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Jack Daniel’s defends origins against Welsh claims
By Becky PaskinJack Daniel’s has declared a recent claim that the original recipe for the Tennessee bourbon has been found in Wales, as ‘fancy rather than fact’.
Jack Daniel’s is defending its heritageWelsh businessman Mark Evans has claimed a book of herbal remedies written in Welsh in 1853 by his great-great-grandmother contains the original recipe for Jack Daniel’s, and that his great-great-uncle, John ‘Jack the Lad’ Daniels, travelled to Lynchbourg, Tennessee around the same time but was never heard of again.
However Jack Daniel’s master distiller Jeff Arnett has refuted the claims, saying the “people and dates just don’t match up”.
“Jack Daniel’s family was living in America for two generations prior to the 1853 date Mr. Evans suggests his relative came to the United States,” Arnett claimed. “His John ’Jack the Lad’ Daniels is not our Jasper Newton ’Jack’ Daniel. We also know that Jack Daniel learned to make whiskey from a local Lutheran minister here in Lynchburg and not an herbal remedies book.”
Arnett continued that the rumours surrounding the origins of Jack Daniel’s have always served in the brand’s favour.
“Its remarkable, small-town founder and the fact it’s made in a dry county intrigue people and get them talking. And so, through the years, it’s drawn all kinds of legend and lore to it. Mr. Evans’ story falls into the category of lore.”
Jack Daniel’s was officially recognised as a spirit by the US Government in 1866.