Jack Daniel’s Puts $140 Million Into Growing Its Whiskey Operations

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, among others, joined Jack Daniel’s parent company Brown-Forman officials in unveiling the big news. According to them the $140 million will be used for the following:

• construct two new barrelhouses
• modify and expand the existing bottling facility to provide additional bottling and shipping capacity to meet future demand
• renovations to the Visitor Center to support increased tourism and enhance the visitor experience

“Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee tradition that was born in one of Tennessee’s smallest counties and has grown into a globally recognized brand,” said Haslam in a statement. “I thank Brown-Forman and the Jack Daniel Distillery for their continued investment in Lynchburg and bringing us closer to making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

Now it should be noted this is actually the second expansion for Jack Daniel’s in recent times. The distillery, some three years ago, underwent a $103 million project which included the addition of stills, barrel warehouses and related infrastructure.

It is no surprise state and local officials have been so accommodating to Jack Daniel’s in its expansions. The visitor’s center of this distillery brought in more than 275,000 guests from around the world last year alone, most of which were likely spending additional tourism dollars in surrounding businesses.

Furthermore, information from the 2015 Brown-Forman annual report reveals the Tennessee whiskey brand to be “one of the most valuable brands in the world, selling more bottles than any other single expression at a price point greater than $25.It is also the fastest-growing of the top 10 global brands based upon volume, with 6% net sales growth (3% as reported) in fiscal 2015.”