[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1796-E1797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND BIRTHDAY OF JACK DANIEL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LINCOLN DAVIS

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 8, 2005

  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, travel to almost any country in 
the world, tell folks you're from Tennessee, and they're likely to 
respond with a smile and the name of someone they know from my 4th 
Congressional District--Jack Daniel.
  I'm proud to represent the people who craft one of America's best-
known and most-beloved products. Every drop of the 7 million cases of 
Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey wetting the whistles of folks in more 
than 140 countries is made and mellowed, drop by drop, in Lynchburg, 
Tennessee. That's quite an accomplishment for a town with just one 
traffic light and whose population is advertised as just 361.
  Now, to tell you the truth, Lynchburg's population is a bit larger 
than that. As one of my Moore County constituents has confided, ``Why 
does it say population 361 on the bottle? There is probably five or six 
hundred people living in Lynchburg. They just want us to look small.''
  Small or not, as the home to the Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and 
America's oldest registered distillery, Lynchburg and Moore County have 
made sizeable contributions to the American way of life. In fact, the 
little town of Lynchburg may be the largest per capita tax contributor 
in the country when it comes to federal revenues generated by the 
fruits of their labors. Each gallon of whiskey in Jack Daniel's 
warehouses will generate about $13.50 in federal taxes. Multiply by the 
more than a million gallons resting in each warehouse, then multiply it 
again by the 74 warehouses dotting the hillsides, and it adds up to 
right at a billion dollars. And that's not just a one-time 
contribution. The whiskey made by the people of Moore County and the 
Jack Daniel Distillery generates more than $115 million a year in 
federal, state and local taxes across the country.
  But as significant as these taxes revenues are, Jack Daniel's 
contributions to American culture are far greater. Through the years, 
Jack Daniel's virtues have been heralded by presidents, movie stars and 
musicians.
  U.S. Vice President John Nance ``Cactus Jack'' Garner, in office 
during the repeal of Prohibition, was said to have invited friends to 
his office right here in the Capitol to ``strike a blow for liberty'' 
with the help of Jack Daniel's.
  It's been reported that Winston Churchill approved of the whiskey to 
the point his appreciation provoked extraordinary discomfort among his 
country's Scotch-makers.
  Jack Daniel's association with the Rat Pack and its Chairman of the 
Board, Frank Sinatra, is legendary. During his lifetime, he was said to 
have always traveled with a supply of Jack Daniel's just in case his 
favorite libation was unavailable. That may also be the case with his 
final journey. A small bottle of Jack is reported to have been buried 
with Mr. Sinatra.
  With this rich heritage, the legend of Jack Daniel's lives on 
stronger than ever today. The Rolling Stone, has named Jack Daniel's an 
American Icon while Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind--a popular rock 
band, so I am told--has said to the people of Lynchburg, ``Ya'll should 
be proud of yourselves because Rock `n' Roll would not have been 
invented without your product.''
  And, finally, no less than the great American writer and Noble Prize-
winning author William Faulkner once sized up Jack Daniel's real appeal 
when he said ``It's a good thing that in a changing world there are 
some things you can count on, like the quality of Jack Daniel's.''
  As in the best of American stories, Jack Daniel rose to its heralded 
place from humble beginnings. It all started with Jasper Newton Daniel 
born in Lynchburg sometime in September, sometime around 1850. Then as 
now, Jasper Newtown's friends just called him Jack. And a fortunate 
thing, since I can't imagine a glass of Jasper would have captured the 
America's fancy as completely. Jack was just five-foot-two-inches tall 
and left home before he'd reached the age of ten. He took up with and 
learned the art of making whiskey from a local Lutheran preacher named 
Dan Call and his African American still hand, Nearest Green. Jack later 
bought the minister's distilling operation when Call's congregation 
forced their spiritual advisor to choose between making spirits and 
saving them.
  About the time Jack set out on his own, the American Civil War broke 
out. The land around Lynchburg was taken and retaken by Union troops 
seven times, and the foraging armies of the North and South made corn 
and grain for whiskey-making hard to come by. Through it all, Jack held 
fast to his simple philosophy--``Every day that we make it, we'll make 
it the best that we can.''
  Making it Mr. Jack's way meant adding an extra step to the 
traditional whiskey-making process. Jack mellowed his whiskey drop by 
drop through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal before putting it up to 
mature in white oak barrels. This extra blessing added time and expense 
to making his whiskey, but a taste of what emerged from the barrels had 
most folks agreeing it was worth the wait. During its 150-some-year 
history, Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 has been awarded seven international 
gold medals, beginning with the first it won at the 1904 World's Fair 
in St. Louis. The 1904 World's Fair helped usher in the American 
Century, which the little man from Tennessee and his whiskey was 
destined to be a growing part of.

