89 Fun Facts About Jack Daniel's

Jack Daniel's adverts long quoted Lynchburg's 1960s population as what figure?

The label and adverts read 'Lynchburg (Pop. 361), Tennessee', a 1960s census figure the brand kept long after the consolidated city-county had grown past 6,000 people.

Which company has owned Jack Daniel's since 1956?

Brown-Forman of Louisville, Kentucky bought the distillery in 1956 and also owns Old Forester, Woodford Reserve and Herradura tequila.

What was Jack Daniel's real first name?

Jasper Newton Daniel was the youngest of ten children; his birth date is disputed between 1846, 1849 and 1850.

Who taught the young Jack Daniel to distil, and later became the distillery's first master distiller?

Nearest Green was enslaved when he taught Daniel on Dan Call's farm; after emancipation he became the distillery's first master distiller, the first African-American master distiller on record.

Dan Call, who took in the teenage Jack Daniel and owned the still he learned on, was also what?

Dan Call was a lay preacher as well as a farmer and distiller; pressure from his congregation made him quit the whiskey business, leaving Daniel to take it over.

The Jack Daniel's label says the distillery was established and registered in which year?

The label reads 'Est. & Reg. in 1866', but biographer Peter Krass argues the registration papers show the business actually dates from 1875.

According to Jack Daniel's biographer, where did the "Old No. 7" name come from?

Biographer Peter Krass traces the name to the distillery's government registration number, 7; when the federal district was redrawn it became No. 16, but Daniel kept the familiar 'Old No. 7'.

In which year did Jack Daniel's introduce Gentleman Jack?

Gentleman Jack debuted in 1988 as a premium sibling to Old No. 7 and is bottled at 40% ABV.

Jack Daniel's popularity surged after winning a gold medal for the finest whiskey at which 1904 event?

Old No. 7 won the gold medal for the world's finest whiskey at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, even as Tennessee's temperance movement gathered strength.

According to the oft-told tale, how did Jack Daniel get the injury that supposedly led to his death?

The tale says Daniel hurt his toe by kicking his safe in anger after forgetting the combination; biographer Peter Krass doubts the story, and the recorded cause of death was blood poisoning.

In what year did Jack Daniel die?

Jack Daniel died of blood poisoning in Lynchburg in October 1911, having handed the distillery over to family in 1907.

To whom did Jack Daniel give the distillery in 1907?

Daniel gave the distillery to his nephews in 1907; one of them, Lem Motlow, soon bought out the other and ran the business, on and off, for about forty years.

In which year did Tennessee's statewide prohibition stop legal distilling of Jack Daniel's?

Tennessee's statewide ban took effect in 1910, a full decade before national Prohibition; Motlow challenged the law and lost at the Tennessee Supreme Court.

During Tennessee prohibition the company moved distilling to Birmingham, Alabama, and which other city?

Motlow moved production to St. Louis, Missouri as well as Birmingham, but none of the whiskey made in either city was ever sold because of quality problems.

In which year did the Lynchburg distillery resume legal distilling?

The distillery reopened in 1938; Tennessee's own prohibition outlived the 21st Amendment, and Motlow, by then a state senator, led the repeal effort.

Why did the Jack Daniel's distillery cease operations from 1942 to 1946?

The US government banned whiskey production during World War II, turning distilleries to industrial alcohol; Motlow restarted in 1947 once good-quality corn was available again, and died that year.

What folksy name does the company give to dripping its whiskey through 10-foot stacks of sugar-maple charcoal?

The company calls the step charcoal mellowing; it is formally the Lincoln County Process, and the distillery burns and grinds its own charcoal before use.

What percentage of the Jack Daniel's mash bill is corn?

Jack Daniel's mash is 80% corn; bourbon only requires 51%, and the higher share makes a sweeter spirit before the charcoal filtering softens it.

What does the term "sour mash" on the label mean?

