Some 20 years ago, I asked my brother visiting from America to get me a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. I am glad I didn’t specify what I wanted, because although I was expecting Old #7, he got me the super premium Jack Daniel’s Silver Select, a bottle I made last for more than a year. It also helped spark my fascination with the brand — one shared by many Indians with JD being one of the most popular bar calls in India. As Silver Select demonstrated, and as Jeff Arnett, their 7th Master Distiller told me, there is more to the portfolio than the Old #7, with more than 10 products now in their stable, and several of them now in India. Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Honey are relatively recent introductions, but the one I am sure that every bartender is looking forward to down the line is Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye. I was fortunate enough to waylay Arnett on his first trip to India since taking over as Master Distiller 10 years ago, and a fascinating conversation ensued.
What does a spirit need to be called a Tennessee whiskey?
As per a law passed years ago, in order for a spirit to be called a Tennessee whiskey, it must first meet the federal codes that define bourbon whiskey, be made in the state of Tennessee and be filtered through sugar maple charcoal, prior to maturation (a process known as the Lincoln County process).
What does a master distiller do?
I joined Brown Forman in 2001, and spent seven years as a Quality Control Manager, working directly with Jimmy Bedford, our previous master distiller. I took over in 2008 at Jack Daniel’s. If you go on a tour of Lynchburg, you’ll find these words written on a plaque, near a statue of Jack Daniel’s, “Every day we make it, we’ll make it the best we can”, and that’s how I’d define my role, to ensure that we don’t compromise on quality. At the same time, I’m always looking for ways in which we can innovate to make a superior product. Every bottle of Jack Daniel’s that leaves our facility is the direct result of the efforts of hundreds of very talented people who work at our distillery, all of whom see themselves, as well as their families, as stewards of the brand.
- Nathan Green, also known as Nearest Green, was an African American slave, who was working as a distiller on a farm owned by the Reverend Dan Call. Jack Daniel came to live and work on this farm, and was taught much of the craft of distilling by Reverend Call and Nearest Green. Call later sold the farm and still to Daniel, and Nearest, now a free man became the first head distiller for Jack Daniel.
I notice that you are the seventh Master Distiller, and I assume you would have been the sixth until the recognition of Nearest Green. So do you think the mash bill for Old #7 would have been created by Nearest Green?
Well, every day, we’re uncovering fresh information about the early days of our company, and one of them has been the significant contributions of Nearest Green, including providing instruction, in part, on distilling to Jack Daniel. After prohibition, we resurrected some of our older grain bills, and Jess Motlow, our then master distiller, resurrected the brand we now know as Old #7, and it’s believed that the grain bill which Motlow used, was based on the original grain bill created by Jack Daniel.
Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible of 2018 has anointed Colonel EH Taylor’s four-grain whiskey as the best in the world. How significant a milestone is this?
American whiskey for long has been really good, equal in quality to Scotch whisky, and part of the perception we have to get past is that American whiskey is as good as anything on the planet. Wines from Napa Valley had to go through the same journey and succeeded, so there is a precedent. It basically boils down to the fact that people need to be open-minded. And if this award helps more people to be drawn to American whiskey, then so much the better.
What kind of innovations has the American Whiskey industry seen over the past few years?
Well, we have a whiskey, which we released sometime back, called #27 Gold that we extra-matured using a toasted maple barrel, giving it a different mouthfeel and a rich, warm finish. We are seeing increasing willingness on the part of American whiskey brands to experiment and we wouldn’t be opposed to using sherry casks, for example, to help finish our whiskies. I recently tasted some from BenRiach and Glendronach (both Single Malt distilleries recently purchased by Brown Forman) and really liked the sherry cask finishes.
With Lynchburg a dry county, what difference does that make to your life?
It doesn’t change anything if it became wet. We can offer sampling tours as a manufacturer, we can operate a bottle shop and we can run private events where we can serve our brands. There had been no serious discussions about changing the law, until recently. Now, there are some thoughts about putting together a referendum and getting this overturned.
You introduced Tennessee Honey-2011 and Tennessee Fire-2015. How would you contrast the consumer for the latter with the consumer of Old #7?
There are people out there looking for a whiskey they can drink and who may be looking for something a little more approachable. Fire and Tennessee have brought in consumers who might not have been drinking Jack Daniel’s before and hence are opening up new consumers and drinking occasions for us. We are also finding that consumers in India particularly like the spicy taste of Tennessee Fire.
What’s your personal desert island dram?
Well, if that Armageddon moment ever arrives, then I’d like to be drinking Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select on the rocks.
The writer is the co-founder and CEO of Tulleeho, a drinks training and consulting firm and founder-CEO of Bar X, a bar products retail venture. Follow him at @tulleeho.
weekend@thehindu.co.in
