With about 12.9 million cases sold annually, Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 remains the best-selling whiskey in the world. The brew has been Jack Daniel's flagship offering since the distillery was founded in 1866. However, there is much more to the whiskey manufacturer's famous portfolio than this simple blend.

Old No. 7 possesses a name that originally was assigned to the Jack Daniel's Distillery for government regulation. Old No. 7 was first blended at 90 proof. Since 1987 Old No. 7 now contains 86 proof. The reason being lower excise taxes, and production costs, associated with creating the popular whiskey.

When Jack Daniel's made this change many critics thought the company would receive serious backlash for doing so. But, as illustrated in 2005 by the Advertising Age magazine, there was very little thrown the company's way.

Advertising Age stated, "Virtually no one noticed the change."

They further confirmed sales of Old No. 7 had increased since Jack Daniel's decreased the whiskey's proof to 86.

Distilled in copper stills, the Jack Daniel's mash is 80% corn, 12% rye, and 8% malted barley. The product is filtered through ten-foot tall stacks of sugar maple charcoal, which the distillery refers to as the Lincoln County Process. This technique removes impurities from the alcohol as well as the corn taste.

Under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Tennessee whiskey is mandated to be "a straight bourbon whiskey." Jack Daniel's filtering procedure provides the distinct aspect of grinding its charcoal prior to using it for filtration. That completed, the whiskey is stored in new, handcrafted, oak barrels to give the whiskey its color and the majority of its flavor.

Tennessee has declared for a whiskey to be labeled as "Tennessee whiskey" it must not only be manufactured in the state, but the whiskey must meet quality and production standards. These are the same ones Jack Daniel's is famous for. Some other distilleries in Tennessee do not like this prerequisite.

Based in Kelso, Tennessee, the Benjamin Pritchard Distillery produces its whiskey in pot stills instead of column stills. This difference between distilling programs, and the previous requirements for bourbon that were in effect before the Tennessee law was passed, are the only two exceptions to the policy.

While Jack Daniel's whiskey can not be purchased in the dry county of Moore, where it is manufactured, the distillery can sell one commemorative product and not violate this county law. Therefore, the Jack Daniel's Distillery frequently offers Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Old No. 7, and seasonal blends, in commemorative decanters, of course. These can be purchased in its White Rabbitt Bottle Shop.

-Gentleman Jack is charcoal filtered twice
-Jack Daniel's Single Barrel is brewed in only one, not two, barrels
-Tennessee Honey is blended with less than 20% whiskey
-Tennessee Fire is cinnamon-flavored liquor blended with less than 20% whiskey

The Jack Daniel's Distillery is surrounded by, as well as contained in, Stillhouse Hollow, which is also known as Jack Daniel's Hollow. Flowing from a cave at the base of a limestone cliff, iron from the spring water used to distill Jack Daniel's whiskey is removed by the limestone. The spring then feeds into the East Fork Mulberry Creek, which is a portion of the Elk River watershed.

A major tourist attraction, that draws an excess of a quarter million visitors each year, the Jack Daniel's Distillery maintains many of its barrels of whiskey on hilltops that adorn its property. These are visible throughout the small town of Lynchburg.

The Jack Daniel's Visitors Center offers memorabilia and a popular gift shop. There are paid tours of the distillery available several times daily. A premium sampling tour is also provided.

Some common cocktails Old No. 7 is often mixed with include:

-Cocal-Cola
-Lynchburg Lemonade. (a citrus-flavored soda or juice, sour mix, lemon-lime, triple sec, and Old No. 7)
-Three Wise Men (a combination of three whiskeys poured together with no other ingredients)

Back in my drinking days, of which I can no longer imbibe because of medication I am on to help combat my cancer, one day I concocted my own soon-to-become all-time preferred alcoholic beverage. I poured a shot of Old No. 7 right smack dab in the middle of a Pina Colada. The taste was both SWEET and SOUR!!!