Taking a Jack Daniel's Distillery Tour- Lynchburg, Tennessee

~Carmen

Joe and I have traveled extensively around the world. It seems no matter where we are, when people hear we live in Tennessee, they immediately remark, “Oh, Jack Daniel’s!” Even when we took a cooking class last summer in Athens, Greece, the chef/teacher held up a Jack Daniel’s key chain and exclaimed, “Ahhh! Jack Daniel’s is Tennessee!”

I knew when we were planning our latest road trip, I wanted to make a stop in the little town of Lynchburg, Tennessee to tour the historic Jack Daniel’s Distillery! I’m so glad we did!

A Tennessee institution- Jack Daniel’s Distillery! Tip- wear comfortable shoes for the numerous stairs encountered on the factory tour.

Taking a Jack Daniel’s Distillery Tour

Tour Details-

The Jack Daniel’s Distillery is located in Lynchburg, Tennessee which is about an hour and 1/2 drive south of Nashville ( see How to Spend 4 Days in Nashville). Once you get close to Lynchburg, it is pretty easy to find the distillery. In fact, if it weren’t for the factory, the town wouldn’t exist. Jack Daniel’s employs more people than those who actually live in Lynchburg.

The large parking lot is right across the street from the distillery. Make sure to leave all bags and strollers in your vehicle. Cameras are allowed during certain parts of the tour, so make sure you take yours!

There is a variety of tours available. If you have children with you, you’re limited to the “Dry Tour” which is a full factory tour. It just doesn’t include whiskey sampling. If you want to take a tour that involves sampling, we’d recommend that you make an online reservation or be prepared to wait. jackdaniels.com

The lobby of the Visitor’s Center is a small museum celebrating the history of the 150 year old whiskey.

Part of the tour is outdoors. You’ll see where 3 days a week, pallets of sugar maple wood are set ablaze to make the charcoal used to filter the alcohol. You can buy the whiskey-soaked charcoal to use on your grill at home!

On the tour, you’ll see the spring water that has been used the last 150 years to make Jack Daniel’s Whiskey. Every bottle of Jack Daniel’s sold around the world is made with water from this spring. Right next to the spring is a pond where “retired” ducks from the Peabody Hotel in Memphis get to live out their senior duck years!

The white oak barrels are so important to Jack Daniel’s that they have their own barrel factory and each barrel is only used once. Whiskey is aged for 4-12 years, then the used barrels can be bought by the average Joe (like my Joe). The rest of the barrels are sold overseas to Scottish whiskey-makers, Jamaica for rum aging, and Louisiana to be used in Tabasco hot sauce production.

Lynchburg, Tennessee-

Lynchburg is a sweet little town that deserves some of your time after your tour. Keep in mind, that Lynchburg is ironically in a dry county which means that drinking alcohol can not be bought or sold here. However, if you want a commemorative souvenir, you can buy a “special” bottle of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey at the factory or the general store located on the town square. Jack Daniel’s employees are each given a free bottle of whiskey every month, so maybe one of them can hook you up!

Buy everything “Jack” at the Lynchburg Hardware and General Store.

We had a fast, friendly, & delicious lunch at the Lynchburg Fix’ins Restaurant.

Are you a fan of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey? We’d love for you to add your thoughts and recommendations. Have any questions? Please ask by commenting below! Keep up with all of our travel, camping, and cycling tips by following us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Leave us your email (blue box at the bottom of the post) to subscribe to our weekly newsletter and never miss a post!