Tour This 144-Year-Old Distillery In Tennessee For An Unforgettable Experience
By Meghan Kraft|Published February 21, 2019
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Meghan Kraft
Author
Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.
Tennessee is known for its affinity for Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, but it’s the history of the Lynchburg-located facility that really provides insight into the whole rigamarole. You can visit for yourself at 133 Lynchburg Highway and learn all about the history of your favorite whiskey, how it’s affected the state of Tennessee for the good, and withstood some of the most extensive shifts in American history. How does whiskey win the battle against prohibition? Well, you’re about to find out.
Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is known around the world for its quality product, a leading name when it comes to whiskey production and the top-selling brand in the United States.
Lynchburg is located in Moore County, which is, funnily enough, a dry county. The sale of alcohol isn't permitted within county lines, so the distillery stands alone in its fight for whiskey production.
Crazy fact? Tennessee whiskey is actually defined and meets all the criteria of straight bourbon, as defined by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Whiskey or bourbon, it depends who you ask.
If you're staying in Nashville, you most likely have researched the Jack Daniel's Distillery tour. There are different ticket tiers, with the most popular being the $20 Flight of Jack Daniel's Tour. You can also buy tickets for the Dry County Tour which is less exhaustive but also less expensive, at $15 a person.
The Angel's Share tour will take you from the distillery to the historic Barrelhouse tasting facility, where you'll have the chance to try whiskey drawn from the barrels. Each tour includes an overview of the distillery and the history of the space, as well as a description of the distilling process.
Short on time? No worries! For just $15 you can snag a spot on the Mr. Jack Toast in the Hollow Tour, where you'll be able to tour the area via car in a mere 30 minutes. That's a time steal, right there.
Jack Daniel's purchased the hollow and land where his famed distillery is now located in the late nineteenth century, and operated as one of fifteen distilleries open in the area at the time. It was only after receiving a gold medal at the St. Louis World's Fair that his whiskey shot to fame. Even after death, the distillery prevailed. Through the temperance movement and thirteen years of prohibition, Jack Daniel's prevailed.
The distillery has opened and closed throughout history for reasons such as prohibition and World War II, but Jack Daniel's whiskey has always prevailed. It's a true story of Tennessee's steadfast know-how and a place where you can experience the history of America's best selling alcohol.