Last month Brown-Forman, owner of the Jack Daniel’s distillery, announced that they would be changing the classic Old No. 7 bottle label to “clean up” the label and that the new bottles would be seen in stores starting in July 2011. July isn’t quite here, but the new label design has been released. I have to say that I like the new label, it looks less cluttered and a bit more refined without being to modern. I think they did a wonderful job of updating the label without changing it.
Throughout my life, I’ve eaten at several restaurants that served one or more items made with Jack Daniel’s: Jack Daniel’s Cake, Jack Daniel’s Ice Cream, Jack Daniel’s Barbecue, etc. Where did this idea for using Jack Daniel’s in everything come from? Most of the time, things like this can’t be traced back to a definitive source, but in this case it can: Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House. You see, when he was alive, Jack Daniel used to take his midday meal at the boarding house every day, and his famous whiskey started making its way into the the food.
One hundred years later, the boarding house is still in operation and being run by none other than Lynne Tolley, the great grand-niece of Jack Daniel and chief taster at the distillery. So the recipes remain unchanged and word has spread around the country: Jack Daniel’s is not just for drinking anymore.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until very hot, about 10 minutes. Generously rub steaks with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook steaks one at a time. Sear steak on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 5 minutes for medium-rare; 6 minutes for medium. Remove the steak from the skillet and keep warm.
Repeat with the second steak and keep warm. Melt the butter in the skillet; stir in the Worcestershire sauce and Jack Daniel’s®. Bring to a boil and cook about 2 minutes. Slice steaks, if desired. Pour sauce over steaks and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Suggested Toppings: sour cream, chopped avocado, chopped tomato, sliced green onions, jalapeño peppers, chopped cilantro.
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook over medium heat until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, Jack Daniel’s®, and cumin. Cook until bubbly and heated through. Mash beans lightly with a wooden spoon or a fork. Stir in lemon juice and hot pepper sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature in a serving dish topped with your choice of the suggested toppings. Makes about 2 ½ cups.
Try making cheesy Mini Corncakes to serve with this dip. Use the recipe for Cast-Iron Cornbread (above) and stir in a cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese. Simply drop spoonfuls of the batter on a hot greased griddle and cook just like regular little pancakes. Add a little more milk or water if the batter seems too thick. Mini Corncakes are also wonderful with pulled pork barbecue. Top the barbecue bites with a dollop of Clear Vinegar Slaw (see recipe below).
Heat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in eggs, evaporated milk, and Jack Daniel’s®. Pour into the prepared pie crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream sweetened with sugar and a little Jack Daniel’s®.
Sprinkle cream with a dusting of cocoa powder. Makes 8 servings.
Old No. 7.
The recipe that made Tennessee whiskey famous. Its distinct bottle and flavor are known around the world and have become iconic of American liquor. But did you know that the Jack Daniel’s Distillery actually makes more than just Old No. 7? They have branched out in recent years to include three more Tennessee whiskey products in their repertoire.
In the Barrelhouse at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery, they have something like 20 levels of shelves for the barrels. The lower the shelf, the less volatile the temperature.
The 15 lower shelves house essentially the same brew, but the bottom three shelves are rotated out much quicker. These barrels are bottle with a green label, providing a much younger (and much cheaper) whiskey to the public. Since this whiskey only ages for about 3 years, without the temperature flux from the higher levels, you are left with a lighter, less flavorful, harsher whiskey. Green Label was designed to be a cheap alternative to the traditional Old No. 7, so if you can afford a bottle of Old No. 7, forgo this option completely.
While he was alive, Jack Daniel was fixated on adding a second charcoal filtration into his distillation process. He tried it several different ways, but was apparently never satisfied with his experiment since it was never added.
Though he never got it right, Jack kept the notes on his experiments, and in 1988 the distillery perfected it, adding a second charcoal mellowing after taking the matured whiskey out of the barrel.
Instead of changing the age-old recipe for Old No. 7 (and possibly alienating Jack drinkers everywhere), the distillery released it as a new product called “Gentleman Jack’s Tennessee Whiskey.” The second charcoal filtration mellows the flavor even further, resulting in a smoother, more refined taste.
As with most whiskeys, Old No. 7 is a blended whiskey. Ultimately derived from a number of individual barrels blended together to ensure that every bottle of whiskey has that distinctive Jack Daniel’s flavor.
When a whiskey manufacturer sells a single barrel variety, they are making a statement that every single barrel they produce will be consistently good without the need to blend. It’s a bold statement to be sure, but the Jack Daniel’s Distillery takes it a step further. They store the barrels dedicated to this product at the very top of the barrelhouse, exposing it to the most volatile temperature extremes, and allow it to sit for a few more years. This means that this whiskey will be darker, with much more barrel flavors than Old No. 7.
What is it that makes Jack taste like Jack? What’s the real difference between Tennessee Whiskey and Kentucky Bourbon?
The simple answer, according to the Jack Daniel’s website, is that Jack Daniel’s is charcoal mellowed.
