Southern Trip: Part V

So, it is like a month past our vacation and I am still blogging about it, but I am determined to get it all posted. After we left Jimmy in Atlanta, we drove about 4 hours to the Jack Daniels distillery. What a fantastic place! It was free, organized, educational and family friendly...I cannot say enough good things about the tour (especially compared to our next destination which is Graceland.) The tour is about an hour long and covers all the stages of the making of the whiskey along with some of the historical interest on the property. The distillery is located in the middle of the "hollers" and the location is beautiful. Our tour guide was a really witty, sweet lady who gave everyone the feeling of family. I guess with all that whiskey about, there is not much to be unhappy about. She even told us that all the workers at Jack Daniels receive a pint of whiskey with their paychecks on the first Friday of every month -- it is usually a perfect attendance day! We toured the office where Jack Daniels, the man, had his office and the safe that killed him. As legend has it, in a drunken rage (not a man of good temperament, I guess) he kicked his safe. This resulted in gangrene in his foot which quickly killed him, and he was only in his 30's. His nephew took over, as Jack had no children of his own. All total, there have only been 6 men that have been master distillers at Jack Daniels. It is a job that has mostly been passed father to son. We were able to see the different stages of the distilling process - many which reeked and pushed my gag reflex to a whole new level!! After the whiskey is put in the barrels it is moved into these barrel houses that are located all over the local hollers. That is so crazy as it is illegal to buy alcohol in the county that the distillery is located. As the story goes, there is a law in TN that requires a certain number of voters to approve the sale of alcohol in any given county. Even if everyone there were to go out and vote yes, there are still not enough people living in the county to get the law to pass. You are able to buy souveneir bottles of Jack at the distillery, but that is the only place. They have a bar in the visitor center where you can have unlimited samples of lemonade and coffee. Our favorite part was the area where they were bottling a single barrel for the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas. Barrels are available to anyone who has the cash. If you purchase a barrel you can meet with the master distiller who will choose 3 barrel's for you to pick from. You get the actual barrel and all the bottles that came from it. Now you all know where we are headed first in the event of a lotto winning!! Here are some pictures that highlight the tour.

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