We had a chance to spend a few days with my dad and step-mom. The weather was picture perfect; warm and sunny and just right for sight seeing! In all of their visits to Tennessee over the last 20 years, somehow, they had never been to the Jack Daniels Distillery. Actually, we only went once and that was about 15 years ago. With nothing else on the agenda, we took the trip to Lynchburg.
The fact that they make their own charcoal still impresses me. These are ricks of maple wood that will be burned to make the charcoal which will filter the whiskey.
Because they use fire, I am assuming they needed fire trucks at some point.
Neither looks as if it gets a workout these days.
The source of the spring water used to make the whiskey.
Deep within this rocky cave is where the water comes out and is piped into the distillery to use in the production of the whiskey.
Good words to live by…
If you take the tour, be prepared to do a lot of walking.
If I could have, I would have wandered all around the property taking photos.
As much as this is a production facility, they really have worked to maintain the property so that it resembles what it was at the start. The black soot on the building is actually a result of the brewing process; called whiskey fungus, it is a natural occurrence near distilleries and you can read about it here.
After walking through several buildings, we went to the barrel house and on to the tasting room. Depending on which tour you take, you can end it with a whiskey tasting or you can even take a dry tour but none of the tours are free.
We took the $20 tour which means we ended in a tasting room with 5 samples of whiskey which was multi-barrel aged. We were given samples of Gentleman Jack, Old Number 7, 100% Rye, Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire. And by taste, I truly mean a little taste; look closely at the bottom of the cups, that is all they give you, roughly a teaspoon and a half. In my case, that was more than I needed to know that I do not have the ability to drink whiskey!
Our tour guide was also our tasting guide. He led us through the process of tasting and pointed the qualities and flavors of the different whiskies as we sipped each one.
The tasting rooms were rather dark, it made taking photos a bit of a challenge since I was holding the camera.
Even so, I could have spent an hour in there playing and catching the light.
Row after row, seat after seat and all ready for the next taster.
When you leave the tasting room, you end up in the gift shop, so convenient. We did not buy anything but that wall!
The entire wall is a series of bottles stacked in rows.
If I could, I would fill a window space with bottles because I love the way it looks!
When we finished the tour, we walked over to the square and strolled around. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.
will garden for cake 