When it comes to the best Whiskey what name comes to your mind, if your like most good ol boys, I bet it's Jack Daniels. Drinking Jack Daniels is a rite of passage for a male's progress from being a so called adult to the real mans club, yes I know some ladies love it also. To me, Jack Daniels Whiskey is without a doubt the best darn whiskey there is, once I tasted my first sip, many moons ago, I have never found another whiskey that can come close to satisfying my taste, and there are thousands, no, probably millions of others of us that feel the same way.
Now if you are a true Jack Daniels fan, spouse or friend of one, or just curious on how it's actually made, then you can fulfill your desires, by visiting the Temple of the Whiskey Gods, and by that I mean the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Tours usually run from 9 am - 4:30 PM at the Jack Daniel Distillery, once the size of a group reaches 25 the tour begins, and each tour lasts approximately one hour. Site personnel will take a photo of each tour group, and they post these photos online on their website where you can view and download them to print-out if you wish to do so.
You are more then welcome to bring along a camera, as there are many wonderful places outside where your welcome to take pictures, of course inside photos are usually not allowed, but that has to be expected, remember making Jack Daniels is a a business too, and a business must guard some of their secrets, especially in this world of competitiveness. There are different tour guides who guide the tours, and each of them is witty, humorous and shows downright southern hospitality, and a true love and respect for the jack Daniels legacy. You will learn numerous things about the life and times of Jack Daniels and a heck of a lot of knowledge on how Jack Daniels Whiskey is made.
Some of the amazing things you will see on your tour include, artifacts or items that were used in the early days of making the whiskey, as well things that were actually owned and used by Jack Daniels himself, including the safe that killed him. Actually they say he got mad because he forgot the combination to the safe, and out of anger he kicked it, which caused him to break a toe, which became infected and overtime he died from blood poisoning.
The Rickyard is where you will see where they stack wood, and then burn it to make their own charcoal used in the filtration process. See the sights and the smells of the fermentation as well as the distilling areas, the bottling room, the barrel warehouse where they store the whiskey in oak barrels where it matures in color and flavor.
There is a gift shop where you can purchase specialty collectible bottles of Jack Daniels, and when the tour is over they will give you a complimentary glass of lemonade which is absolutely delicious. You can see all of the aforementioned sights and sounds and a lot more when you visit the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Oh yea, and the complete tour through the Jack Daniels Distillery is absolutely free.