Our route today took us through Lynchburg, Tennessee, which is home to the Jack Daniels Distillery.  The spring in the above cave, is where the water comes from to make the Whiskey, which all began back in 1859.

 

 Jack & Anne.

Jack Daniels started distilling whiskey at the young age of 13 years. He made money selling it to both sides during the Civil War and by the age of 20 in 1866 established the Distillery as a Registered company. He died due to blood poisoning. It all started when he arrived at work one morning before anyone else and wanted to open his safe. He couldn't remember the combination so kicked the safe with his foot which resulted in a broken toe. Gangrene set in so he had the toe amputated but the gangrene kept spreading up his leg and although his leg was amputated the poisoning finally killed him - so the moral of the story is: "Never go to work early!"

 

The tour of the distillery is free and takes about an hour. They were on shutdown so we couldn't see anything in action and photography was prohibited. However, we were shown the massive vats where the whiskey drips through charcoal which gives it its unique taste. The tour guide lifted the lid up and down so we could all inhale the 140 proof fumes which were very powerful!

The irony is that Lynchburg is in Moore County which is a 'dry' county, so you cannot buy the whiskey for consumption in stores or restaurants. 

 

After Lynchburg we were heading for the Smoky Mountains which meant passing through Chattanooga. Probably only the older generation have heard of Chattanooga Choo Choo (definitely before my time:-). The song was recorded by Glenn Miller for a film made in 1941 and the old Railway Station in Chattanooga has been turned into an hotel and is now one of the Historic Hotels of America.