Tennessee whiskey industry is old and giant — but also new and fledgling

The bourbon critic Fred Minnick remembers traveling to Argentina a dozen years ago, and Jack Daniel’s was the only American whiskey he saw. That’s pretty much what he found back then wherever he traveled in the world.

“Jack Daniel’s is the absolute most important whiskey in the world. It opens the door for every bourbon brand,” Minnick said.

Kentucky has more distilleries. And the state produces bottles, like the cult coveted Pappy Van Winkle, that sell for astronomical prices. But Tennessee makes the American whiskey that most Americans drink.

Jack Daniel’s did not always dominate Tennessee whiskey. Before prohibition, it was a well-regarded regional whiskey, one of the many that were distilled and sold across the state. And today, since distilling was legalized in 2009 beyond the three Tennessee counties that are home to Jack Daniel’s, George Dickel and craft distillery Prichard’s, distilleries big and small have launched.