Godfather of Tennessee whiskey: Uncle Nearest, the slave who taught Jack Daniel’s
The former top distiller at Jack Daniel’s announced Tuesday that he and several partners are opening a new whiskey distillery near the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
Company Distilling first opens a 3,712-square-foot test room and restaurant (Townsend, Tennessee), said former Jack Daniel’s master distiller Jeff Arnett and his partners. The next distillery in Alcoa and a tasting room in Thompson Station, closer to Nashville, will follow next year.
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Arnett works with former Tennessee Distillers Guild president Kris Tatum; construction businessman Corey Clayton; founder of H. Clark Distillery Heath Clark, and Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton Homes. The initiative is expected to include a $ 20 million investment and provide 50 to 60 jobs.
Company Distilling’s locations will focus on the outdoors. The 31-acre (13-acre) main distillery in Alcoa will include a tasting room, restaurant, brewery, retail store, a live music venue, wheat hole, picket ball fields, fireplaces and open access to greenways, according to the news release.
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The Townsend location is along the Little River with the Townsend Greenway in front of the 5-acre (5-acre) property and offers access to biking, running and nearby mountain biking and hiking trails.
“I would like to say that this is the first distillery in this country, but you all know that it is not,” joked Blount Mayor Ed Mitchell. ‘I would like to say that this is the first distillery where they asked the mayor to speak. Things are really changing. ‘
The distillery will make straight bourbon whiskey finished with maple wood to produce a sip like no other, Arnett said in a statement.
At the end of 2020, Jack announced Daniel Daniel’s departure after a nearly 20-year stint with the whiskey producer, including 12 years in which he led production.
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At an event in Alcoa to announce the new venture, Arnett emphasizes the pride he feels in the work he did during Jack Daniel’s, but he’s excited about ‘doing something else too’.
“I just felt it was time to move on,” he said.
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