Charcoal mellowing
Charcoal mellowing is the process of filtering whiskey through sugar maple charcoal before putting it into the cask for maturation.
The first step in charcoal mellowing is to “burn the ricks.” This is the burning of the sugar maple wood in order to convert it to charcoal.
The charcoal is then ground and used to fill a large 10 foot vat. It’s in these vats that the filtering will actually take place.
Once the vat is filled with charcoal, the whiskey is added. After 10 days, the filtering process is complete, and the whiskey is ready for its stay in the distillery’s hand made white oak barrels.
White oak barrels
The barrels used to age Old No. 7 are hand crafted from the white oak trees surrounding the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. After carefully choosing the best tree for the barrel, it is cut into barrel staves. The inside of the staves are then scorched and browned, bringing out the natural sugars from the wood. Once completely, the barrel is the ideal place for the whiskey to mature.
While the charcoal mellowing gives the whiskey its smooth taste, the color, finish and distinct flavor of Jack Daniels comes from the time it spends aging in the barrel.
Mellowing the whiskey through the sugar filter has been tradition at the Jack Daniel’s distillery since Jack Daniel himself was still alive. While time consuming and costly, in the end, it’s completely worth it – to both the distillery and its loyal customer.
So here we are, stuck inside after the midwest “blizzard.”
I’ve shoveled a path to the road in case we feel like getting pizza delivery and as a courtesy to our mail man, just in case poor Glen has to work today.
I also threw our dog around a little bit in the snow. Later I plan to build a fort, possibly with tunnels, and throwing snowballs at the college kids next door. It’s gonna be awesome. I just need some snowpants.
While we’re stuck inside, however, we’ve been taking advantage of our work vacation and enjoying some of the best tasting cocktails we can think of (and have the booze for). Beer has been essential, and for mixers we’ve been trying to stick with Jack drinks, but I’m really jonesing for a hot buttered rum, and I’m hoping I can get Adrian up from the couch to make me one (come on, I shoveled). So far, my efforts have been fruitless. Or boozeless, really. La sigh. I guess I’ll just have to do it.
When I think of Jack Daniel’s, the first cocktail that comes to mind is the Lynchburg Lemonade. It’s one of those cocktails that is so entrenched in a particular spirit, that you can’t help but think about it when that spirit is mentioned (like the margarita with tequila).
Created by Tony Mason in 1980, you can certainly tell that the Lynchburg Lemonade was developed in the deep South. It’s a refreshing drink that would quench your thirst and cool you down on the hottest of summer afternoons. When drinking it, you can almost envision yourself sitting on a porch swing on a lazy Sunday, with nothing but the buzzing of bugs to otherwise occupy your mind.
The whiskey permeates the entire drink, lending itself to every aspect, but with the subtlest of tones. You can smell the Jack, but not quite. You can taste, the Jack, but not quite. All the flavors in this cocktail blend perfectly to balance the harshness of each flavor into a crisp, sweet drink.
Build ingredients in a Collins glass full of ice. Garnish with a cherry.
America’s most famous distiller, Jack Daniel made a name for himself by bringing a new kind of American whiskey to the forefront.
Born in Lynchburg, Tennessee sometime in September (recorded as the 5th) possibly in the year 1850, or maybe 1846, depending on the source, Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel was one of 13 kids born to Calaway and Lucinda Daniel.
Becoming a legend
As a young boy, Jack left home and went to live with a family friend, Lutheran minister Dan Call. Call also ran a local store and had a stillhouse on his property right outside of Lynchburg. It was through Call that Jack learned the art of distilling whiskey.
In 1863, after receiving pressure from his wife and congregation to decide between his ministry and the distillery, Call decided to devote his life to the church and sold the distillery to Jack. In 1866 Jack registered the distillery, making it the oldest register distillery in the US, as it is so clearly stated on every bottle of Old No. 7.
Old No. 7
The stories of how Jack Daniels came to be labeled Old No. 7 are vast and include everything from lucky number 7, to the barrel shipping number, to the possibility that it was the seventh recipe. The world will never know, he took that secret to the grave.
A family business
Daniel never married, although he is rumored to have had seven girlfriends (not sure if this was at the same time or throughout his life). Because he had no children, he took his nephew, Lem Motlow as his apprentice, teaching him the ins and outs of the whiskey industry.
An accident leads to death
While it was clear that Motlow would take over the distillery eventually, Jack stayed in charge until his death in 1911. Known to forget the combination on his safe, he became angry one morning after not being able to remember it, and kicked the safe, breaking his toe. The break became infected and eventually led to blood poisoning, eventually leading to his death.
It’s hard to imagine what American whiskey would be without the contributions of Mr. Jack, but it’s safe to say it’s better off because of him.
JACK DANIEL’S
This week, we sit back with some Lynchburg Lemonade and wax poetic about Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.
This iconic spirit is firmly planted in the American mythos and is one of the best selling liquors in the world. So join us in celebrating this tasty piece of Americana.
