PHOTO BY ADAM BRIMER
Rob Hoskins with Jack Daniel’s public relations pours a sample of the company’s new Tennessee Honey drink on Wednesday prior to a tasting hosted by Master Taster Jeff Norman at Latitude 35 on Market Square.
The Lynchburg, Tenn.-based distillery has been using the same formula to make Tennessee sippin' whiskey - even drawing water from the same limestone spring - for 137 years.
The recent introduction of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey marks a rare departure from the famous original oak-mellowed recipe.
"It's a huge deal for us. It's been over a decade since we launched a new product," said Casey Nelson, brand manager for the new Honey Jack, which is being called a liqueur.
According to Nelson, the new recipe blends sweet natural honey with the famous Old No. 7 formula for a smoother and sweeter taste that doesn't have the "bite" that the original Gentleman Jack does.
"It gives our existing core drinkers a new way to enjoy Jack Daniel's whiskey and new potential customers a way to enjoy a brand they know and like," Nelson said.
The marketing approach for the new product involves lots of digital and social media, according to Nelson. The Honey Jack Facebook page had 360,000 fans in the first three weeks, he said.
"It's amazing to see who has come out and said, 'I'm not a Jack drinker, but I love the new brand,' " he said.
The marketing plan also involves local tasting events, such as the one held in Knoxville on Wednesday. A few dozen restaurant owners, bartenders and whiskey connoisseurs gathered at Latitude 35 in Market Square to taste the new honey-flavored whiskey.
Jack Daniel's Master Taster Jeff Norman explained how the sweet honey is a natural complement to the caramelized sugars and other flavors that are activated by aging and mellowing the whiskey in charred white oak barrels.
"We have a great balance of flavor," he said.
The recipe includes "Tennessee Honey," actually sourced from beehives around the country, and the traditional 80-proof Old No. 7 blend combined to create a 70-proof liqueur.
A lot of customers are enjoying the Honey Jack chilled, Norman said, adding, "It's also great poured over vanilla bean ice cream and bread pudding."
Most of those at the tasting agreed that the new Honey Jack tasted great.
"It's not bitter, but it's not too sweet either," said Jebbi Smith.
Devotees of Old No. 7 were pleased that this latest libation remained true to its heritage.
"I like the way it tastes," said John Garrison, a self-described patron of fine whiskey and longtime fan of Jack Daniel's. "It's more like an after-dinner or dessert drink."
Honey-flavored whiskey and liqueurs are now available from several suppliers, including Jack Daniel's, and are growing in popularity, according to Gene Treacy, proprietor of Campbell Station Wine and Spirits in Farragut.
Treacy said the early feedback indicates that customers like the new Honey Jack. Jack Daniel's has a long history of producing a quality product, he said.
"Jack Daniel's is a great brand. We recommend all their products to our customers," he said.
Brand name recognition is an important part of the Jack Daniel's success story, said Norman, a Lynchburg native whose father also was a taster at the distillery. Keeping true to the original recipe, including using the same water from the same spring, is the secret to long-term success.
The company is very careful about any changes it introduces to its product line, he said.
In addition to the original Old No. 7 and the recently introduced Honey Jack, the company introduced Jack Daniel's Single Barrel 14 years ago and Gentleman Jack 23 years ago. Both introductions were well-received because they built on the success of the original formula, he said.
The maker of Jack Daniel's said Monday that it is rolling out a taller, slimmer bottle and simplified label for the popular whiskey made in rural Tennessee.
The new packaging for Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 - known as Jack Daniel's black label - accentuates the bottle's familiar square shoulders. The labeling is less wordy in the new bottles that will spread to U.S. stores by this summer.
For a brand steeped in tradition, the old packaging had been around only since 2001, though the bottle has been square since 1895 aside from a brief period after World War II when a glass shortage led to a round bottle.
The new bottle comes after a year of flat U.S. sales for the leading Jack Daniel's brand, though international sales rose. Louisville, Ky.-based Brown-Forman Corp. said it invested significant time and money to refine the packaging for its flagship brand.
Jack Daniel's is available in 135 countries and global sales totaled 9.94 million cases in 2010.
Hugh G. Willett is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.