As a result of the four year plus process it takes to create our favorite
beverage, Jack Daniel's produces or did produce the following by-products:
- Spent Stillage (sometimes referred to as "slop")
- Finely ground Sugar Maple charcoal
- 50 gallon charred American White Oak barrels
- "Barrel Chips"
Like so many other U.S. companies, Jack Daniel's is extremely concerned about the
environment.
As you will read, they seem to have covered all of the bases when it comes
to managing the recycling of their by-products.
Spent Stillage (aka: slop)
Spent stillage is that part of the sour mash which remains after the
distilling process.
During the early years of the distillery, the spent stillage was sold
to local farmers.
The farmers in turn fed it to their cattle. These cattle were more than
happy to have what Mr. Jack no longer needed!
Today, however, while some of the spent grain is sold to farmers, the vast
majority of it is sold for human consumption. The grain is used in soups,
seasoning, and fish coatings.
Finely Ground Sugar Maple Charcoal
The finely ground sugar maple charcoal is used to mellow Jack Daniel's.
Jack Daniel's is dripped drop by drop through about 10 feet of the charcoal.
This, by the way, is what makes Jack Daniel's a "Tennessee Whiskey".
After the finely ground sugar maple charcoal is used, it is sold to a
company that converts it into charcoal briquettes. There, it is packaged
and resold to the public.
50 Gallon Charred American White Oak Barrels
After Jack Daniel's is distilled, it is aged in charred American white oak
barrels for approximately four years.
The barrels are manufactured by a cooperage in Kentucky.
The barrels are only used once by the distillery.
After the barrels have been used, one of two things can happen to them.
A small percentage of the barrels remain in Lynchburg and are sold in the
local stores, including the Lynchburg Hardware & General Store.
However, the vast majority of the barrels are shipped, by boat, to Scotland.
In Scotland, they are used by a number of Scotch Whiskey manufacturers.
Unlike Jack Daniel's, the Scotch Whiskey manufacturers use the barrels a number
of times.
Barrel Chips
The final by-product is what Jack Daniel's calls "barrel chips".
These were, however, not pieces of barrels. These were actually leftover
scraps of the sugar maple wood used to make the mellowing charcoal.
The chips were sold for use in barbecues as flavor and aroma enhancers.
The sale of the chips were discontinued in 1986.
So, now you know!
This page is part of "The Unofficial Jack Daniel's Commemorative
Decanter Web Page". If you found this page directly via a search
engine, please click here
to return to the main page.
This unofficial Jack Daniel's commemorative decanter web page is not
affiliated with, maintained by, nor in any way officially connected with
the Jack Daniel's Distillery.
Jack Daniel's is a registered trademark of Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem
Motlow, Prop., Inc.
Copyright © 1998-2003 Kurt Umscheid. All Rights Reserved.
Some images and/or graphics courtesy of Jack Daniel's Distillery, Inc.
This page is for entertainment purposes only.
Do not copy or redistribute without written permission.
