A distinctive feature of Jack Daniels whiskey, known for its iconic black and white label on a cult square bottle, is that it is inextricably linked with the personality of only one person - Jack Daniel, who devoted his life to creating the perfect drink.
He was born in Lincoln County (Tennessee) and was the youngest child in a family of ten children. Mother died when Jack was still very small. The father married another woman who did not really like foster children. Aged six Jack Daniel moved to live in his uncle's house in Lynchburg. A local priest, part-time distillery and shop owner Dan Kol took the boy under his wing, hiring. Jack did not show much interest in his duties, but he was attracted to the distillery. Dan noted Jack's curiosity and suggested that he study the whole technology. Kohl taught him the “sour mash” method and the unique Lincoln County whiskey distillation process.
When the idea of banning alcohol spread throughout America, Dan Kohl had to listen to his wife's sermons on the dangers of alcoholic beverages. As a result, she managed to persuade her husband to sell the distillery to her student, for whom from that time began her journey to creating Jack Daniels whiskey - the best in the world.
He bought a new plot of land near Lynchberg and moved his production there. The region had clear spring water and an abundance of sugar maples. At the age of 16, D. Daniel became the first producer in the United States to register a distillery.
Thanks to filtration through charcoal and other production factors, he could be proud of his product and sell it at a price well above cost. But in the 1870s, around Lynchburg, he had many competitors applying the same process. And Jack dreamed of a product that would be something special.
For production, he began to use spring water from a limestone cave that does not contain iron, as well as the best grains, filtering the drink through charcoal from sugar maple with a layer of three meters (successively replacing it).
While competing at the St. Louis World Fair, despite strong competition, the new brand won a gold medal. This meant that he was provided by customers all over the world. Unfortunately, the life of the creator of the famous whiskey Jack Daniels interrupted due to a rather strange incident that happened to him in 1907. Once Jack forgot a combination of numbers to open a safe. Displeased, he kicked him so hard that he broke his thumb. Over time, blood poisoning began, his health deteriorated greatly, and in 1911 he died, never marrying and leaving no heir. The distillery was handed over to nephew Lem Motlow, who continued to expand the business.
By the 1950s, Jack Daniels whiskey sales , reviews about which passed from mouth to mouth, grew constantly. This could not but attract the attention of the media. In 1951, an article about a unique alcoholic beverage was published in the famous Fortune business magazine, telling about its creation and the interest that many famous personalities showed in it, such as William Faulkner, Winston Churchill, John Houston. A similar article appeared in 1954 in the men's magazine True, one of the most popular publications of its time. It focused on the fact that whiskey Jack Daniels was a favorite drink of show business stars - Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner. Sinatra called him "nectar for the gods" and even often wore a sweater with a patch for an imaginary club named after this drink.