The founder of the world’s most famous whiskey, Jasper (Jack) Newton Daniel, would have turned 167 years old this month.  Since Jack died before revealing his date of birth, no one knows exactly when in September he was born, so Jack Daniel’s friends and fans around the world celebrate the iconic man for the whole month.

Whether he was uncertain of the actual year or it was just a matter of pride, Jack died before revealing the truth about this mystery. Some say he was uncertain of the year himself, or that he was never able to find his birth certificate because it was lost in a courthouse fire.

Today, it’s just one of many unknowns that surround Mr. Jack and his distillery. What’s the story behind the Old No. 7 brand name? Some say it was simply his lucky number or the seventh recipe that created the perfect batch. Why did he run away from home at such an early age? Like most mysteries, these continue to generate a good deal of conversation. In the end, all of the conversation and stories surrounding these mysteries have served Mr. Jack and his whiskey better than any simple fact ever could. Maybe that’s all the clever gentleman distiller ever wanted – to give folks something to talk about. Well, he succeeded…

We know that Mr. Jack constantly worked to perfect his whiskey, and when he landed on something that was good, he stuck with it. “Every day we make it, we’ll make it the best way we can” is what he lived by and what we still live by today. Every drop of his Tennessee Whiskey is still made in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Jack took the extra time and money to charcoal mellow his whiskey, drop by drop to create his smooth sippin’ Tennessee whiskey. Today we call this the “extra blessing.”

Jack was never one to cut a party short and if you’re so inclined, raise a toast to Jack this September. Any day will do.

 

Leave a Reply