Jack Daniel's

Jack Daniel's is the biggest selling American whiskey brand in the world with 150 years of tradition. The famous Old No.7 Black Label sells a staggering 12.5 million cases each year globally. The brand is iconic and woven into popular culture, with names such as Frank Sinatra being famous historical drinkers of it. The broad range of whiskeys and ready-to-drink options has seen Jack Daniel's continue to go from strength to strength.

Jack Daniel's is known for its sweet, mellow and gentle style of whiskey. Notes of soft fruit, both green apple and tropical, and delicate oaky spices are often observed.

It is home to an extensive range of spirits with the popular Old No.7 joined by Gentleman Jack, Single Barrel and Rye. There are limited-edition releases such as the premium Sinatra Select. Flavoured variants are also available - Tennessee Honey, Tennessee Fire (with cinnamon) and Tennessee Apple. There is an ever-increasing range of ready-to-drink cocktails in cans.

Jack Daniel's uses the same processes and recipe as most bourbon distilleries. The whiskey is essentially a 'Tennessee bourbon' made of corn, rye and malted barley. They use the sour mash technique - this involves using part of the previous mash batch within the next batch to create consistency and aid fermentation. Water used in production process is taken from a natural cave spring in Lynchburg.

One key difference sees new make spirit filtered slowly through maple charcoal prior to being filled to barrels. This is called the Lincoln County Process, named after the neighbouring county where it was first practiced. This process means it cannot be labelled as bourbon. Regulations state that bourbon spirit cannot be altered in any way, other than being reduced to drinking strength with water.

The Jack Daniel distillery is located in Lynchburg, Tennessee - a small town within Moore County. This is a dry county, so the whiskey cannot be purchased or consumed there. The exception is at the distillery's shop.

The distillery and brand were founded by Jasper Newton Daniel in 1866. He began working at a local distillery in the 1850s under the guidance of owner Dan Call and distiller Nathan 'Uncle Nearest' Green. It is believed to be where Daniel gained his nickname 'Jack'. He was given official registration of the distillery when Call quit in 1875.

Daniel expanded in 1884 and purchased land where the current distillery sits today. By that time there were 15 distilleries in Moore County. The local government allocated the registration number 7 to Daniel's distillery, believed to be the origin of the Old No.7 name. He introduced the famous square bottle in 1897, designed to minimise transportation breakages.

Daniel passed ownership to his nephew Lem Motlow prior to his death in 1911. Prohibition law was passed across the state of Tennessee in 1910, a full decade before the countrywide law was introduced. There was no production from then until 1938 when Tennessee lifted the law following the end of national Prohibition in 1933. It was closed again between 1942 and 1946 due to World War II restrictions.

The distillery was sold to the Brown-Forman Corporation in 1956. They remain as owner today. They are responsible for the significant growth of the brand, both in the US and globally. The Jack Daniel distillery was also inducted to the National Register of Historical Places in 1972.