Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee whiskey brand produced in Lynchburg by the Brown-Forman Corporation since 1956. Its “Black Label” variant sold 12.5 million cases in 2017, and other variations like Tennessee Honey and Gentleman Jack added up to over 16.1 million cases.
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Best-selling whiskey | Jack Daniel’s Black Label Tennessee Whiskey |
| Parent company | Brown-Forman Corporation |
| Fiscal year ended | April 30, 2017 |
| Black Label sales | 12.5 million cases |
| Other brand variations sales | 2.9 million cases |
| Ready to drink products sales | 800,000 equivalent cases |
| Total Jack Daniel’s family of brands sales | 16.1 million equivalent adjusted cases |
| IWSR 2013 World Class Brands ranking | 3rd globally |
| IWSR’s Real 100 Spirits Brands Worldwide ranking in 2017 | 16th |
| Intangible Business Power 100 Spirits and Wine ranking in 2014 and 2015 | 4th |
The originator of Jack Daniel’s, Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel, is said to have been born in 1850, despite the company’s official website claiming otherwise. The Tennessee State Library website asserts that he was born on September 5, 1846, and that the 1850 date is improbable given that his mother passed away in 1847. Jack was born in January 1849, per author Peter Krass’ study.
The youngest of 10 children, Jack’s father remarried and had three additional children following the death of his mother. Welsh, Scots-Irish, and English heritage all made up Jack’s family. When his father was killed in the Civil War, Jack had a tense relationship with his stepmother and, at a young age, ran away from home, thereby becoming an orphan. The Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been under the ownership of the Brown-Forman Company since 1956, produces the well-known Tennessee whisky brand Jack Daniel’s today.
Jack Daniel’s is an American whiskey brand with a long and interesting history. As a teenager, Daniel was taken in by Dan Call, a local preacher and moonshine distiller. Green, an enslaved African-American man, taught Daniel the distilling trade. In 1875, after receiving an inheritance, Daniel founded a legally registered distilling business with Call, taking over shortly after when Call quit for religious reasons.
By the 1880s, Jack Daniel’s was the second-most productive distillery in Moore County, Tennessee. The origin of the “Old No. 7” brand name was the number assigned to Daniel’s Distillery for government registration. The brand’s reputation surged after receiving a gold medal for the finest whiskey at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
The company was sold to the Brown–Forman Corporation in 1956. Despite Tennessee’s statewide prohibition law, production resumed in 1938 after Lem Motlow, who had become a Tennessee state senator, led efforts to repeal these laws.
Jack Daniel’s black label was initially produced at 90 U.S. proof, while the green label product was 80 proof. However, in 1987, the black label was reduced to 86 proof, and all other label variations were similarly reduced. Both the black and green label expressions are made from the same ingredients, with professional tasters deciding which batches will be sold under the “premium” black label.
In 2002, all Jack Daniel’s products were reduced to 80-proof, lowering production costs and excise taxes without any announcement or change in branding. The change was criticized by Modern Drunkard Magazine, but Advertising Age confirmed that sales had actually increased since then.
Jack Daniel’s Black Label Tennessee Whiskey, produced by Brown-Forman Corporation, is the world’s best-selling whiskey with 12.5 million cases sold in the fiscal year ending April 30, 2017. The sales of the brand’s other variations, such as Tennessee Honey, Gentleman Jack, and Tennessee Fire, added 2.9 million cases, while the sales of ready-to-drink products added 800,000 equivalent cases.
Gentleman Jack grew sales in mid-single digits, while Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire contributed to the 3% growth of Jack Daniel’s family of brands. In the 2017 IWSR Real 100 Spirits Brands Worldwide list, Jack Daniel’s ranked at number 16.
After a “small town, big pride” advertisement starring drag queens from Ru Paul’s Drag Race was made public, Jack Daniel’s became the most recent product to experience a boycott. The ad, which is over two years old, is currently under new attention since transgender rights and freedoms are a major point of dispute in the cultural wars.
Drag Queen Story Hour, which features drag performers reading to children in libraries, has drawn criticism. The argument over LGBTQ+ brand ambassadors is a microcosm of the larger controversy surrounding drag shows and the exposure of youngsters to them. This year, boycotts against Hershey’s and Bud Lite have been motivated by comparable issues.
More entertainment news: