Jack Daniel’s is about to undergo the biggest expansion in its fabled history, a $100 million project that will create 90 new jobs and position the company to take advantage of whiskey’s growing international popularity, writes Bruce Schreiner on the StarTribune.
Jack Daniel’s started making whiskey one year after the end of the U.S. Civil War in Lynchburg Tennessee. The company has been famous in the South for decades, but has become popular outside the U.S. According to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam the whiskey has become something of a state mascot.
“Jack Daniel’s is one of our most historic exports, and it helps us in our efforts to bring new Tennessee products to the world marketplace,” he said.
Jack Daniel’s has seen its sales grow every year for more than two decades
Jack Daniel’s has seen its sales grow every year for more than two decades, including 9 percent growth last year. The company sold 11 million cases of whiskey in 2012, so it’s understandable that it wants to make sure that it has plenty of room to increase production over the next few years.
“It’s a good time in the whiskey industry, and our future prospects look really good,” said master distiller Jeff Arnett. “We don’t want to find ourselves without any additional throttle, if we need it. This will basically secure that we’ve got the ability to give Jack Daniel’s to all of those who want Jack Daniel’s for years to come.”
Although Jack Daniel’s is produced in a dry county in Tennessee, it’s owned by Kentucky-based Brown Forman, which also sells the liqueur Southern Comfort, the vodka Finlandia, and the tequila el Jimador. Regular whiskey drinkers will appreciate the irony that the most famous brand of Tennessee sour mash is owned by a company located just outside Bourbon county Kentucky.
Increasing production on existing lines of Jack Daniel’s
In addition to increasing production on existing lines of Jack Daniel’s including Gentleman Jack, Single Barrel, and Tennessee Honey, the extra capacity will give them to innovate and attempt new formulas with relatively low risk. The new property will be located next to the same source of spring water as the rest of the facilities, an important consideration for a brand with such a well-known taste.
