohol content was condemned by Modern Drunkard Magazine and a petition was formed for drinkers who disagreed with the change.^[17]

Jack Daniel’s has produced higher-proof products at times. A one-time limited run of 96 proof, the highest proof Jack Daniel’s had ever bottled at that time, was bottled for the 1996 Tennessee Bicentennial in a decorative bicentennial bottle. The distillery debuted their 94 proof “Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel” in February 1997. The “2011 Holiday Select” is currently the company’s highest proof at 100.

Sponsorships[edit]

In 2006, Jack Daniel’s sponsored the Perkins Engineering team in the Australian V8 Supercar series, which continued until the end of 2008. From 2009 their sponsorship moved to the newly formed Kelly Racing team, formed from the remnants of Perkins Engineering and now defunct HSV Dealer Team.^[18] Jack Daniel’s also sponsored the Richard Childress Racing 07 car (numbered after the “Old No. 7”) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 2005 to 2009.^[19] Jack Daniel’s also sponsors Zac Brown Bands Tour.

Master distillers[edit]

Jeff Arnett, a company employee since 2001, became Jack Daniel’s master distiller in 2008. He is the seventh person to hold the position in the distillery’s history. His predecessor, Jimmy Bedford, held the position for 20 years.^[20] Bedford retired in mid-2008 after being the subject of a $3.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the company that ended in an out-of-court settlement, and he died on August 7, 2009 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Lynchburg.^[21][22]

Other Master Distillers include Jess Motlow (1911-1941), Lem Tolley (1941-1964), Jess Gamble (1964-1966), and Frank Bobo (1966-1992).^[23]

Labels[edit]

• Old No. 7: Also known as Black Label, this is the original Jack Daniels. 80 proof.
• Gentleman Jack: Charcoal filtered mellowed twice, compared to once with Old No. 7. 80 proof.
• Single Barrel: Whiskey sourced from a single barrel in the company’s warehouse. 94 proof.
• Tennessee Honey: Honey liqueur blended with whiskey. 70 proof.
• Green Label: A lighter-bodied bottling of Old No. 7., not available everywhere. 80 proof.
• Silver Select: For export only. 100 proof.

Special bottlings[edit]

The company has done special bottlings, sometimes to commemorate special events.

1970’s and 80’s[edit]

• Maxwell House (1971): The Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, was famous for more than just its coffee.^[24] This decanter is a replica of a bottle originally designed by Lem Motlow. In 1905, Lem. Motlow filled the bottle with Jack Daniels whiskey and sent it to the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.^[25]

• Belle of Lincoln (1979): Before 1871, the area that comprises Lynchburg and portions of Moore County was part of the larger Lincoln County, and “Belle of Lincoln” was one of the earliest names under which Jack Daniel sold his whiskey.^[26] 90 proof.^[27]

• Tribute to Tennessee (1982): This was designed to honor Tennessee, the State where Mr. Jack distilled his whiskey. When Jack Daniel’s whiskey won the Gold Medal in 1904 as the “best in the world”, Mr. Jack believed it was made in “the best place in the world”. Released to honor the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, this decanter was named “Tribute to Tennessee”.^[28]

• Inaugural (1984): In 1907, Jack Daniel traveled to Nashville to hear President Theodore Roosevelt speak.^[29] The “Inaugural” decanter was released on the 80th anniversary of Mr. Roosevelt’s presidency. It would commemorate Jack Daniel’s admiration of the 26th president of the US. 90 proof.^[30]

• Silver Cornet (1986): When Jack Daniel opened The White Rabbit and Red Dog saloons in Lynchburg in 1892, he thought of a novel way to attract people to the town square.^[31]Mr. Jack recruited townspeople and distillery workers as musicians for his new band.^[32]

• Riverboat Captain (1987): In Mr. Jack’s day, the Cumberland River was a major thoroughfare for riverboats hauling cotton, tobacco and passengers, with Nashville being a major port of call^[33] 90 proof and 86 proof.^[34]

