Dry County or Jack Daniel's?

We got to go on another adventure today. We decided, since Tennessee is known for their whiskey, that we would go to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. It was about an hour away.

 

We are told: Here and there in the hills above Jack Daniel's hollow are nestled the plain, wood-and-tin barrelhouses where something magical happens to Jack Daniel's Whiskey! 

  It was a really nice drive, with lots to see. And of course, everything was nice and green. Perfect day for a tour - no rain in the forecast!

 There were huge trees, and it was kind of set back in the mountains.

 It was a really nice area, and it was set up pretty cool. We went into this visitors center to have a look around. Everything was really nicely kept, and it was all like "old barn" stuff.

 

 Everything was marked with the Jack Daniels brand. It was really nice how they did their landscaping.

On the porch of the visitor center before you went in, there were Jack Daniels chairs that you could sit in. They were really comfortable, and they were made out of the used Jack Daniels barrels!

 

Inside was really cool. They all kinds of displays for you to look at. This one showed the bottles of Jack Daniels and what they looked like, and how they have changed throughout the years.

 

 In the middle of the large room is a statue of Jack Daniels himself. He was a small, short little man. We had to wait a little bit before the next tour started, so we walked around and checked out all the little sections and displays that they had.

 If you didn't want to go on the guided tour, you could just look at all the displays that they had inside. It explained a little bit about the history and the process there at Jack Daniels. They had some really interesting things that we learned.

 Here are some of the original documents from back in the day.

Part of their process is Mellowing. The whiskey is filtered thru charcoal to get out all the impurities. Sky taking a whiff of the whiskey before it was processed. It really stunk!

 We didn't sign up for the tasting tour. We were in the regular #11 tour, and it was Free. Here is our guide Jesse James! He was really nice, knowledgeable, and interesting. He could answer all of our questions, too. Some tour guides can be very boring, but he was really cool.

Our group all loaded up on a tour bus, and rode it to the top of the hill to start the tour. It was a short ride.

 Here is the "Rickyard". This is where they start the fire and the first step in the process of making Jack Daniels. All this wood was sugar maple. They leave them out in the sun until they turn kind of a grayish color - so they will be good and dried out.

 Right next to the Rickyard is where they start the fire. They weren't burning anything today, but they were getting it ready for the next fire. All that wood stacked under there would be burnt and turned into coals that they would use later in the process.

 

 They had barrels of coals aka charcoal that they would use to filter the whiskey.

 Here is the bush that triggered my allergies! It was called a snowball bush. It was really pretty, but I could feel my allergies starting right after I walked by...

 

 The tour required alot of walking and climbing stairs. We were allowed to take pictures outside the buildings, but once we went inside the different buildings, we weren't allowed to take ANY pictures or use our cell phones.

Here is an old fire engine. It was just sitting there. They used it back in the first days, when they were first getting started, but now it is just part of the tour.

 

 This was the really cool part of the tour. This water spring behind our tour guide is the original spring that they use for their Jack Daniels. When Jack was 7 years old, he told his parents that he wanted to move out and go to work. His parents let him, and he went to work for the distillery. He was trained in everything there, and when he was 16 years old he bought it for $25!

 

Recently the Jack Daniel's Distillery has purchased a lot of acreage around the facility so that nothing will effect the natural stream that they depend on to make their product. They don't have any cattle on the acres, and they don't raise their own grains. The grain is shipped in from other outside states.

 

Jack Daniel's died because he went into work early one morning to catch up on some paperwork. There was a safe in his office, and he couldn't get it to open. He kicked it really hard, causing him to break his toe. Infection set in, and unfortunately he died from his temper!

 Here is another memorial for Jack. They call it Jack on the Rocks! The tour guide told us that we could get up there and take a picture with him, but no one wanted to .... so I drug Brandon up there with me.

 

Here is the current Master Distiller - Jeff Arnett. He is the expert! He is the one who decided when the whiskey is ready to be processed.

 The Grain Mill was interesting. Here is where the grain (Barley, Corn & Rye are mashed up and then left to ferment. There were huge tubs that were filled with this stuff. It looked like the mixture was boiling, but it was just fermenting. It was actually just a little warmer than room temperature. There were bubbles that would come to the top and then pop. It actually made Bart kind of nauseous. It was the yeast and natural sugars processing. When the entire tub quit bubbling and popping (which took about a week), then it was ready for the next step.

 This part of the Distillery Building wasn't running today. They had just finished a batch so it was down time. This is where the pulp would go, and then it would start the distilling process. We got to go in, but there wasn't anything to see today.