Sour mash means solids from a previous batch are mixed into the new one, keeping acidity and fermentation consistent; nearly all bourbon is made the same way.

Where has Jack Daniel's made its own barrels since 2014?

The Jack Daniel Cooperage in Trinity, Alabama opened in 2014; before that the barrels came from the parent company's Louisville cooperage, and new charred oak gives the whiskey its colour.

Why is the water from the distillery's cave spring considered ideal for whiskey?

The limestone removes iron from it: iron-heavy water gives whiskey a bad taste, and the spring flows from a cave at the base of a limestone cliff.

Which hot sauce is aged in barrels previously used for Jack Daniel's?

McIlhenny ages the pepper mash for Tabasco at Avery Island, Louisiana in white oak barrels that previously held Jack Daniel's whiskey.

Moore County, home of the distillery, is what kind of county under Tennessee law?

Moore County is a dry county: it is legal to distil the whiskey there but not to sell it, apart from commemorative bottles under a special legislative exception.

Which proof was Jack Daniel's black label historically bottled at until 1987?

Black label was 90 proof until 1987; it dropped to 86 and then, in 2002, quietly to 80 proof, prompting a protest petition from Modern Drunkard magazine.

How does Gentleman Jack differ from standard Old No. 7?

Gentleman Jack's difference is that it is charcoal-filtered twice instead of once; the second pass through sugar-maple charcoal comes after ageing, giving a lighter, smoother spirit.

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey is technically not a whiskey but what?

Tennessee Honey is a liqueur: Jack Daniel's blended with honey liqueur and bottled at 35% ABV, below whiskey's 40% minimum; Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Apple follow the same formula.

Which famous singer was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel's in 1998?

Frank Sinatra was buried in 1998 with a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camels and a Zippo lighter; the brand later released Sinatra Select and Sinatra Century for his 100th birthday.

In 2016 a campaign renamed the Jack and Coke 'The Lemmy' after which band's frontman?

Lemmy Kilmister, Motörhead's frontman, reportedly drank a bottle of Jack Daniel's a day for decades; after his death in December 2015 fans campaigned to rename the Jack and Coke 'The Lemmy'.

Which country singer wrote a song called "Jack Daniels" and later got his own Single Barrel Select?

Eric Church's song 'Jack Daniels' appeared on his album Chief, and the distillery later released a Single Barrel Select Eric Church Edition.

Which Formula 1 team became a Jack Daniel's partner ahead of the 2023 season?

McLaren and Jack Daniel's announced a multi-year partnership before the 2023 Formula 1 season, and a limited-edition Old No. 7 bottle carried McLaren branding.

What number did the Jack Daniel's-sponsored Richard Childress Racing NASCAR car carry from 2005 to 2009?

The No. 07 Chevrolet's number was a nod to Old No. 7; Clint Bowyer drove it for most of the sponsorship.

In the 2023 Supreme Court case Jack Daniel's won, what was the parody product at issue?

The parody product was a dog toy called Bad Spaniels, whose label read 'Old No. 2 on your Tennessee carpet'; the Court held the toy used the parody as its own trademark.

What does membership of the Tennessee Squire Association, formed in 1956, give you?

Tennessee Squires receive a deed to an unrecorded plot of land at the distillery, join only on an existing Squire's recommendation, and get letters from Lynchburg townsfolk about their plot.

Which Tennessee governor signed the 2013 law requiring the Lincoln County Process for Tennessee whiskey?

Governor Bill Haslam signed House Bill 1084 in 2013; it wrote Jack Daniel's own standards into law, with a carve-out for Benjamin Prichard's, which does not use the process.

Besides Jack Daniel's, which is the other major producer of Tennessee whiskey?

George Dickel, made at Cascade Hollow near Tullahoma in Coffee County, is owned by Diageo.

The Lincoln County Process is named for Lincoln County, Tennessee, because of what?

The distillery was located there when it was founded; Moore County was carved out of Lincoln County in 1871, and Benjamin Prichard's, the Lincoln County distillery at Kelso, does not use the process.