1990’s[edit]

• 125th Anniversary (1990): It was in 1866 that Jack Daniel first registered his business with the United States Government, making 1991 the Jack Daniel Distillery’s 125th Anniversary. Though no registration records exist today, it is believed that these dates designate it as the oldest registered Distillery in the United States. It is also listed as a National Historic Site…^[35]

• 1895 Replica (1992): The first official square bottle was released in 1895 and embossed with the words “Old Time Distillery No. 7 Jack Daniel Distiller Lynchburg, Tenn.” To pay tribute to this original square bottle, the Distillery released an exact replica in 1992.^[36]

• Barrelhouse No. 1 (1994): Barrelhouse 1 is one of the oldest warehouses at the Distillery.^[37]This bottle commemorate one of the oldest aging houses on the grounds of the distillery. The barrelhouses where built after prohibition in 1912. These buildings are 7 stories high and has proven ideal for aging whiskey. 94 proof.^[38]

• Tennessee Bicentennial (1996): A one-time limited run of 96 proof, the highest proof Jack Daniel’s had ever bottled at that time, was bottled for the 1996 celebration in a decorative bicentennial bottle.

• Jack Daniels Monogram (1998,2004,2009): Jack Daniels Monogram is a Whiskey that JD use to make for the Asian Markets.^[39] Comes with a leather sleeve. It has the JD monogram in gold in the middle of the bottle. Very rare bottle! 94 proof.^[40] When it was introduced in 2009, the Monogram bottle was a limited release for the state of Tennessee only. However, even though 2009 was the first year this bottle was available in the United States, it was actually released internationally in 1998 and then again in 2004…^[41]

2000’s[edit]

• 75th Anniversary (2008): On the 75th anniversary of the 21st Amendment, we commemorate the occasion knowing that if not for the national repeal of prohibition back in 1933, Mr. Jack’s Distillery wouldn’t be up and running today.^[42] 90 proof.^[43]

• 70th Anniversary (2008): Twenty-eight years after Prohibition closed the doors to the Jack Daniel Distillery, the Distillery returned to making whiskey the way Mr. Jack did. This bottle celebrates the repeal of prohibition and to the reopening of the Jack Daniel Distillery.^[44] 90 proof. ^[45]

• Oregon’s 150th Birthday (2009): …It was to celebrate the 150th birthday of this diverse and beautiful state that Jack Daniel’s released a special commemorative bottle in 2009. This 750ml bottle was very limited in its release… 86 proof.^[46]

• American Forests (2010): To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010, Jack Daniel’s and American Forests® partnered to help restore damaged ecosystems by planting one tree for every limited edition bottle sold.^[47]

• Gentleman’s Jack Limited Edition (2010): Even though twice mellowed Gentleman Jack whiskey has steadily risen in popularity since its introduction in 1988, there had never been a tribute to the brand until 2010 when the first Limited Edition Gentleman Jack Commemorative Bottle was released. Using the design of the current 4th Generation Gentleman Jack bottle, the Distillery produced this commemorative bottle with an image on the backside rather than on the more commonly used frontside…^[48]

• Mr. Jack’s 160th Birthday (2010): This is packaged in a special black bottle. 80 proof.

• Mr. Jack’s 161st Birthday (2011): The special edition of Jack Daniel’s, bottled in honor of Mr Daniel’s 161st birthday. This is their controversial changed bottle shape with a black wrap, the first of the new bottles that we’ve had in. 80 proof. ^[49]

• Angelo Lucchesi 90th Birthday (2011): Angelo Lucchesi began working for the Jack Daniel’s in 1953 as the distillery’s first salesman. 90 proof.

• White Rabbit Saloon (2012): This commemorates the 120th anniversary of the opening of Jack Daniel’s saloon of the same name. 86 proof.

