“Scotch or bourbon” – the famous words a bartender would ask in movies, whenever a character would order a glass of whisky – were the ones that drew my attention for the first time that this drink is more complex than I thought. Now, a real bartender would never ask this question, but rather try to find out what brand you prefer, knowing all too well the endless options and that “scotch or bourbon” is just one of the distinctions. Basically, scotch is a whisky produced in Scotland, mainly from barley. Bourbon however – no ties with the name of the French royal family – is as American as it gets: made out of corn and usually produced in the state of Kentucky and named “whiskey”.
You might be surprised that the world’s best selling American whiskey is not a bourbon? Though it would fit perfectly in this category, Jack Daniel’s was from the start promoted as a Tennessee whiskey, after the name of the state in which it is produced. It’s just one of the things that you probably didn’t know about Jack Daniel’s. Below, we’ve got seven more:
- Frank Sinatra was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7. Also, he was such a big fan of this drink that the company would dedicate him in 2015 a special edition: Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century, marking a century from the birth of the artist.
- Jack was also the favorite whiskey of Winston Churchill and William Faulkner.
- In the almost 150 years history of Jack, there were only seven master distillers. Since 2008, the job belongs to Jeff Arnett.
- If usually James Bond prefers Martini, his boss, M, offers him a Jack Daniel’s in Goldeneye. Bond also drinks Jack in the Ian Fleming’s novels: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and You Only Live Twice.
- The delicious Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is the first and so far the last liqueur produced by the American company. Serve it icy cold or pour some in your coffee. You’ll love it!
- You can buy your own Jack barrel. It will cost you 10.000 dollars and but you’ll certainly enjoy the reward: you’ll get not only the equivalent of 240 bottles, but also the very barrel in which your favorite whiskey was matured.
- Tik Tok from Ke$ha, the best selling song in 2010, features in its lyrics a Jack Daniel’s line: “Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack”.
