LYNCHBURG, TENNESSEE - HOME OF JACK DANIEL'S

Anyone who has had only a nodding acquaintance with Mr. Jack Daniel and his wonderful concoction, may be forgiven if he is not fully upto speed on the hallowed ground where old Jack trod. Lynchburg, Tennessee is a small hick town about 75 miles South of Nashville the capital city of Tennessee in the South Eastern part of the United States. And in the year 1978, Lynchburg  boasted of Sign Boards at the entry points to the town with typical southern corn, saying “ Don’t blink : you might miss us - Pop. 350 “.

Indeed, Lynchburg was the Jack Daniel's Distillery, and vice versa in those days, since there was nothing else in town, except for a part time hole in the wall Post Office run of course by volunteers from the distillery during their lunch break. Not for nothing is Tennessee called the Volunteer State.

Jack Daniel’s Green Label whisky was the cheapest brew available in those days and as indigent graduate students at Vanderbilt, we used to raise a toast to that noble gent every weekend after a long day’s workout on the cricket field (see earlier article- French Fries and Bar Screens). JD Green label and Jim Beam Whiskey were almost on par on the price stakes, and both were equally favoured by the Vanderbilt Cricket team, with 7 UP as the preferred pop to add the fizz.

My respect and lifelong affinity for Mr. Jack was forever sealed after an opportune visit to his distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by pure happenstance. The visit leaves memories not only of the distillery but also of a pleasant interlude in my life, of a different kind !

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers – Students Chapter (South East) had assembled in Vanderbilt for a three day convention. As a Graduate student and Teaching Assistant in the Department, I was tasked with showing around the group of students from all over the South Eastern States (Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi ) the laboratory and pilot plant facilities available at Vanderbilt for various chemical engineering unit operations and processes.

 Among the group was a pretty young thing from Florida, who had driven up all the way in her spanking new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (all the rage at that time). This lass had taken quite a shine to me in the very short period of time that we had spent doing the rounds of the Distillation column, Centrifuge, Thin Film Evaporator, Heat Exchanger and other Doodads in Olin Hall housing the ChE department at Vanderbilt. 

OLIN HALL - VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY - NASHVILLE, TN

There was an indefinable sense of suppressed thrill accompanied by a pleasant feeling of warmth, when we were together. I just could not refuse her pleading eyes when she invited me to accompany her to the plant visit to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg the following day.

So off We went down Interstate 24 East, past Murfreesboro and on to US -231 S to Shelbyville, surrounded by the pleasant countryside, the rich and fertile farmlands and rolling hills of Tennessee to reach the Distillery well before lunch time. The tour of the distillery itself warn't no great shakes : only the cavern whence the sparkling clear spring water emanates, stirred a little interest. 

NATURAL MINERAL WATER SPRING IN THE DISTILLERY

Seeping through and oozing out of limestone deposits of thousand of years, the mineral spring water was the perfect starting material for Mr. Jack to work his magic in his wooden vats, followed by his trump card – the sugar maple charcoal filter. The resulting brew was then filled in wooden casks made of white oak, charred on the inside to lend a further smoky flavour, and left to age in the Barrel House. The Barrel house was just a barrel house, was just a barrel house – Barrel upon Barrel upon Barrel.   

As Sarah and I emerged out of the dimly lit barrel house, we found ourselves holding hands, as we walked into the bright sunshine of a Tennessee afternoon.

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                             First Published : Oct. 23, 2011

FOOTNOTE : It is strange that although Jack Daniel’s is the largest selling Whiskey in the world, Jim Beam gets eulogized in more southern ballads than ole’ Jack : But that is the gentleman’s style, I guess. My favourite is the Travis Tritt version of the Lynrd Skynrd classic  “Don’ ask me no questions, and I won't tell you no lies” …… I like drinkin’ Jim Beam Whiskey, and playin’ in a honky tonk bar”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5stVOU6Sus

And every visit to a Brewery or a winery or a distillery brings back fond memories of that visit to Jack Daniel’s in Lynchburg, Tennessee more than 30 years ago.