• Unaged Tennessee Rye (2013): Jack Daniel’s first new grain bill since the lift of Prohibition, rye is featured predominantly in the mash of this product rather than corn. The first batch is the run straight from the still and has not been kept in barrels. Only unaged corn spirits may be called whiskey, thus unaged Tennessee Rye is labeled as “Spirits Distilled From Rye”. 80 proof.^[50]

• Sinatra Select (2013): A Tennessee whiskey sourced from deeply charred oak barrels and bottled at 90 proof. Meant to tribute the famous musician Frank Sinatra.^[51]

Series Bottling[edit]

• Scenes From Lynchburg (1998-): Around 1998 they started to sell the first 1 liter bottle in a new bottle line called the “The scenes from Lynchburg”. This first bottle was sold only in Europe. It would bring us 7 different bottles with a little picture/drawing of something – a scene – from Lynchburg. Almost every year a new bottle will be made and sold around airports in Europe. Around 2001 they started selling the same designed bottles in a 750 ml version in Canada, also trying to bring us a new bottle each year. In 2003 the first US version was sold exclusively in Lynchburg also in a 750 ml version with 43 % proof whiskey instead of the 40 % they got for Canada. What started as a bottle line of “just” 7 bottles it surprised most collectors that they kept bringing out new bottles. There are now a total of 12 Scenes in the 1 liter size, 8 in he 750ml (USA) size and only 3 for Canada. The series has now ended there – for now anyway but maybe they will add more later, who knows ^[52]

• Gold Medal Series (1996-2006): This run, started in 1996 and completed 10 years later, celebrates the company’s seven wins of best whiskey at various spirits awards. Each of the seven medals was commemorated by a different bottle design and 86 proof whiskey.

• Ducks Unlimited Series, Single Barrel (2006-): In 2006, the Jack Daniel Distillery announced that they would team up with Ducks Unlimited to release a special new series of bottles and would donate a portion of sales to this organization’s conservation efforts. Each year since that time a new bottle in the Ducks Unlimited Series has been released, gathering quite a following of Ducks Unlimited supporters and Jack Daniel’s collectors alike…^[53]

• Holiday Select Series (2011,2012): Made with barrels used in Lynchburg’s barrel tree, this is a limited bottling for the holiday season. The release in 2011 was 100 proof, and 2012’s bottling was 90.4 proof.^[54]

• Master Distiller Series (2012-): This line is meant to honor the seven men who have held the position of master distiller in the company’s history. This is bottled with 86 proof whiskey.

Upcoming bottles[edit]

• Sinatra’s 100th Birthday (2015): …building up to a global launch in 2015 for Sinatra’s 100th birthday.^[55]

Production process[edit]

Jack Daniel’s whiskey is filtered through sugar maple charcoal in large wooden vats prior to aging, which is an extra step that is not used in making most Bourbon whiskey,^[56] and the company claims that this makes the product different from Bourbon. However, Tennessee whiskey is required to be “a straight Bourbon Whiskey” under terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement,^[57] and Canadian law,^[58] and there is no other legal definition of the term “Tennessee whiskey” (other than U.S. law governing the definition of “whiskey” in general).

After being used for the aging of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, some of the barrels are sold to McIlhenny Company of Avery Island, Louisiana, for production of Tabasco sauce and to both the Mount Gay Rum company of Barbados and Appleton Estate of Jamaica for use in the aging process of their distinctively flavored rums.^{[citation needed]}

Cocktails[edit]

Jack Daniel’s is the alcoholic component of “Jack and Coke“, a common cocktail.^[59]

Jack Daniel’s is also the alcoholic component of “Lynchburg Lemonade“.^[60]

Media[edit]

• 

  National Register of Historic Places

• 

  Founder Jack Daniel

• 

  Whiskey barrels in the distillery

• 

  Inside the barrels

Cultural references[edit]

