Tennessee Whiskey; it's in so many memorable songs, on the back bar of your favorite joint, you may even have a t-shirt or two with 'Tennessee Whiskey' written on the iconic label we've all come to know and love. But what makes it so distinguishable?
Creating the Mellow
Let's talk about the Lincoln County Process; you may have heard that phrase around before. It's the official name describing the process that makes our whiskey different from all the other whiskey in the world: charcoal mellowing. Locals call the process “The Extra Blessing,” and it’s a process that goes all the way back to when Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel started his distillery in the late 1800s. At the Jack Daniel Distillery, we have complete control over all production aspects of the whiskey-making process, from cultivating our yeast cultures to being the only major distillery to craft our own barrels. Similarly, we control how our charcoal is made, and having that control over this process allows us to experiment.
For over 25 years, the same two men have had the privilege of making our sugar-maple charcoal in Lynchburg, TN: Darren and Tracey. They start by setting up 'ricks' of our sugar-maple wood to 'season' outside. Once the ricks are ready, they're placed under a massive hood, two at a time, and ignited by our 140 proof un-aged whiskey. We don't use any other fire-starter because we don't want to impart any off-flavors onto the charcoal, so we just stick with 100% whiskey.
After about two hours, the blaze reaches a temperature of about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The fire is then extinguished at precisely the right time. If the fire is extinguished too soon, you're simply left with burnt wood. Too late, and you're looking at just another pile of ash. The point at which the sugar-maple becomes charcoal is an art that Darren and Tracey have cultivated over their tenure at the Jack Daniel Distillery.
The charcoal is then heaped into large piles where it waits to be used in our charcoal mellowing vats, where every single drop of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey will be filtered through in the coming days. The whole filtering process can take anywhere from three days to a week.
An important thing to note is that the charcoal mellowing process is subtractive, not additive. Certain compounds are filtered out of the whiskey to highlight the natural characteristics we want out of the distillate. We want the best whiskey to go into our barrels. Every single drop of our Tennessee Whiskey goes through this mellowing process before it enters the barrel.
Doubling the Mellow
We love what charcoal mellowing does for our whiskey before it enters the barrel, so what would happen if we took that whiskey and filtered it through 3 feet more of charcoal when it’s done maturing? We answered that question with a double-mellowed Tennessee Whiskey with an exceptionally smooth finish; Gentleman Jack.
The extra filtration creates an exceptionally smooth whiskey at 80 proof, leaving behind softer hints of caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch, perfect for an occasion on the rocks, neat, or a perfectly balanced whiskey cocktail.
We take a lot of pride in the craftsmanship that goes into making a bottle of Gentleman Jack, and we hope you enjoy sipping it as much as we do making it.
Please drink responsibly.
Tennessee Whiskey, 40% alc. by vol. (80 proof). Distilled and bottled by Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Jack Daniel’s and Old No. 7 are registered trademarks of Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. © 2021.
