Bartending 101: What is Tennessee whiskey?

May 12, 3:56 AMBartender ExaminerKathleen Neves

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Lynchburg, Tennessee is the home of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. The Jack Daniel’s distillery was registered in 1866, making it the oldest distillery in the United States. Jack Daniel’s whiskey in considered to be a Tennessee whiskey, not bourbon whiskey. The difference is the filtering process.

Tennessee whiskey goes through a special filtering stage called the Lincoln County Process. The process is named for Lincoln County Tennessee where the Jack Daniel’s distillery was originally located. The Lincoln County Process just means that the whiskey is filtered through a thick layer of maple charcoal before it’s poured into wooden casks for aging. This filtering process gives the whiskey a very distinctive flavor.

Thanks to prohibition in 1910, Lynchburg, Tennessee is now a dry county. A dry county means that it’s legal to distill alcohol within the county, but it’s illegal to purchase alcohol there. There is one exception to the state law. A distillery may sale one commemorative product. This is why you can purchase the Gentleman’s Jack and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

Currently there are only two brands of Tennessee whiskey: Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel.

September is Bourbon Month on Examiner.com. Be sure to check out all of the bourbon coverage all month long on the Bourbon Examiner Coverage page.

For more information, visit the Jack Daniel’s website.