LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — If you’ve read a review or been lucky enough to sample a bottle, you already know that Jack Daniel’s latest release, the first age-stated whiskey to come out of the Holler in 100 years, is a big deal. It seems the folks at The World Drink Awards agree because today they named Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old the World’s Best Tennessee Whiskey.

The Distillery released the bottle in August 2021 to much fanfare. When interviewing Master Distiller Chris Fletcher back in August about the new Old No.7 iteration, Fletcher told The Times that the 10 Year Old wasn’t about chasing a number but rather about recreating a product that Jasper Newton Daniel himself might have made.

“I think leaning into our history is very interesting,” Fletcher said back in August. “When you see all these older bottles with these age statements that are also labeled Old No. 7, it made me think if Jack could do it then, why can’t we do it now? I would love to recreate a whole series that mimics exactly what Jack did.”

It took 10 long, hot Tennessee summers to produce the 10 year old whiskey. Fletcher says the he and the team managed to hand-craft the new product from whiskey aged in oak barrels that were relocated throughout local barrelhouses to extend the aging process. The 200 barrels used for the limited edition whiskey were all fermented here in Lynchburg from the yeast strain folks in The Holler refer to as the Mother Culture — yeast that’s been used continuously to make every bottle of Jack Daniels since 1938.

The World Drinks Awards are a global award selected by an international panel of judges. It’s presented annually by Whisky Magazine. {To view all the winners, visit the World Whiskies Awards Facebook page by clicking here.} They award honors to not only the best whiskies in the world but also “whiskey icons” such as the most sustainable distillery, attraction of the year, distillers of the year, and awards for brand ambassadors. {To view all 2022 Icons of Whisky winners, click here.} •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally owned newspaper in Lynchburg and also the only woman-owned newspaper in Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}