Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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Back in 1866, Jack Daniel's became the first registered distillery in the United States; today, it is the top-selling whiskey in the world. All around the globe, people recognize the iconic black-and-white label on the equally iconic square bottle. And with a brand value of 4 billion, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise!

For much of the brand’s 155-plus years, the story went that the young Jack Daniel learned his trade from a pastor. But as it turns out, the tale is actually quite a bit more complicated than that…

Sources

Jack Daniel
youtube.com/watch?v=Oqe8eLVt0Sw
jackdaniels.com/vault/how-jack-daniel-came-make-whiskey
mintjuleptours.com/2018/05/18/jack-daniel-the-story-of-jack-daniels-tennessee-whiskey
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/jack-daniel-killed-by-a-safe-2013-12

Nearest Green
nearestgreen.com/about-nearest-green
gastropod.com/the-secret-history-of-the-slave-behind-jack-daniels-whiskey
nytimes.com/2016/06/26/dining/jack-daniels-whiskey-nearis-green-slave.html
nytimes.com/2017/08/15/dining/jack-daniels-whiskey-slave-nearest-green.html

Jack Daniel’s History
jackdaniels.com/our-story
jackdaniels.com/vault/old-no-7-takes-gold
theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/jack-daniels-secret-the-history-of-the-worlds-most-famous-whiskey/250966
knowledgenuts.com/you-cant-legally-buy-jack-daniels-in-the-town-where-its-made
history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/prohibition