Which Jack Daniel's, triple sec, sour mix and lemon-lime soda cocktail was created in Alabama in 1980?

Lynchburg Lemonade was created by Tony Mason at his Huntsville, Alabama restaurant in 1980; he later sued the distillery for taking the recipe, winning a verdict but only nominal damages.

Which earlier Jack Daniel's master distiller was Chris Fletcher's grandfather?

Frank Bobo held the master distiller job from 1966 until Jimmy Bedford succeeded him; his grandson Chris Fletcher took it in 2020 after six years as assistant master distiller.

When was the Jack Daniel's Distillery listed on the National Register of Historic Places?

The Jack Daniel's Distillery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972; by the 2010s it was drawing more than a quarter of a million visitors a year.

Jack Daniel's grandfather Joseph "Job" Daniel emigrated to America from which country?

Joseph 'Job' Daniel came from Wales; Jack's grandmother was Scottish, and a Welshman claimed in 2012 to have found the original recipe in an 1853 family herbal book.

Under NAFTA and Canadian law, Tennessee whiskey like Jack Daniel's had to be what?

NAFTA's Annex 313 defined Tennessee whiskey as a straight bourbon made only in Tennessee, awkward for a brand whose pitch is that charcoal filtering sets it apart from bourbon.

By 1947, how many whiskey distilleries were operating in Tennessee?

Tennessee had only one, Jack Daniel's, when the Lynchburg stills restarted in 1947; the state's other historic distillery did not reopen until 1958.

In which year did Jack Daniel's introduce its 94-proof Single Barrel expression?

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel launched in 1997 at 94 proof, each bottle drawn from one barrel chosen from the upper floors of the barrelhouses.

Which master distiller stepped down in 2020 and went on to open Company Distilling near the Smokies?

Jeff Arnett, master distiller from 2008 to 2020, opposed a 2014 bill that would have allowed reused barrels for Tennessee whiskey, then co-founded Company Distilling.

Which band's bassist Michael Anthony played a bass shaped like a Jack Daniel's bottle?

Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony played a custom bass shaped like a Jack Daniel's bottle, complete with the black label, at the band's 1980s shows.

Which metal band's live album Official Live: 101 Proof copies the Jack Daniel's label?

Pantera's Official Live: 101 Proof copies the black-label layout; Mötley Crüe's memoir The Dirt and Mel McDaniel's I'm Countryfied also riff on it.

In which year did Jack Daniel buy the hollow where the distillery stands today?

Jack Daniel bought the hollow and its cave spring in 1884, and the distillery has stood on that site since.

How many children inherited the distillery when Lem Motlow died in 1947?

Five children, Robert, Reagor, Dan, Conner and Mary, took over; the firm was later incorporated as Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow, Prop., Inc. so his name could stay on the label.

Who decides whether a batch is sold as premium black label or standard green label?

Professional tasters decide: both labels come from identical ingredients, and the green label is simply whichever barrels the tasting panel judges lighter, typically those from the lower barrelhouse floors.

The 100-proof Silver Select Single Barrel is sold only where?

Silver Select is sold only in duty-free shops; at 100 proof it was once the brand's highest-proof bottling, since passed by the cask-strength Single Barrel Barrel Proof editions.

What is the name of the brand's souvenir shop on the town square?

The Lynchburg Hardware & General Store on the town square is the official Jack Daniel's shop, selling clothing, barware and commemorative bottles near the distillery.

Jack Daniel's backed Perkins Engineering and Kelly Racing from 2006 to 2015 in which series?

Jack Daniel's Racing ran in the V8 Supercars touring-car series with Perkins Engineering and then Kelly Racing, overlapping with the brand's NASCAR years with Richard Childress Racing.

Which country group's tours did Jack Daniel's sponsor in the 2010s?

Jack Daniel's sponsored Zac Brown Band's tours in the 2010s; music has long been part of the marketing, from album covers that copy the label to artist-branded single barrels.

