The Modern Lady’s Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey

Style: Honey liqueur blended with less than 20% whiskey
Age: none
Alcohol: 35% abv.
Produced at: Jack Daniel Distillery
Region: USA (Tennessee)
Master Distiller: Jeff Arnett
Cost: ~$30-$50

SOME FACTS:

• Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is a blend of Jack Daniel’sTennessee² Whiskey and a unique honey liqueur of the brand’s own making.
• Though Tennessee whiskey meets the regulatory criteria for classification as a straight bourbon³, the company disavows this classification and markets it simply as Tennessee whiskey rather than as Tennessee bourbon.
• Jack Daniels Distillery is owned by the Brown-Forman Corporation since 1956 and resides in a dry county (so the product is not available for consumption at stores or restaurants within the county).
• There are many theories behind why Jack Daniel’s logo including “Old No. 7”. Some include: the number of girl friends Jack Daniel had, the way he wrote the letter “J” or because it’s lucky. According to Daniel’s biographer, the origin of the “Old No. 7” brand name was the number assigned to Daniel’s distillery for government registration. Though the registration number was later changed, his brand was associated with No. 7 so he didn’t change it.
• For Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday celebration, Jack Daniel’s and Frank Sinatra Enterprises are launching a new ultra-premium expression. Hand selected by the Master Distiller Jeff Arnett, “Sinatra barrels” used to make the product were crafted to provide an extra full character and darker rich amber color by exposing the spirit to extra layers of toasted wood on the inner surface of the barrels. The extra rich barrels were mingled with classic Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey and bottled at 90 proof resulting in a character that is full of oak and spice notes with an exceedingly smooth vanilla finish. The smooth, bold character of the whiskey is meant to embody the smooth, bold character of the man. Learn more here.
• Cultural reference:
  • Frank Sinatra was widely known as a Jack Daniel’s drinker. He was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7 in 1998.
  • The Ke$ha song “Tik Tok” mentions “Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack”.
  • In the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye, Bond’s boss, M, serves herself and Bond a drink from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s after saying she “prefers bourbon”.

SOME WHISK(E)Y TERMS DEFINED:

1. Whisky vs. whiskey: Both spellings are correct. The difference is primarily due to geography. “Whisky” is primarily used in: Canada, Japan, Scotland, England, and Wales. “Whiskey” is primarily used in Ireland and the United States. For more info, click here.
2. Tennessee whiskey (type): In order to be considered a “Tennessee whiskey”, the whiskey is required to be of Tennessee origins, have gone through maple charcoal filtering by the Lincoln County process prior to aging, and the basic requirements of bourbon (at least 51% corn, new oak barrels, charring of the barrels, and limits on alcohol by volume concentration for distillation, aging, and bottling).
3. Straight bourbon (type): Straight bourbon is classified as defined in U.S. law, is whiskey created by distilling a fermented (malted or unmalted) cereal grain mash (50%+ of corn) to create a spirit not exceeding 80% alcohol content by volume (abv) and then aging the spirit for at least two years at an abv concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.