Every day all over the world, tons of the most famous whisky are drunk. But why is that? Isn’t Jack Daniel’s a bourbon like so many others?
Clear answer: no.
The peculiarities
The peculiarities begin with his own spring, from which Jack Daniels gets his water exclusively. You have to imagine that… a spring, much older than any drinking culture, is only used to make whisky. Crazy, isn’t it?
But it gets even more exciting. There is a cooperage that does nothing all year round other than build 190 l wooden barrels – from its own forests, of course – for whisky production.
The peculiarities
The staves are cut, set, bent and charred. This gives the barrels the typical “charcoal layer” on the inside. This layer in combination with the wood is essential for the taste and the well-known softness of Jack Daniels. (If you’d like to know more about toasting and charring, stay tuned to our blog – we’ll be posting soon).
So far, so good, you will now think. Water and wooden barrels, even if exclusive, but that's not special - that's true.
What makes Tennessee Whisky so special is the recipe and the finishing. In contrast to other Bourbon varieties, Jack Daniel’s has a content of 80% corn, 12% rye and 8% barley. The mashing and distilling does not really differ from other varieties, it becomes exciting afterwards. Before the whisky is filled into the barrel, the whiskey seeps drop by drop for about twelve days through a layer of charcoal about three metres thick, which is made of sugar maple on the distillery premises. This gives the distillate its typical taste and mildness.
The whisky is then filled in specially made barrels, where it is stored for 3 years waiting and then sent around the world. And even before the bottles can land on the shelf, we come into play. When the barrels are emptied, a container is ready. After the barrels have been emptied, they are immediately closed again with a bung and loaded onto the container. 2 – 3 weeks later 210 original Jack Daniel’s barrels will be unloaded and sold to you.
If you now feel like maturing your product in such a barrel: you know where to find us…
And if they don’t have a distillate or beer to finish it at Jack Daniel’s barrel: We also build shelf barrels 😉
In this sense:
Cheers
Angela Pfahler
Other interesting topics:
About us
Bourbon barrel 190 l from the Four Roses Distillery
The barrel – Part 1
Rum trip to the Caribbean
Onlineshop:
barrel-shop.com