Jack Daniels exports 65 percent of its whiskey

Lynchburg distillery wins the state's top exporter award


              FILE – In this May 20, 2009, file photo, Jeff Arnett, the master distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn., drills a hole in a barrel of whiskey in one of the aging houses at the distillery. The sponsor of a bill seeking to repeal the Jack Daniel's-endorsed law establishing requirements for which spirits can be sold as Tennessee Whiskey withdrew the measure on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.  (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE – In this May 20, 2009, file photo, Jeff Arnett, the master distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn., drills a hole in a barrel of whiskey in one of the aging houses at the distillery. The sponsor of a bill seeking to repeal the Jack Daniel's-endorsed law establishing requirements for which spirits can be sold as Tennessee Whiskey withdrew the measure on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

From the quaint and picturesque town of Lynchburg, Tenn., where on-premise drinking of whiskey is still prohibited, the Jack Daniels' Distillery has emerged as one of Tennessee's best-known labels and biggest state exports.

Nearly two third of the whiskey distilled by Jack Daniels in Tennessee is sold overseas and the growth in the company's foreign sales continue to outpace its domestic sales growth.

As a result, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development today announced Jack Daniels will be awarded this week the Governor's Award for Trade Excellence among large exporters in Tennessee.

photo In this Dec. 5, 2011, photo, bottles of Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 brand whiskey line the shelves of a liquor outlet, in Montpelier, Vt. Jack Daniel's has turned back the latest challenge to a Tennessee state law that determines which spirits can be marketed as "Tennessee Whiskey."

Jack Daniel Distillery is America's oldest registered distillery founded in 1866. The company has continued to grow to become a top 10 export for Tennessee with sales in more than 160 countries worldwide. For the past three years, the company's export sales have risen by 5 percent each year from 50 percent in 2013 to 65 percent in 2015.

Jack Daniels will be presented the governor's award Wednesday at the 62nd Annual Governor's Conference on Economic and Community Development in Nashville. The other exporters being honored this year are Novit Technologies, the small-sized company winner that designs and manufactures electronic controls for automotive, heavy duty and construction lighting applications, and BPI Packaging, LLC, the medium-sized company winner that blends, packages and distributes chemical products for consumer and industrial markets in Memphis.

"It's great to see these three companies bringing Tennessee-made products all over the globe," said Randy Boyd, commissioner for economic and community development in Tennessee. "In 2014, Tennessee companies exported $32.9 billion worth of goods and services, and we plan to keep that number growing."

Tennessee's export growth of $6.9 billion from 2010-2014 ranks No. 12 in the nation. Top export commodities from Tennessee include medical equipment and supplies, motor vehicle parts, motor vehicles, computer equipment and basic chemicals. Top export markets include Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Belgium.

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