Jack Daniel's is being served a $100 million-plus expansion of its rural Tennessee distillery to flex more muscle in the growing whiskey market.The investment amounts to the largest single production expansion in the brand's long history. It will add stills and barrel warehouses at the Jack Daniel's operations in Lynchburg, Tennessee, the brand's Louisville-based parent company, Brown-Forman Corp., said Thursday.A second production building will go up on the same grounds as the current distillery site, which traces its roots back to a year after the Civil War ended.
Expansion work will begin this fall and is expected to wrap up within two years. Company officials didn't specify how many stills and warehouses where the whiskey agers will be added. The distillery is bumping up against capacity pressures that will be relieved by the second production facility."It's a good time in the whiskey industry, and our future prospects look really good," said Jeff Arnett, master distiller at the distillery. "We don't want to find ourselves without any additional throttle, if we need it. This will basically secure that we've got the ability to give Jack Daniel's to all of those who want Jack Daniel's for years to come."Jack Daniel's sales have soared in the past decade, as the venerable brand has spread to more countries. The brand has had volume growth for 21 straight years, and its global net sales increased by 9 percent in the last year. Since 2004, global case sales have risen from about 7.7 million cases to nearly 11 million cases last year.The brand is sold in more than 160 countries. The U.S. still ranks as its largest market and the brand's domestic sales grew in 2012.But overseas markets now represent slightly more than half of overall sales. Its largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, where the brand's premixed cocktails are popular. Emerging markets such as Russia, China, Turkey and Brazil have become key contributors to global sales.Jack Daniel's is the flagship brand for Brown-Forman, whose other brands include Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Korbel and el Jimador. The Jack Daniel's brand lineup includes the mainstay Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey.
Expansion work will begin this fall and is expected to wrap up within two years. Company officials didn't specify how many stills and warehouses where the whiskey agers will be added. The distillery is bumping up against capacity pressures that will be relieved by the second production facility."It's a good time in the whiskey industry, and our future prospects look really good," said Jeff Arnett, master distiller at the distillery. "We don't want to find ourselves without any additional throttle, if we need it. This will basically secure that we've got the ability to give Jack Daniel's to all of those who want Jack Daniel's for years to come."Jack Daniel's sales have soared in the past decade, as the venerable brand has spread to more countries. The brand has had volume growth for 21 straight years, and its global net sales increased by 9 percent in the last year. Since 2004, global case sales have risen from about 7.7 million cases to nearly 11 million cases last year.The brand is sold in more than 160 countries. The U.S. still ranks as its largest market and the brand's domestic sales grew in 2012.But overseas markets now represent slightly more than half of overall sales. Its largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, where the brand's premixed cocktails are popular. Emerging markets such as Russia, China, Turkey and Brazil have become key contributors to global sales.Jack Daniel's is the flagship brand for Brown-Forman, whose other brands include Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Korbel and el Jimador. The Jack Daniel's brand lineup includes the mainstay Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey.
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