We collected our trusty vehicle in Nashville – a means of conjuring 28 days of road trip memories ahead of us.
After a significant stuff up at the car depot due to an over zealous and meticulously painful booking agent we eventually – about three hours later – departed with a lovely new Nissan Rogue 4WD to commence exploring.
Driving in the US causes no grief as we’ve done it quite a lot over the years so just like riding a bike, albeit on the other side of the road.
Having covered all of what Nashville had to offer we chose to head a short drive south east through gorgeous Tennessee farmland toward a lovely little town of Lynchburg in the Alcohol free Moore County.
Why is this an important little fact? Probably because Lynchburg Tennessee is the home of possible the most famous Whiskey Distilleries in the world – the Great Jack Daniel’s !
Moore County has an active population of around 6,500 and the only place where alcohol can be consumed is in the tasting room at JDs.
The tour of this property was very informative and entertaining, taking a few hours.
Firstly transported to the top of the property by mini bus, we wound our way back down through the distillery with a very informative guide explaining every step of the distilling process.
The distillery was first founded in 1864 by Jack Daniel, on a site of a huge underground spring which to this day provides all of the water necessary to make the whiskey.
Shortly after the first bottles of Old Number 7 were produced.
To this very day, every single bottle of Jack Daniel’s sold around the world is made in this distillery and shipped globally.
Ultimately we ended up in a beautifully designed tasting room where we were guided through 6 different varieties of JD whiskeys.
And of course – we got an opportunity to purchase some limited editions – which we did.
An interesting note about sales – according to Moore County Law they cannot sell the whiskey to visitors. BUT they can sell you the bottle it comes in, and the contents is free 😬
We purchased a limited and numbered Single Barrell whiskey and a Rye Whiskey which we’d never seen before but we liked.
A beautiful and leisurely drive back to Nashville via the period town of Franklin about 40 mins south of Nashville – home of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Gorgeous little 1950s town. Then ! Off to Leipers Fork, a similarly picturesque 1960s style village where they previously lived.
Terrific last day in and around Nashville – off the Memphis tomorrow !!
Ralph and Karen's Tours 