We can’t conjure up an industry more ancient, more intrinsically American than whiskey making, or whiskey names more iconic than Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam; the latter, of course, is one bourbon, a particular type of whiskey. The recipes for both “Jack” and “Jim” have remained unchanged for generations, and their distillers in Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, are traditionalists. This does not mean, however, that they are unaware of the need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or that they are blind to the opportunities that decarbonisation can present. Now, as we discuss in today’s RBN blog, both Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam are committed to producing renewable natural gas (RNG) from spent grains.
Of course, whiskey’s roots go back to medieval monks in Ireland and Scotland, and there’s a lot to be said for Scotch whisky, whose producers are Whiskey Bent and (Hydrogen) Bound — but whiskey (pronounced with an “e” in the US) is, in many ways, as American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. Heck, George Washington ran a whiskey distillery in Mount Vernon, and in 1795 (during Washington’s second term as President of the United States) Jacob Beam, an early Kentucky settler, sold his first barrel of Old Jake Beam Sour Mash, using his father’s corn whiskey. recipe The product name was later changed to Old Tub Bourbon and finally, in 1943, to Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. As for Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey (the classic variety), its history “only” dates back to 1866, when Jasper “Jack” Daniel, working with Reverend Dan Call and a formerly enslaved man named Nathan “Nearest” Green. (who later became master distiller), established the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. (Number 7 was the number assigned to the distillery’s government registry.)
Before we dive into the Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam RNG projects, we need to define a few things. The first is alcohol. Whiskey is a spirit distilled from a fermented mixture of grains, such as barley, corn, rye or wheat. Bourbon is a whiskey that meets a number of specific requirements: (1) it must be made in America (according to a 1964 US law); (2) the distillery’s grain bill (similar to a refinery’s crude slate) must be at least 51% corn; (3) must be distilled at no more than 160 proof (80% alcohol) and enter the barrel at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol); and (4) must be aged in new charred oak barrels. Jim Beam is on board with all of this, and so, it turns out, is Jack Daniel’s, but Jack isn’t technically a bourbon because it goes through an extra step after it’s distilled and before it’s “barrel “, that is, over a 3-5 day period that is filtered through a 10-foot-tall vat filled with charcoal chips to remove impurities and “improve” the whiskey. (This is known as “the Lincoln County Process”).
