Nashville Highlights: Part III

While in Nashville, my BFF and I took a road trip to Lynchburg, Tennessee to take a tour of the Jack Daniel’s distillery.  She’s a Scotch drinker and had wanted to go.  I had read some reviews of the tour ahead of time and was looking forward to it.  The drive was a bit over an hour from Nashville. 

We started at the visitor’s center where we were given a card with our tour group number.  We lucked out and had a pretty small tour group of ten.  Apparently, they can go as large as 25.  Before the walking tour began, we were led into a room to watch a short video that provided a great overview.  It was interesting to learn about the process and hear what goes into producing Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey (JDTW). 

I enjoyed the tour very much.  I thought it was well organized and I learned a great deal including the following:

• JDTW is made from corn, barley, and rye.  They take pride in using the best of these grains.  These grains are cooked with natural cave water to create a mash. 
• One of the reasons that the distillery made its home at their current location was the fact that there was cave water which is used to make JDTW. 
• The area known as the Rickyard is where they make their own charcoal.  JDTW is seeped in charcoal which is one of the elements that give their whiskey a smooth taste. 
• They make their own barrels at the Jack Daniels distillery.  This is used to store and age the JDTW.  These barrels are only used once.  The barrels are then sold to Scotch producers to use for their own aging processes.
• Lynchburg, Tennessee is a “Dry County” meaning that no alcohol can be sold in the entire County.  At the Jack Daniel’s distillery, they sell collector’s bottles.  (I bought a $50 bottle of JDTW and brought it back in my suitcase.)

If you’re in the area, I highly recommend this free tour.  JDTW takes great pride in their products and it really shows.