Scott decided that since I enjoy whiskey so much we needed to stop by some distilleries while in Tennessee. After we left Pigeon Forge we headed to Nashville. We had two touristy days while in Nashville. Jack Daniels was a trek but it was on the list so we made a day of it and visited three distilleries as well as the home my parents lived in when I was born (we moved to Colorado from this area in TN when I was ~3 months old). The other day we did downtown things and visited the Johnny Cash museum and a few more whiskey places.
Our first distillery tour was Jack Daniels in Lynchburg. This distillery is big and old. We were taken around the campus on a little tourbus so we could see where the different processes took place. First we saw how they make charcoal for the distilling process (burning huge stacks of wood). Then we saw the spring from which the water used in all Jack Daniels products comes (the secret to the whiskey, so they say). The black sooty stuff on the outsides of the buildings is a substance that only grows where there is a distillery (something in the air). We saw the huge vats in which they brew, the towers they use to distill, and of course, the barrel house where all the whiskey is aged (but of course I didn’t take photos of all those things).
The tour ended with a whiskey tasting, six different products made at this factory. Two were flavored, blackberry and apple whiskey. This was my first time trying flavored whiskey and I was surprised at how much I liked the apple. At least for a mixed drink, it would be delicious.
We left Jack Daniels and headed to George Dickel, right down the street. Of course, on the way we stopped at the house my parents lived in when I was born. Apparently the upper story has a door in the middle that used to open out on a large porch, clearly absent in this photo.
We didn’t do a tour of the Dickel estate, nor the Cascade Hollow Distillery (where they make George Dickel), but I did do a tasting. We purchased a bottle from a barrel picked by the staff as their favorite to release. Because this was a limited edition, I got to sign the barrel.
The other distillery with an estate we visited was Leipers Fork. We didn’t do a tour but sat on the porch and I enjoyed a tasting flight as we watched a storm pass by. The rest of the distilleries we visited were all in Nashville so they didn’t offer tours, just tastings. I had a flight from Corsair and Nashville Barrel. Standard Proof only offered flavored whiskeys (I was a fan of the ginger), Nashville Barrel was tasty but too expensive to justify, we purchased a bottle from Corsair.
Of course whiskey is not the only thing in Nashville so we made sure to check out some live music and the Johnny Cash museum.
It also rained a lot here. So much it flooded our campsite multiple times. But there was also a resident woodpecker!
Last but not least while here we tried the Nashville Hot Chicken. We went to two spots, Hattie B’s and Prince’s. I made the mistake of ordering medium (a two on a scale that went to about 15). I took one bite and realized it was way too spicy for me to finish. Scott got spicy and enjoyed it! Hattie B’s I got mild and was able to eat it. I’m not quite sure how people who eat here still have taste buds after eating the spicy ones.