Who succeeded Jack Daniel as master distiller and served until 1941?

Jess Motlow took over as master distiller when the founder died and held the job through both state and national Prohibition, when there was nothing to distil.

A 2011 proposal would have surtaxed the distillery how much per barrel?

The 2011 plan would have added $10 per barrel; backers said the company had cashed in on Lynchburg's bucolic image, and the county council voted the tax down.

The 74-proof Jack Daniel's expression called "1907" is sold in which market?

The '1907' expression is sold in Australia; its name recalls the year an ailing Jack handed over the distillery, and at 37% ABV it sits below the standard 40% Old No. 7.

Jack Daniel's Bonded must be aged at least how many years under the Bottled-in-Bond Act?

The Bottled-in-Bond Act requires at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, bottling at 100 proof, and spirit from one distillery and one distilling season.

Triple Mash Bonded blends Tennessee whiskey with which two other whiskeys?

Triple Mash blends Tennessee whiskey with malt and rye whiskeys, about 60% rye, 20% malt and 20% Tennessee, and like the rest of the Bonded range is bottled at 100 proof.

Winter Jack, the seasonal release, is bottled at what proof?

Winter Jack is bottled at 30 proof (15% ABV), a blend of spiced apple cider and Jack Daniel's, far lighter than the brand's other flavoured bottlings.

The distillery's cave spring drains into which river by way of Mulberry Creek?

The spring feeds East Fork Mulberry Creek, which joins Mulberry Creek and then the Elk River, so the water ends in the Elk's watershed.

How much was the distillery expansion announced in February 2016 worth?

The February 2016 expansion was worth $140 million and included a bigger visitor center and two more barrelhouses on the hillsides around Lynchburg.

What is unusual about the 'Sinatra Barrels' used for Sinatra Select?

Sinatra Select is aged in 'Sinatra Barrels': grooves are carved into the staves, exposing the whiskey to more toasted oak than a standard barrel.

A cease-and-desist letter went to Patrick Wensink over the cover of which 2012 book?

Broken Piano for President, Wensink's 2012 novel, parodied the label; the 'nicest cease-and-desist ever' said the change could wait for a reprint and offered to help pay if he switched sooner.

What is the title of Peter Krass's 2004 biography of Jack Daniel?

Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel used land and deed records to argue the business began nine years later than the date printed on every label.

What share of the mash in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Rye is rye?

Tennessee Rye is 70% rye, 18% corn and 12% malted barley; the rye-heavy mash means it cannot be sold as Tennessee whiskey, which must be at least 51% corn.

In which month does the company customarily celebrate Jack Daniel's birthday?

The company marks Jack's birthday through September, though nobody knows the real date: his tombstone says 1850, the state library says 1846, and his biographer argues for January 1849.

Which firm owned Uncle Nearest and likely hired him out to Dan Call for a fee?

Landis & Green held Nearest in slavery and hired him out; after emancipation he stayed with Call, who introduced him to young Jack as 'the best whiskey maker that I know of'.

How many children did Uncle Nearest and his wife Harriet Green have?

Nearest and Harriet Green had eleven children; several of their sons, among them George, Edde and Eli, went on to work at the distillery.

What was Uncle Nearest's given first name?

His given name was Nathan; an 1880 census clerk wrote his nickname down as 'Nearis', a misspelling that stuck for more than a century.

Uncle Nearest opened its first distillery in 2019 in which Tennessee town?

Uncle Nearest's distillery opened in Shelbyville on a 270-acre former horse farm a short drive from Lynchburg; founder Fawn Weaver had come to Tennessee in 2016 to research the story.

Uncle Nearest master blender Victoria Eady Butler is what relation to the brand's namesake?

Victoria Eady Butler is Nearest's great-great-granddaughter; after a long federal career she turned to blending whiskey and was named Master Blender of the Year in 2021 and 2022.

The community college built on land donated by the Motlow family opened in which year?

