Visiting the Jack Daniel's Distillery

While living in Tennessee I never gave Jack Daniel's much thought. I grew up in east Tennessee and since Lynchburg is in middle Tennessee, it wasn't really on my radar. I am also not a big fan of liquor, so I never felt the need to try whiskey of any kind. However, during some past international travels I noticed that Jack Daniel's was a huge deal. While studying abroad in London, I saw advertisements for the Tennessee whiskey everywhere. Often, when I told a Londoner that I was from Tennessee they would exclaim, "Oh! Like Jack Daniel's!" I have also seen signs for Jack Daniel's in other parts of Europe and in South America as well.

I finally decided that visiting the Jack Daniels Distillery needed to be added to my Tennessee Bucket List. Over a school holiday, I was able to make the trip to Lynchburg. Before my visit, I signed up for a tour on the Jack Daniel's website. There are a few different tour options, but I chose the Flight of Jack Daniel's Tour. This was an inexpensive tour ($17) and I felt that it would provide the best overview of the distillery and Jack's story.

The tour options include:

Dry County Tour ($14)

This is a whiskey-free tour that is suitable for all ages. This tour provides guests with the history and background of Jack Daniels without any whiskey samples. I am not exactly sure why they offer this tour but I guess some guests are interested in the idea of whiskey without actually wanting to sample it? This is an all-ages tour so I can see this being an appealing option for families who really want to tour the distillery but have to bring their kids along. I won't judge anymore- it is just interesting to offer a dry tour at a distillery-thats all.

Flight of Jack Daniel's Tour ($17)

This is an 18+ tour that includes the history and stories provided in the Dry County Tour, with the added bonus of whiskey samples at the end. This was the tour I took and I can highly recommend it. It was a perfect balance of introudcing me to to the Jack Daniel's story without overwhelming me with liquor talk that I didn't understand or wasn't interested in. I also found it fascinating to sample whiskey with a professional who could explain the best way to sip and enjoy the different varieties.

The Angel's Share ($22)

This tour seems like the advanced option of the Flight of Jack Daniel's Tour. You will still receive a distillery tour but the whiskey tasting includes their Single Barrel Collection and limited edition whiskey. So this would have been lost on me, but if you are more of a connoisseur, this would be an interesting tour.

The Taste of Lynchburg ($75)

This 3-hour tour includes the Angel's Share distillery tour and whiskey tasting, along with a tour of Lynchburg's town square. Additionally, the tour includes lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Restaurant. If you are looking for a longer tour and want a taste of some traditional Southern food this would be a great option.

Mr. Jack Toast in the Hollow Tour ($13)

During this is a quick 30-minute tour you will ride through the Old Town and distillery grounds in the comfort of a motor coach. The tour does end with a taste of the famous whiskey, so this is a perfect tour for those who want the historical information and tasting experience without the walking required in the other tours.

The drive to Lynchburg from my home in Knoxville was a little over 3 hours. The route went through Chattanooga, so we stopped here for a quick breakfast and trip to the popular pedestrian bridge before continuing our trip. As we continued our drive I became more and more surprised by the environment. I knew that there were many rural parts of Tennessee, but it was interesting to learn that one of world's most recognizable brands came from such a small town.

We arrived a little early for our tour, which gave me time to explore the museum in the main lobby. The small exhibit provided some great information that set the stage for the upcoming tour. Although some details have been lost in time, Jack Daniel was born around 1849 in Lynchburg, Tennessee. He never married or had kids, but eventually passed his whiskey company to his nephew. In 1884 Jack Daniel took over his mentor's distillery and purchased the land and hollow where the distillery still stands today. By 1880 Jack Daniel's was one of 15 distilleries in the county. The whiskey gained national recognition when it won the gold medal for "finest whiskey" at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. However, around this time the temperance movement was gaining traction in Tennessee, so the company began distilling in St. Louis and Birmingham. Unfortunately this was an unsuccessful move due to quality concerns. The whiskey needed to be made from the hollow's water in order to achieve its award-winning flavor. In 1938 production finally restarted at the Lynchburg distillery allowing for the signature Jack Daniel's whiskey to once again be produced.

The tour lasted 1.5 hours and was a really interesting way to learn about the history and significance of this popular whisky. Our tour group consisted of about 25 people, and I was surprised to learn that Austin and I were some of the only people on the tour from Tennessee. The other tour members included people from Chicago, California, Brazil, Poland, and Argentina. It is still so interesting to me how wide of a reach this Tennessee whiskey has!

The tour included an overview of the history, distilling process, and a look inside the bottling factory. I never realized how much goes into creating a bottle of Jack and I was impressed to learn about the charcoal mellowing and aging processes. The tour also includes a visit to Cave Spring Hollow, the natural limestone spring that provides water for every bottle of Jack.

At the end of the tour we were taken to the tasting room to sample 5 types of Jack Daniel's. These included Gentlemen Jack, Old No 7, Single Barrel Select, Tennessee Honey, and Tennessee Fire. This was my first taste of Jack Daniel's, and while I did not particularly enjoy the whiskey, this was a really unique way to sample it for the first time. The tour guide gave us an overview of each style, how to best taste it, and what we should expect out of the flavor. The tour ended in a gift shop where you can purchase many different varieties of Jack, as well as different gifts and souvenirs. Be sure to stock up in this gift shop, because this is the only place in the county where you can legally purchase alcohol. Lynchburg, ironically, lies in a dry county so you cannot purchase any variety of Jack Daniel's outside of the distillery's gift shop.

If you plan to spend any additional time in Lynchburg, be aware that this is a small town, so there is not much to do besides the Jack Daniel's Distillery. The downtown area had a few restaurants and shops, which mostly sell non-alcoholic Jack Daniel's souvenirs.

Lynchburg could be an easy side trip for anyone traveling through Tennessee. The distillery is only 1.5 hours from Nashville, 4.5 hours from Memphis, and 3.5 from Knoxville. While it might not be on everyone's bucket list, the Jack Daniel's Distillery tour provided some interesting insight into the history and culture of an extremely recognizable international brand.