Jack Daniels

We left Nashville today and on route to our next stop in Chattanooga we took a detour to Lynchburg, Tennessee to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery. Lynchburg is a small, leafy town in the countryside and the distillery is in an idyllic location, chosen by Jack Daniels for the fresh water springs that provide naturally filtered water from the limestone they flow through. We took a regularly run free guided tour from the visitors centre and were shown the ins and outs of how they make the world’s most consumed whiskey. They showed us how they mash the whiskey, distil and bottle it.

Along the way we learned lots of interesting facts, some of which include how Mr Daniels died: by kicking a safe in his office which broke his toe and ultimately led to gangrene and his demise. We also had an insight into what goes into making their Single Barrel Whiskey and learned that it is possible to buy a whole barrel (240 bottles). For $10,000 you get the bottles and the empty barrel shipped and with this purchase you also earn a golden plaque on a wall in the bottling building for the single barrel brand. In this room we spotted one plaque which read: ‘Kevin Spacey’s 50th’...I’m guessing they had a good time!

Surprisingly the County that Lynchburg is in is what is known as a ‘dry County’ which means the sale of alcohol is forbidden, therefore there were no free samples on the tour! Although you are given a refreshing glass of lemonade at the end and a chance to pose with a statue of the man himself. The state of Tennessee did allow a special law to pass recently which allows a small shop on site to sell bottles of Jack Daniels Monday to Saturday, but this is the only place in Lynchburg you can purchase alcohol. There is however an official merchandise shop in town where you can buy everything from poker tables made from old barrels to Jack Daniels coffee. They also do a number of cool furniture pieces that are too fashioned from old barrels since they only use each barrel once. It’s a mere $85 to buy a used barrel, which we thought was a steal, but thought we might have a bit of trouble getting it aboard the plane so we just bought the usual souvenirs; a glass, a few coasters, a poker chip and a sign made from a wooden slat used for a barrel.

We’re in Chattanooga tonight, tomorrow we’re planning a trip to Ruby Falls which is the US’ largest underground waterfall, and Lookout Mountain, where atop you can see 7 different states from the panoramic view. I haven’t seen any trains yet but Jenny is keeping an eye out for the Chattanooga Choo Choo! Photos of the distillery are on the right, they forbid photos inside any of the buildings however, look for photos of Chattanooga tomorrow.