Click to Explore the
Distillation Process
At the time, “purity” wasn’t exactly a priority for competitors of Jack Daniel’s and distillers who wanted to deliver their product to the market in a quick manner. Most whiskeys weren’t exactly held to high standards, and dubious distribution networks diluted, adulterated, and otherwise scammed their ways to a more profitable product. Some popular additives included iodine (to add a darker brown color to watered-down casks), tobacco, and various cheaper grain alcohols of poor quality.
Even beyond blatant fakes and near-toxic homebrews, whiskeys had a slew of cheap tricks that we’d never accept in modern spirits. Distillers would dilute casks, or mislabel their bottles to hide their state of origin. When Kentucky senator and bourbon distiller Edmund Haynes Taylor took stock of the industry, he saw it was overdue for regulation.
Our country’s connections to whiskey run deep: using native grains like corn rather than, say, French wine grapes, appealed to colonists who wanted a reliable way to domestically produce liquor, and whiskey eventually surpassed rum as the drink of the New World. However, it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that whiskey became the cultural centerpiece of Americana that it is today. That’s when a then-unknown distiller by the name of Jasper Newton Daniel came on to the scene. You probably know him better as Jack. His distillery was the first legally registered whiskey distillery in the United States, and helped drive the demand for high-quality whiskey.
For the cost of $2,148 (about $75,000 in today’s dollars), Jack Daniel acquired a plot of land in Lynchburg, Tennessee, for the site of his now-legendary distillery in 1884. What made this the perfect spot for a whiskey maker? The Cave Spring Hollow. Thanks to layers of limestone in the bedrock, water from these springs came out clean and free of impurities, perfect for an untainted final product. This is the same water used in every bottle of Jack Daniel's today, and the company takes major steps to conserve their source.
High taxes on whiskey distillation sparks the Whiskey Rebellion, prompting a response by George Washington.
The Louisiana Purchase sparks westward settlement. Whiskey production expands with the growing country.
Jack Daniel is born.
Following the end of the Civil War, Daniel legally registers his first distillery.
Daniel purchases Cave Springs Hollow and establishes his legendary Lynchburg distillery.
The Bottled-in-Bond Act passes, cracking down on dubious liquors.
Whiskey overtakes rum as a quintessential American liquor, thanks to successful marketing and favorable tax laws. Counterfeit whiskey begins to become more common.
Jack Daniel’s whiskey wins the gold
medal for finest whiskey at the St. Louis World’s Fair, further cementing the
brand’s reputation.
In 1897, thanks to Taylor’s lobbying, Congress passed the Bottled-in-Bond Act, designed to combat the conmen of the whiskey world. The law stipulated that liquors must be the product of one distillation season by one distiller at one distillery.
The final products had to be at least 100 proof (or 50% ABV), so consumers wouldn’t be tricked with watered-down liquor. Most importantly, the casks had to age for at least four years at a federally-bonded warehouse. Government agents working for the treasury department would hold the keys to these warehouses to prevent any trickery. To incentivize compliance, distillers received tax breaks for following the laws, and could stamp their bottles with “Bottled-in-Bond” as proof of quality.
While Jack Daniel’s says they had always followed the quality standards of the Bottled-in-Bond act, their less-scrupulous competition hadn’t, and the swill liquors of the Old West began to die out in favor of a verifiable product. At the same time that Bottled-in-Bond standards took effect, Daniel introduced another key piece of branding: square bottles. These were meant to impart a sense of fairness — As Jack liked to say, “A square bottle for a square shooter.” Jack Daniel’s whiskey skyrocketed in popularity, across both the West and East.
Today, Jack Daniel’s still meets the standards of the Bottled-in-Bond act, although most bottles no longer bear the government certification. However, as a celebration of the turning point law, the distillery just released an official “Bottled-in-Bond” edition
of their signature whiskey. They’ve even created Jack Daniel’s Triple Mash, the first-ever Bottled-in-Bond blended straight whiskey in the US. To make this, blenders combine three separate whiskeys: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, American Malt Whiskey, and Rye Whiskey, each of which meets the standards of the Bottled-in-Bond act. The end result is a smooth, golden whiskey with deep historic roots.
Cave water is mixed with local grains to create a mash. This ferments for 6 days.
The fermented mash is
distilled to 140 proof.
The whiskey is dripped through 10 feet of maple charcoal over the course of 3-5 days to mellow. Whiskey is then placed into custom-built barrels and aged a minimum of 4 years.
Whiskey is then placed into
custom-built barrels and aged a
minimum of 4 years.
