Jack Daniels Undertakes $100M Expansion In Lynchburg, Tennessee, As Global Bourbon Demand Soars

Jack Daniel’s Distillery, maker of the famous whiskey, will expand to the tune of over $100 million in its hometown of Lynchburg, Tennessee, over the next year and a half, boosting production and storage, reports the Tennessean.

90 jobs will be created at the distillery over the next five years. Lynchburg is the only place where Jack Daniel’s is made, as the company emphasizes that nearby spring water is key to the whiskey’s success.

“Every drop of Jack Daniel’s will continue to be made in Lynchburg,” said master distiller Jeff Arnett on Thursday.

“We are laying down whiskey for years to come,” said Arnett, citing a “big portion of the globe we haven’t reached yet.”

According to parent liquor company Brown-Forman Corporation’s (NYSE:BF.B) latest quarterly results, net sales of the Jack Daniel’s brand portfolio rose 11 percent in the 2013 fiscal year.

Sales of other expensive premium whiskeys from Brown-Forman grew 19 percent.

Sales of Jack Daniel’s in countries outside the United States “modestly outpaced” the growth there, according to the company.

A major rival to Jack Daniel’s, the Maker’s Mark whiskey produced by BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM), has also benefited from a lucrative global whiskey market as of late.

The liquor company reported an 18 percent sales boost for Maker’s Mark, with 16 percent for Knob Creek whiskey and 4 percent for its flagship Jim Beam brand.

Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) analyst Vivien Azer wrote in a note on Beam earlier in August that bourbon growth worldwide will likely offset Beam’s troubles in India, where lower sales have dragged down its overall Asian sales figures.

“We are encouraged by…BEAM’s significant presence in the fast-growing bourbon category via the Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark brands (among others), (iii) BEAM’s exposure to faster-growing international markets,” wrote Azer.

Exports of American whiskey have hit record levels for three years running, according to the Distilled Spirits Council, with over $900 million worth exported in 2012, and the appearance of 46 new bourbons.