Motlow State Community College opened in 1969 on 187 acres given by Reagor Motlow, Lem's eldest son and a state senator; the campus later added a distilling school named for Jack's mentor.

Alfred Eaton was long credited with inventing the charcoal-filtering step in which year?

Alfred Eaton was said to have introduced charcoal filtering in Lincoln County in 1825; a rival family claims William 'Billy' Pearson sold him the recipe, and some have since credited Jack's enslaved mentor instead.

Before being lit, the sugar-maple ricks at the distillery are doused with what?

The ricks are doused with 140-proof Jack Daniel's fresh from distillation, burn under hoods that catch sparks, and are hosed down once charred so they do not burn to ash.

After the charcoal step, the spirit is cut with water to what proof for barrelling?

The spirit goes into the barrel at 125 proof, the maximum US law allows for entering new charred oak, after being cut with the distillery's spring water.

The ground charcoal packed into the filtering vats is about as big as what?

The charcoal is ground to about the size of a bean before packing; the rival distillery near Tullahoma instead chills its whisky before it meets the charcoal and fills deeper vats.

Some producers trace the Tennessee whiskey-bourbon split to a 1941 ruling by which agency?

Jack Daniel's itself asked for the 1941 ruling, issued by the Internal Revenue Service (then the Bureau of Internal Revenue), and federal spirits regulations have not defined Tennessee whiskey.

Until 2009, Tennessee law allowed spirits distilling in only how many of its 95 counties?

Only three counties, Lincoln, Moore and Coffee, could host distilleries; the 2009 change opened 41 more.

Jack Daniel's marketing boasts that Lynchburg has only one of what?

Lynchburg has just one traffic light, a detail the brand's folksy adverts have repeated for decades alongside the tiny population figure.

Which frontiersman lived in what is now Lynchburg from 1811 to 1813?

Davy Crockett lived in what became Lynchburg from 1811 to 1813; later notable residents included Little Richard and the football-coaching Majors family.

The distillery's home county honours which early settler and long-time state legislator?

General William Moore, an early settler who served for years in the state legislature, gave the county its name when it was carved out in 1871; it covers about 130 square miles.

Which is the only Tennessee county smaller in area than Moore?

Trousdale is Tennessee's smallest county by area, the only one below Moore's roughly 130 square miles; Moore, with about 6,500 people, was also among the state's least-populous counties in 2020.

Lem Motlow was a noted breeder of which animal?

Lem Motlow bred Tennessee Walking Horses that competed in the breed's National Celebration, and he owned thousands of acres across Moore and Coffee counties.

Who wrote the Supreme Court's unanimous 2023 opinion in the Jack Daniel's dog-toy case?

Justice Elena Kagan wrote for a unanimous Court; the ruling came down on June 8, 2023, after oral argument in March.

Which appeals court sided with the dog-toy maker before the Supreme Court reversed it?

The Ninth Circuit ruled for the toy maker, overturning an Arizona district judge who had sided with the distillery and barred sales of the toy; the Supreme Court then sent the case back.

The parody whiskey-bottle dog toy belonged to which product line?

Silly Squeakers, VIP Products' range, spoofs well-known drinks with dog puns, and the toy even carried a disclaimer that it had nothing to do with the distillery.

Which First Amendment doctrine did the Court say a parody used as a trademark cannot invoke?

The Rogers test, from Rogers v. Grimaldi, protects expressive works; the Court said it cannot shield a parody used as the maker's own trademark, while leaving the test itself intact.

During Prohibition, the distillery's future owner held one of six US licences to make what?

The licence let the Louisville firm bottle medicinal whiskey, sold by prescription, through the dry years while hundreds of distilleries vanished.

In 2022, Jack Daniel's announced a canned ready-to-drink cocktail with which partner?

Coca-Cola and the distillery's parent announced the canned Jack Daniel's & Coca-Cola in June 2022, launching it in Mexico first before the US in 2023.