Final bottling occurs with
at least 100 proof.
80% Corn
8% Rye
12% Barley
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The “Wild West” wasn’t a misnomer. As the US rapidly expanded during the
mid-to-late-1800s, “the law” was often an abstract concept among the new townships formed. New industries arose based on swindling, conning, and of course, highway robbery. On top of all of that, a new scam was invented based
on one of the most American of spirits: whiskey. It turns out that cracking down
on this grift would be crucial in showcasing the credibility and story of one of the most iconic American whiskey brands today: Jack Daniel’s. Now, they’re bottling a bit of that history in a new way.
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The final product is bottled according to the stipulations of the Bottled-in-Bond Act.
After aging, the three are blended in a ratio of 1:3:1 at the Lynchburg distillery.
American
Malt Whiskey
Jack Daniel's
Tennessee Whiskey
Rye
Whiskey
BONDED
TRIPLE MASH
How the Bottled-in-Bond Act
Changed Whiskey Forever
1904
1897
1884
1866
1850
1820-1830
1803
1791-1794
In 1897, thanks to Taylor’s lobbying, Congress passed the Bottled-in-Bond Act, designed to combat the conmen of the whiskey world. The law stipulated that liquors must be the product of one distillation season at one distillery. Most importantly, the casks had to age for at least four years at a federally-bonded warehouse. Government agents working for the Treasury Department would hold the keys to these warehouses to prevent any trickery. To incentivize compliance, distillers received tax breaks for following the laws, and could stamp their bottles with “Bottled-in-Bond” as proof of quality.
At the same time that Bottled-in-Bond standards took effect, Daniel introduced another key piece of branding: square bottles. These were meant to impart a sense of fairness — As Jack liked to say, “A square bottle for a square shooter.” Jack Daniel’s whiskey skyrocketed in popularity, across both the West and East.
Today, Jack Daniel’s Bonded still meets the standards of the Bottled-in-Bond Act, although most bottles no longer bear the government certification. However, as a celebration of the turning point law, the distillery released an official “Bottled-in-Bond” edition of their signature whiskey. They’ve even created Jack Daniel’s Triple Mash, the first-ever Bottled-in-Bond blended straight whiskey in the US. To make this, blenders combine three separate whiskeys: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, American Malt Whiskey, and Rye Whiskey, each of which meets the standards of the Bottled-in-Bond act. These whiskies each reflect the rich history that shaped Jack Daniel’s — and the entire American whiskey industry — into the iconic brand it is today.
High taxes on whiskey distillation
sparks the Whiskey Rebellion, prompting a response by George Washington.
The Louisiana Purchase sparks
westward settlement. Whiskey production (and consumption) expands with the
growing country.
1803
Whiskey overtakes rum as a quintessential American liquor, thanks to successful marketing and favorable tax laws. Counterfeit whiskey begins to become more common.
1820
-
1830
Jack Daniel is born.
1850
Following the end of the Civil War,
Daniel legally registers his first distillery.
1866
Daniel purchases Cave Springs
Hollow and establishes his legendary
Lynchburg distillery.
1884
The Bottled-in-Bond Act passes,
cracking down on dubious liquors.
1897
Jack Daniel’s whiskey wins the
gold medal for finest whiskey at the
St. Louis World’s Fair, further cementing
the brand’s reputation.
1904
1791
-
1794
Bottled in Bond
TIMELINE
A square bottle for a
square shooter.
top of infographic
Triple Mash
BONDED
TRIPLE MASH
Click to Explore the
Distillation Process
The Bottled-in-Bond process is
followed for three varieties.
The Bottled-in-Bond process is followed
for three varieties.
Triple Mash
BONDED
TRIPLE MASH
Click to Explore the
Distillation Process
At the time, for competitors, “purity” wasn’t exactly a priority for distillers who wanted to deliver their product to the market in a quick manner. Frontier hooch had a lot of nicknames — coffin varnish, rotgut, mountain howitzer — that spoke to its poor reputation. Most whiskeys weren’t exactly held to high standards, and dubious distribution networks diluted, adulterated, and otherwise scammed their ways to a more profitable product.
Some popular additives included iodine (to add a darker brown color to watered-down casks), tobacco, and various cheaper grain alcohols of poor quality. One popular recipe at the time was known as “Ol’ Snakehead,” which called for molasses, tobacco, Spanish peppers, and yes, rattlesnake heads to give it “spirit.” It might’ve burned like whiskey, but it was far from the real thing.