• Frank Sinatra was widely known as Jack Daniel’s drinker.
  • He was famously buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7 in 1998.
  • A line from Dean Martin‘s song I Love Vegas states “I love Vegas, like Sinatra loves Jack Daniels.”^[61]
• The George Jones song “A whole lotta trouble for you” mentions “Jack Daniel’s makes a good whiskey”.
• The George Thorogood song “I Drink Alone” mentions “So I called up my pal Jack Daniel’s and his partner Jimmy Beam”.
• In the movie Animal House, the character John “Bluto” Blutarsky can be seen chugging an entire bottle of Old No. 7.
• The National‘s song “Baby We’ll Be Fine” mentions “I pull off your jeans, and you spill Jack and Coke in my collar”.
• The Kesha song “Tik Tok” mentions “Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack”.
• In Scent of a Woman, Al Pacino’s character refers to filling a hotel room with John Daniels. “When you’ve known him as long as I have…”
• In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Clark asks his father how he got through the holidays, and he replies “I had a lot of help from Jack Daniel’s”.
• In the film The Shining, Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, is seen drinking Jack Daniel’s in the hotel bar, served by the ghostly bartender Lloyd.
• The French singer Orelsan in “Ils sont cools” includes the line “Passe la tise que je me Jack Danise” (which can be translated as “Give me the alcohol so I can be Jack Danieled”).
• The cover of Patrick Wensink‘s book Broken Piano for President featured a book cover design based on the label of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, which resulted in a cease-and-desistletter from the company.^[62]
• The cover of “The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band“, an autobiography collectively written by the members of the rock band Mötley Crüe, includes a bottle design based on that of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
• The Canadian rock band Three Days Grace mentions it in their song “Expectations”, with the line “Threw a shot of Jack back, left with the jackpot.”
• Eric Church has a song titled “Jack Daniels” in which he sings “Jack Daniels kicked my ass again last night.” His song “Love Your Love The Most” includes “and hell yes I love my dog, and Jack D in my coke.” “Sinners Like Me” says “so we sit on his headstone with a fifth of Jack D, here’s to a long line of sinners like me.”
• The Devil Makes Three reference Jack Daniels in their song “Old Number Seven” with the lyrics “Jack Daniels Old Number Seven, Tennessee Whiskey got me drinking in heaven.”
• He’s a Mental Giant by Tech N9ne contains the line: “…Like drinking Patron and Jack prone then jack on silk quilts…”
• Fuck Food by Tech N9ne contains the line: “…Action-packed with a rack and a little bit of that Jack…”
• Hank Williams Jr mentions Jack Daniels in his song “Dixie On My Mind” singing “The people here don’t sip Jack Daniels whiskey,

The way they do in that Tennessee mountain land.”

• Get Throw’d by Krizz Kaliko contains the line: “…Four horsemen I’m drinking, Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker…”
• The 1979 David Allen Coe song “Jack Daniels if you please” contains the line “Jack Daniels if you please, knock me to my knees”.
• The Brad Paisley song Alcohol indirectly references Jack Daniel’s by referencing the distillery’s location in its chorus: “…since the day I left Milwaukee, Lynchburg, Bordeaux, France…”
• The Drive-By Truckers song “Dead, Drunk, And Naked” has the lyric “Me and old Jack Daniel’s, become the best of friends. We got all them Baptists to die for our sins. I know the lord is coming. The South will rise again!”
• The Liane Edwards Band, popular country band from France, directly refers to the brand name in their song “Jack”, ( My Best Friend’s Name is) “Jack” . ” He was born down in Lynchburg… My best friend’s name is Jack, he may be your best friend too, when you drain him to his last drop, I’ll be glad to share my friend with you…”
• The Charlie Daniels Band album “Way Down Yonder” depicts bottles of Jack Daniel’s on its cover art.
• Dave Lewis released an instrumental single called “Jack Daniel’s Green” in 1968.
• The character Barnes in Oliver Stone’s 1986 film Platoon is drinking from a Jack Daniel’s bottle when he drunkenly berates Taylor and his group.
• Youtube channel Epic Meal Time uses Jack Daniel’s in every episode.
• Brian, the family dog in Family Guy, uses Jack Daniels as his favorite whiskey.