"jack daniels" news and stories

Coming of drinking age during the Bartles & Jaymes wine cooler craze, I don't usually associate elegance with a pre-mixed drink from a bottle. But the last decade has changed some of that, with the movement toward all-natural flavors with no artificial coloring.

Back when I first learned to mix drinks, I would still occasionally grab a bottle of Jose Cuervo margarita mix for a camping trip. This never compared to the freshness of using squeezed limes, but sometimes the convenience of a bottled margarita was just too tempting when you are feeling rushed or just don't want to be bogged own with several different bottles and the accoutrements for making the drinks from scratch. This was back in the day when I didn't pay attention to whether or not the mix had high fructose corn syrup or FD&C Yellow #5. Now with companies like Stirrings, you can grab an all-natural mix and add tequila and feel pretty good about yourself.

Charbay released all-natural aperitifs that are meant to just be poured and drank in flavors of pomegranate and green tea. Like everything this company does, the aperitifs taste fresh and are made with a lot of attention to detail.

Tennessee whiskey. Photo: Flickr / jpenglert

Tennessee whiskey, which has long been the exclusive province of Jack Daniels and George Dickel, may soon be welcoming some new faces to the fold.

The Tennessee legislature this month passed a law permitting the distillation of spirits in 44 counties instead of only the three in which it is currently legal. It's a move some legislators say should generate needed tax revenues for the state and new jobs for its residents.

Artisan distillers predict the relaxed restrictions could also spur a Tennessee whiskey renaissance. The term "Tennessee whiskey" denotes whiskey filtered through sugar maple charcoal, a step known as the "Lincoln County Process" in honor of the county where Jack Daniel pioneered it. In addition to Lincoln, Moore and Coffee are the other two counties where distillation has long been legal.

While the new law allows distillers to produce any sort of legal liquor they choose, Andrew Webber, owner of Kentucky's Corsair Artisan Distillery, suspects many of the dozen or so artisanal spirits makers reportedly eyeing the Volunteer State will experiment with Tennessee whiskey.

Moonshine and more after the jump.

Photo: Whipped Bakeshop/Flickr

At first glance this bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey appears to be just that: a bottle of whiskey. But upon closer examination you will find it is a two-hit wonder, a duo of beloved treats: cake with (score!) a little bit of whiskey baked into it.

Zoe from the Whipped Bakeshop spent hours on this deceptive, decadent chocolate-whiskey birthday cake filled with caramel-whiskey buttercream and wrapped in fondant she painted by hand. Even its "hardwood" base is made of sugar.

While it is probably best washed down with a glass of cold milk, we imagine the birthday boy, Josh, downed a few shots of the real thing before building up the nerve to cut into this culinary work of art.

[Via Whipped Bakeshop/Flickr]

I only recently heard about reclaimed whiskey (also called found whiskey) and to me it sounds either like a miracle, or cheating. Reclaiming whiskey is when you take the used barrel that the whiskey was aged in and add 20 gallons of water, and let it sit in the heat for several weeks. This brings out up to 2 1/2 gallons of whiskey that was soaked into the wood. Then the water / whiskey solution is distilled and you have the reclaimed whiskey, ready to sell. Jack Daniels seems to be the big dog of reclaimed whiskey. Why am I not surprised? Maybe it's because I consider regular old No. 7 to be barrel scrapings anyway? Personally I go for small batch bourbons, or a nice rye upon occasion. Although I don't mind a taste of their Gentleman Jack every now and then.

Well whether you like them, love them, or not; JD distillery is smart. They found a way to get an extra case of whiskey out of each barrel. You can't really fault them for this. And while I may not care for it, they are a decent whiskey.So much so that they are the number one selling American whiskey brand, way above their competitors, and their sales are skyrocketing worldwide. As for the reclaimed whiskey, I think it's a miraculous way to make a few extra hundred thousand gallons of whiskey appear out of nowhere each year. They next miracle will be if they ever vote wet and make it legal to drink JD where it's made in Moore County, TN.

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