Founded by Jack Daniel in his home town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, in 1875, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery is home to probably the most well known brand of whisky in the world. The distillery is located in a hollow known as Stillhouse Hollow, where a natural spring filters through a limestone cliff which removes the iron and makes it perfect for distilling.
Jack, born Jasper Newton, was orphaned at a young age and was taken in by a local preacher and moonshiner and it was he who first introduced him to distilling. By 1875, after receiving his inheritance from his father’s death, he purchased the hollow where the distillery is still located today.
The famous Jack Daniel’s square shaped bottle was introduced in 1897, with the thought that these would portray a sense of integrity and fairness.
With no children and failing health, Jack gave his distillery to two of his nephews, with one, Lemuel Motlow, buying the other’s share and eventually going on to run the famous distillery for over 40 years.
His time as owner saw the introduction of Prohibition in the US, and in particular in Tennessee itself, which prevented legal production at the distillery, something Motlow personally fought against by becoming a State Senator.
In more modern times, the brand and distillery was sold to the Brown-Forman Corporation in 1956, who own it to this day and have seen not only the whisky go from strength to strength but the historic distillery become a major tourist attraction.
