Visit Jack Daniels Distillery- The Adventuring Millennial Travel Blog

Everything you Need to Know Before Planning a Trip to the Jack Daniels Distillery

While living in East Tennessee I never gave Jack Daniel’s much thought. Since Lynchburg is in middle Tennessee, it wasn’t really on my radar. I am also not a big fan of liquor, so I never felt the need to try this whiskey.

But during a few international trips, I realized that Jack Daniel’s was a kind of a big deal. While studying abroad in London, I saw advertisements for the Tennessee whiskey everywhere. Often, when I told a Londoner that I was from Tennessee they would exclaim, “Oh! Like Jack Daniel’s!” I’ve also seen signs for Jack Daniel’s in other parts of Europe and South America.

So, I finally decided to add the Jack Daniels Distillery to my Tennessee Bucket List. During a school holiday, I was able to make the trip to Lynchburg to visit Jack Daniels. Before my visit, I signed up for a tour on the Jack Daniel’s website. There are a few different tour options, but I chose the Flight of Jack Daniel’s Tour. This was an inexpensive tour ($17) and I felt that it would offer the best overview of the distillery and Jack’s story.

The tour options include:

Dry County Tour ($14)

This is a whiskey-free tour that is suitable for all ages. This tour provides guests with the history and background of Jack Daniels without any whiskey samples. I am not exactly sure why they offer this tour but I guess some guests are interested in the idea of whiskey without actually wanting to sample it? This is an all-ages tour so I can see this being an appealing option for families who really want to tour the distillery but have to bring their kids along. I won’t judge anymore- it is just interesting to offer a dry tour at a distillery-that’s all.

Flight of Jack Daniel’s Tour ($17)

This is an 18+ tour that includes the history and stories provided in the Dry County Tour, with the added bonus of whiskey samples at the end. This was the tour I took and I can highly recommend it. It was a perfect balance of introducing me to to the Jack Daniel’s story without overwhelming me with liquor talk that I didn’t understand or wasn’t interested in. I also found it fascinating to sample whiskey with a professional who could explain the best way to sip and enjoy the different varieties.

The Angel’s Share ($22)

This tour seems like the advanced option of the Flight of Jack Daniel’s Tour. You will still receive a distillery tour but the whiskey tasting includes their Single Barrel Collection and limited edition whiskey. So this would have been lost on me, but if you are more of a connoisseur, this would be an interesting tour.

The Taste of Lynchburg ($75)

This 3-hour tour includes the Angel’s Share distillery tour and whiskey tasting, along with a tour of Lynchburg’s town square. Additionally, the tour includes lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House Restaurant. If you are looking for a longer tour and want a taste of some traditional Southern food this would be a great option.

Mr. Jack Toast in the Hollow Tour ($13)

During this is a quick 30-minute tour you will ride through the Old Town and distillery grounds in the comfort of a motorcoach. The tour does end with a taste of the famous whiskey, so this is a perfect tour for those who want the historical information and tasting experience without the walking required in the other tours.

Visit Jack Daniels

Getting There

The drive to Lynchburg from my home in Knoxville was a little over 3 hours. The route went through Chattanooga, so we stopped here for a quick breakfast and trip to the popular pedestrian bridge before continuing our trip. As we continued our drive I became more and more surprised by the environment. I knew that there were many rural parts of Tennessee, but it was interesting to learn that one of the world’s most recognizable brands came from such a small town.

Museum

We arrived a little early for our tour, which gave me time to explore the museum in the main lobby. The small exhibit provided some great information that set the stage for the upcoming tour. Although some details have been lost in time, Jack Daniel was born around 1849 in Lynchburg, Tennessee. He never married or had kids, but eventually passed his whiskey company to his nephew. In 1884 Jack Daniel took over his mentor’s distillery and purchased the land and hollow where the distillery still stands today.

By 1880 Jack Daniel’s was one of 15 distilleries in the county. The whiskey gained national recognition when it won the gold medal for “finest whiskey” at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. However, around this time the temperance movement was gaining traction in Tennessee, so the company began distilling in St. Louis and Birmingham.

Unfortunately, this was an unsuccessful move due to quality concerns. The whiskey needed to be made from the hollow’s water in order to achieve its award-winning flavor. In 1938 production finally restarted at the Lynchburg distillery allowing for the signature Jack Daniel’s whiskey to once again be produced.

Distillery Tour

The tour lasted 1.5 hours and was a really interesting way to learn about the history and significance of this popular whiskey. Our tour group consisted of about 25 people, and I was surprised to learn that my husband and I were some of the only people on the tour from Tennessee. The other tour members included people from Chicago, California, Brazil, Poland, and Argentina. It is still so interesting to me how wide of a reach this Tennessee whiskey has!

The tour included an overview of the history, distilling process, and a look inside the bottling factory. I never realized how much goes into creating a bottle of Jack (I learned all about the charcoal mellowing and aging processes). The tour also includes a visit to Cave Spring Hollow, the natural limestone spring that provides water for every bottle of Jack.

The tour ended in the tasting room. The guide gave everyone 5 Jack Daniel’s samples. These included Gentlemen Jack, Old No 7, Single Barrel Select, Tennessee Honey, and Tennessee Fire. In case you were wondering, this was my first taste of Jack Daniel’s. No, I didn’t really enjoy the whiskey. But this was a fun way to sample it for the first time.

The tour guide gave us an overview of each style, how to best taste it, and what we should expect out of the flavor. The tour ended in a gift shop (of course). Here you can purchase many different varieties of Jack, as well as gifts and souvenirs. Be sure to stock up in this gift shop. This is the only place in the county where you can legally purchase alcohol. Yes, Lynchburg lies in a dry county. So you can’t purchase any variety of Jack Daniel’s outside the distillery’s gift shop.

If you plan to spend any additional time in Lynchburg, be aware that this is a small town, so there is not much to do besides the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. The downtown area had a few restaurants and shops, which mostly sell non-alcoholic Jack Daniel’s souvenirs.

Lynchburg could be an easy side trip for anyone traveling through Tennessee. The distillery is only 1.5 hours from Nashville, 4.5 hours from Memphis, and 3.5 from Knoxville.

Alright, I know this might not be on everyone’s bucket list. But the tour provided some interesting insight into the history of an extremely recognizable international brand.