A little over 150 years ago, an immigrant couple gives birth to a son in Tennessee, USA. The boy loses his mother at a young age and being the youngest of ten siblings, life becomes a challenge. A stepmother soon enters the picture and tragedy strikes again as the lad’s father suddenly dies during a civil war. Unable to cope with the demands of a wicked stepmother, the lad runs away from home. This may sound like a plot straight out of a historic novel, but this dear reader is the back-story to the life of Jasper Newton ‘Jack’ Daniel, the brains behind world-renowned whisky Brand – Jack Daniel’s.
After running away from home, young Jack is taken in by a local preacher and distiller by the name Dan Call. During this time, Jack learns how to make whisky from Call’s slave, Nathan Green, using the ‘sour mash’ method and filtering through coal. A few years later, fortune comes knocking as Jack receives an inheritance from his father’s estate and in 1866, he establishes the Jack Daniel’s distillery, the first registered distillery in the USA.
Flash forward to the year 2019, it is a rainy Wednesday evening dated October 23. In a land millions of miles away from Tennessee, a group of media personalities gather at the Chat Room in Nairobi, Kenya. The event time was 6:00pm for the Jack Daniel’s private tasting; an exclusive and intimate event that only a few were privileged to attend. We each receive a Jack Daniel’s cocktail drink of choice between sweet and strong; as a welcome token and head in for what is set to be an informative session about how this excellent whiskey is produced.
The East African brand ambassador, David Mwangi is the host of the event and lets each of us take a minute to introduce ourselves. He then conducts the tasting, a peculiar but interesting activity that involves smelling the whisky before tasting. During the session, David introduces five different brands of Jack Daniels – there are quite a number but the ones chosen for this tasting include Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 (popularly known as Black Label), Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire. For each brand we get learn about the processing which basically includes fermenting corn, rye, and malted barley. After distillation, the whisky is filtered through 10 feet of Sugar Maple charcoal. The aromas and tasting components are used to distinguish the brand and give the final product brand; for instance, the Old No. 7 has a Caramel and Vanilla taste mixed with toasted oak, which gives it a creamy and clean finish. Other brands are made by blending Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whisky with other liquors; like Tennessee Fire is a blend of Jack Daniel’s and a robust cinnamon liquor.
Mr. Mwangi maintains that the process of making Jack Daniel’s whiskey remains the same through the years; making us feel honored to have this rare opportunity to have a taste of the whisky originally prepared by Jack. This is a 150-year-old recipe that has surpassed trends, generations and history to become a symbol of finesse and class. After the very informative session, David leaves us mingle as we enjoy a taste of Jack Daniels. We also get to enjoy a slice of Pizza and a few samosas before we wrap up.
“Jack Daniel’s is a drink you enjoy as a family, with friends and loved ones for special occasions…” David Mwangi reinforces that Jack Daniels is a drink be enjoyed by all; owing to its various brands designed to cater to various preferences and personalities. For every kind of person, there is a taste of Jack Daniel’s just for you.