[[Page E1797]]

  In 1911, the distillery was left to Jack Daniel's nephew Lem Motlow, 
who watched over the distillery through 29 years of state and national 
prohibition. One of the ways Mr. Lem occupied himself during those long 
dry years was to engage in one of the grandest of diversions--politics. 
Straightforward to a fault, Lem ran for the state legislature on the 
campaign promise--``Elect me and I'll do something for myself! But I'll 
also do something for you!'' And that's exactly what he did. Lem 
eventually helped change the law in Tennessee so that he could return 
to making whiskey and his friends could go back to enjoying it.
  Major General George S. Patton and his Second Armored Division 
trained in Camp Forrest, a military base near Lynchburg, in 1941. Along 
with learning the tactics that would ultimately free Europe, the men 
who trained there acquired a taste for Jack Daniel's--a taste they 
would eventually take home with them, spreading the word about this 
smooth Tennessee spirit. Sales of Jack Daniel's rocketed from 150,000 
cases in the early 1950s to more than 1 million cases by 1970. To 
support this rapid growth and to make sure friends of Jack Daniel's Old 
No. 7 wouldn't have to go without, Lem's four sons entrusted the care 
of their Uncle Jack's distillery to another American whiskey family--
the Browns of Louisville, Kentucky.
  Brown-Forman Corporation purchased the Jack Daniel's Distillery in 
1956 and wisely left untouched the whiskey-making and mellowing methods 
faithfully practiced by the distillery for more than a century. Under 
the watchful care of Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel's Old Tennessee Whiskey 
has continued to make new friends, satisfying people of different 
tastes by bringing along side its venerable Old No. 7 brand new family 
members like Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee 
Whiskey and Jack Daniel's Country Cocktails.
  Jack Daniel's and Brown-Forman have long been industry leaders in 
promotion responsible drinking. These are good folks. They want their 
products enjoyed but never abused. Each year, they invest millions of 
dollars in The Century Council's award winning educational programs to 
combat drunk driving and underage drinking. Their brand advertising, 
repleat with images of the beautiful landscape and good people of Moore 
County, is highly responsible. And most recently, Jack Daniel's has 
carried this message to millions of Americans through a NASCAR 
sponsorship promoting the use of designated drivers and--literally and 
figurateively--driving home the message emblazoned on the aptly 
numbered 07 car--``Pace Yourself. Drink Responsibly.''
  This care for the whiskey, the consumers who enjoy it and the special 
people and special place where it is made are the things that add up to 
the global legend of Jack Daniel's today. Under the watchful care of 
Brown-Forman Corporation Chairman Owsley Brown, President and Chief 
Executive Officer Paul Varga, Master Distiller Jimmy Bedford and the 
good people of Moore County and Lynchburg, Tennessee, I'm proud to 
inform the House that Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 become this year the No. 
1 selling whiskey in the world. Congratulations, Moore County, and Mr. 
Jack.
  Finally, in honor of Jack Daniel's and the people of Moore County, 
their status in the world as ambassadors of American culture, hard 
work, and timeless truths; and in this the month in which we celebrate 
the birth of Mr. Jack Daniel, I would ask my colleagues to join me in 
saying--Here's to the spirit of America, Mr. Jack of Lynchburg, Moore 
County, Tennessee, 155 years old, and still out on the town--
responsibly--every night.

                          ____________________