12 Things You Din't Know About Jack Daniel

If you lived through the days of CD-ROM-based video games for home computers, then you may remember You Don’t Know Jack, a PC/MAC trivia game. Well today we’re going to talk about trivia, and Jack is the subject. How much do you know about Jack (Daniel’s)?

THE WORLD DRINKS A WHOLE LOT OF JACK DANIEL’S.

Jack Daniel’s is the 4th best selling spirit in the world (by value), making it the best-selling American spirit, followed by Bacardi (5th) and then Jim Beam (14th).

THE ORIGINS OF THE FAMOUS ‘OLD’ NO. 7 ARE A MYSTERY.

No one actually knows why the No. 7 is on the bottle of Jack Daniel’s, but three rumors are that Daniel had seven girlfriends, that the number seven train was the one that carried his barrels, and that he lost one of his prized barrels of whiskey for seven years. Unfortunately the only one who knows the truth is Jack himself.

JACK IS PRODUCED IN A DRY COUNTY BUT YOU CAN STILL BUY A BOTTLE AT THE DISTILLERY.

While it’s well known that Jack Daniel’s is produced, ironically, in a dry county, you can in fact legally buy bottles of Jack Daniel’s at the distillery tour. The whiskey inside the commemorative bottle, a loophole established in state law, is free.

FRANK SINATRA WAS BURIED WITH A BOTTLE OF JACK DANIEL’S

Frank Sinatra was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, along with a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, and a dollar’s worth of dimes.

THE JACK DANIEL’S DISTILLERY IS AN EXTREMELY POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTION.

Over a quarter million people per year make the pilgrimage to the Jack Daniel’s distillery.

BROWN-FORMAN HAS BEEN SPENDING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO EXPAND PRODUCTION.

Jack Daniel’s has seen such explosive growth that after a $103 million expansion in 2013, they announced an additional $140 million investment in their distillery and visitor center a mere three years later, in February 2016.

A LUTHERAN MINISTER TAUGHT JACK TO DISTILL.

A Lutheran minister named Dan Call taught Jack how to distill when he was just 6 years old. When Jack was 13, Dan Call’s wife forced him to choose between the ministry – which viewed alcohol as a sin – and his whiskey. Call sold the distillery to Jack.

JACK DANIEL’S PARENT COMPANY ALSO SELLS A LOT OF FINNISH VODKA.

The parent company of Jack Daniel’s, Brown Forman’s 2nd most popular brand is Finlandia vodka.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN BOURBON AND TENNESSEE WHISKEY IS ALL ABOUT CHARCOAL.

Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee Whiskey as opposed to a Bourbon because the whiskey goes through a charcoal mellowing process while it is still moonshine or “white lightning.” For ten to twelve days the shine drips through homemade sugar maple charcoal. Then it heads to the barrel to age, just like Bourbon. It’s a process Jack learned from the Lutheran minister Dan Call.

THE BRAND HAS HAD STRONG CONNECTIONS TO MUSIC SINCE ITS FOUNDING DAYS.

Jack Daniel’s has always had a history of being connected to music. In fact, when Daniel opened The White Rabbit and Red Dog saloons in Lynchburg he drafted 13 of his employees to form the band that would perform at the venues, naming them The Jack Daniel’s Original Silver Cornet Band.

DUTY FREE SHOPPERS BUY AN ASTOUNDING AMOUNT OF JACK DANIEL’S

Jack Daniel’s is the 2nd best selling whiskey among travelers at duty free shops in the world (889,000 cases/year!), and third most popular overall, behind only Johnnie Walker and Absolut Vodka.

JACK DANIEL’S (POSSIBLY) DIED, TRYING TO BREAK INTO A SAFE. IT WAS HIS OWN SAFE.

Jack Daniel’s (possibly) died in a very unfortunate way…unable to remember the combination to a safe in his office, he kicked it in frustration, breaking his toe and forming an infection that would kill him six years later. Ironically, if he had just doused his toe in his own whiskey shortly after breaking it, the infection never would have occurred.