State lawmakers give another win to dominant Tennessee Whiskey producer Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's has turned back the latest challenge to a state law that determines which spirits can be marketed as "Tennessee Whiskey."
On Tuesday, Republican state Sen. Ed Jackson, of Jackson, withdrew without debate his bill that sought to repeal the law passed at the behest of Jack Daniel's in 2013.
The subsidiary of Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp. is by far dominant player in the field, producing 11.5 million case of its Old No. 7 brand in 2014. By contrast, the next largest producer, George Dickel, makes about 130,000 cases per year.
Some smaller distillers have chafed at the laws' requirement to filter spirits through charcoal and store it in unused oak barrels in order to label them Tennessee whiskey. Jack Daniel's says the law ensures minimum quality standards.