The Jack Daniel's Distillery tour 2000
This was my second time that I visited the Distillery in Lynchburg. This time I have been there 4 days in a row and I met my friends from the Internet and a few of my Ebay friends that where there for the BBQ. I made a few new friends while I was there and got some extra "inside" information that I would other wise had mis. We stayed at my best friends house for a couple of days and they took us all around and showed us some "Tennessee Hospitality" I could only dream of !! On this page I will show you some of the picture I took of the tour we did. It was 3 years ago when I first made the tour and I am sorry to say but it is going down! The tour is a lot smaller and faster then 3 years ago. And this has notting to do with the "BBQ visitors" told my friend who is been visiting the tour for a few years now. Commercial??? Let's hope that the tour will be there for another few years..... Enjoy while you can!
Just follow this board when you ride to Lynchburg 
The tour starts in the new Visitors Center. A beautiful building!
A warm welcome inside the visitors center starts the tour. First thing that you see is the "old" statue from Mr Jack Daniel's in the middle of the building. 
(On this picture you see my Girlfriend and me on the right...)
Inside the visitors center there are a lot of "older" Jack Daniel's goodies. They made a summary of the whiskey process that starts with the Milling, the Mashing, the Fermenting, the Distilling, the mellowing and the Barreling. The pictures you see below are readable when you puch the picture it self.
Push one of these three for a close up picture.
The Mellowing process is the next thing, the ricks, the mellowing and a example of the whiskey before and after the process.
Aging of the Whiskey is shown by a barrel and examples of the color of the whiskey after 0, 2 and 4 years.
At the right inside the visitors center the "Tennessee squire" has it's office. Only Members can go inside, where Mrs Irene Matthews welcomes you with Tennessee hospitality!
Irene Matthews.
If you are a member of the Tennessee squire, the Jack Daniel's distillery gives you your own piece of real estate. My plot number is g21128 given to me in June 28, 1996.
Now during my visit in 2001 Mrs. Matthew showed us how they maintainted "our" little piece of land.... with this lawnmower ! (made by an other Tennessee squire member )
So far the visitors building for now. Before the tour starts you will get your own Tourcard
with a color on it for "your" group. 
Like 3 years ago they start with a little movie about the history of Mr jack and his famous Whiskey after that you will get in the bus and they took us to the rickyard. I guess because it was Saterday they didn't work that day....
After the story about the ricks and the making of original Jack Daniel's charcoal we went to the Fire Brigade.
And than the shock.....The Cave! They made a DAM inside the spring!!! (Damn..) The little river was dry...what is this!? Commercial or what??
Another "new" thing is the statue they made from Mr Jack Daniel's in front of the cave. A beautiful peace of work I must say but....it's something totally different than the "old and original" statue...
Than came another shock....the old office.... This is absolute not what is was!! I am so glad I had the change to see how it "really" was back than... I didn't like it at all boys! They are doing bad things out there!! The office was empty! Notting was there, the desk, the paperwork, the "waterpipe" out side on the patio, the old wooden floor, all the old stuff was taken out. Disappointment big time.... After this shock it was hurry hurry to the next thing of the tour...The stillhouse.
In the Still house they make the Alcohol.
After this room we went to the "whiskey beer", the fermenting (sour mash)...
Then on to the next building, the Mellowing building. Inside it was the same..The same smell of Whiskey...
A good thing on this tour is the bottling of the Singlebarrel "Specials". This is the first time it's allowed to bottle the Jack Daniel's whiskey in Lynchburg after a long time. For pictures of the bottling use this LINK.
After this it was back to the Visitors center. Just before we reach the building they told us that they are going to use the "Old" visitors center as a new Barrelhouse to show the tour people the inside of a barrelhouse... (...hmmm??)
This is the "new" Barrelhouse. It used to be the the visitors center...
Well, this was my Distillery tour of the year 2000. I don't want to be that negative but I am wondering how it is going to be over another 3 years. I hope the new visitors enjoyed there visit as I did 3 years ago... Till next year!
A good friend of me went to Lynchburg this Spring (2003) and he made some great pictures of some process moments we do not see all the time. Like the making of the charcoal, The burning stack. Great pictures and I am glad that he wants to share them with us. Thanks Edwin!
Or what do you think of the Sour mash?? Here they are filling a new batch.
If you got some pictures to share with us please send them over and we are happy to check them out and put them on the site!
