By Tabitha Evans Moore | Editor & Publisher

WHISKEY INDUSTRY NEWS — It started with a post inside the Jack Daniel’s International Facebook group on Saturday and quickly gained steam. By Sunday morning, folks in Lynchburg began to widely share the social media post claiming that Brown- Forman had decided to move part of its 700ml bottling operation to Europe.

Soon comments began to swirl – many claiming that the move would force Moore County to lose jobs and local tax revenue.

And why it is true that by Monday, all Jack Daniel employees received an email confirming that a small portion of their Tennessee whiskey bottling would move to Europe, a lot of the assumptions and conclusions happening online over the weekend just aren’t true.

Every drop still made in Lynchburg

Regardless of the change in bottling, every drop of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskeys will continue to be distilled and matured in Lynchburg, according to distillery officials.

“Given the global reach of Jack Daniel’s and our many friends around the world, bottling our products in Europe makes sense and is not new for our company,” Jack Daniel General Manager Larry Combs explained to The Times. “We have bottled some of our flavored whiskeys in Europe since 2013, and our Jack Daniel’s RTD [ready-to-drink] products there for more than 25 years.”

Jack Daniel’s officials explained that the whiskey being bottled in Belgium represents a small portion of all the whiskey being made in Lynchburg. Whiskey sent to Europe for bottling at one of Brown-Forman’s partner facilities will remain in Europe. Combs explained that recent international trade disputes and uncertainty over future trade relations were major factors behind the decision.

Zero jobs lost in Lynchburg

Combs stressed that the move would not result in any local job loses or a slow down in hiring at the Lynchburg distillery. In fact, distillery officials stated that they anticipate that the move would actually result in an increase in both jobs and opportunities at the distillery.

“Overall, however, with the demand for Jack Daniel’s continuing to grow around the world, additional bottling has been added in Lynchburg resulting in an increase in jobs locally,” Combs said. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg. 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.}