After the distilling process was complete, then in here - The Mellowing House is where the charcoal would come into play. Again, they had large tubs again that was filled with charcoal. The whiskey would then drip all the way down thru 13 feet of charcoal to get out all the impurities. The tubs where the whiskey was being filtered were locked, but the guide picked up the lid and would slam it back down so that you could get a good smell of it. I thought it was disgusting. It actually made Bart kind of nauseous.

 

How many times it was filtered would depend on what type of whiskey they were going to make.

 

One of the last buildings that we got to tour was where they stored all of the barrels of whiskey. It takes anywhere from 4-7 years for each barrel to mature. The barrels were stored on their sides (in the Rick House), but they were stacked at different levels.

 

This was on their brochure: Summer after summer, over the years, the pores of the oak barrels open up, allowing some of the whiskey to seep in. Winter after winter, the pores contract. When the whiskey is forced back out, it takes along not only an amber color but also subtle flavors - like the caramelized sugars from the barrel's charred interior - that give Jack Daniel's its distinctive flavor.

 

Though it takes an expert like the master distiller Jeff Arnet to notice it, no 2 barrels of whiskey taste exactly alike. It was up to the Master Distiller to know when it is time to process that particular barrel.  There are several types of Jack Daniels Whiskey - the unique flavors depend on the temperature extremes during the seasoning process, and even where the barrels sit in the barrelhouse. I thought that was really cool.

 

 In the Bottling Room was where they of course did the bottling. They only bottle 1 barrel of whiskey at a time!

 Here is where the bottles were filled with whiskey and then a clear seal was placed on the top of the bottle where the cap was.

 

It would then go thru the machines and then end up by these group of ladies. Their job was to check the seal quality - any wrinkles or tears in the seals.

 

 If any of the bottles weren't quite right, then they would remove the seal, and put in back in the lineup to go thru to get a new seal.

Then the guys at the end of the line would take all of the bottles off of the conveyor belt and box them into cartons to send off to be sold.

 

When they are sampling each barrel of whiskey as it comes of age, the master distiller sets a few aside, ones with the smoothest taste, richest color and more intense flavor. These barrels are destined for something special:  to be sold, one barrel at a time, to the most discriminating customers.

 

 In the very last room of the tour, was a huge display as to how many bottles of whiskey you could get out of 1 barrel. You can purchase a barrel of whiskey for yourself. They will hand-bottle all of the whiskey for you into personal size bottles with a medallion around the neck of the bottle with your name on it. It makes about 240 bottles of whiskey!

You not only get all those bottles of whiskey, but you get to keep your barrel which will have the barrel number, the rick from which it was taken in the barrel house, and the date when the whiskey was bottled.

 You also get a name plaque that is displayed in here on the wall to show your family and friends that you purchased a complete barrel. There were some people that purchased multiple barrels, so they had extra plaque medallions added to their name.

There were walls of people that had purchased their own barrel! A barrel ranges from $9,000 to $12,000 ($35 - $40 per bottle).

 

If you want a barrel, you have to let them know at the beginning of the month, so that it can be available to you in about 6 weeks. You will actually meet with the Master Distiller so that he can help you select a barrel that will match your particular taste.

 

After the tour, we made the short walk to the actual town of Lynchburg. Something interesting that we learned was that Lynchburg, Tennessee is what you would call a "DRY" county. You are not allowed to consume alcohol here. You can purchase it, but you have to consume it somewhere else.

 

Also, all of the employees get a bottle of Jack Daniel's with their paychecks on the 1st Friday of the month. They all call it "Good Friday"!!! 

 

 The walk wasn't far. It was basically their "tourist" trap. But it was a nice day, and it was fun.

Here is Bart and I's house at the top of this hill. Wouldn't that be cool to live there?

 

 We came upon the Moore County Jail which was made into a museum. We decided to take a little look.

 Downstairs was the facilities for the women.

 And upstairs was the place for the hard core men!

 Sky was a good sport when I had her sit to take her "Jail Photo".

When we were leaving, we noticed that Johnny Cash had ben there. I don't think he was actually in jail, but just visited.

 

Sky and I with our buddy - Jack.

 

 This chess set was cool. The pieces were all made out of whiskey bottles, and anything related to Jack Daniel's.

 

 Bart taking a little break while we were waiting for lunch. It was comfy. We bought a few tokens and treasures, then headed back home. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be - even if we don't drink. I would recommend the tour to everyone.