We can all agree that maturity can really only emerge over time. That’s certainly true of both people and whiskey. Most of the time, that maturity process can’t happen all by itself. It needs to be nurtured, monitored, guided and celebrated. On this episode, we talk with Byron Copeland, the Manager of Leadership Acceleration and Maturation Innovation at the Jack Daniel Distillery, about how his experience at both well-established companies and startups meshes well with the world of whiskey, how working your way into a new work family involves quite a bit of listening, and about how paving the way for future leaders to enter the spirits business can be just as important as what goes in and Around the Barrel. 

Regardless of the industry you’re in, there are many factors behind how much you enjoy the gig. When you’re working with your biggest fan, though, it goes a long way into making every day a joy. On this episode, we talk with Lexie Phillips and Josh Phillips, the Jack Daniel Distillery’s current “power couple,” about the new set of limited-edition Distillery Series products that bear their names, about how family got them both to the Distillery and remains a big part of their day-to-day work there, and about how their good-natured rye-valry has kept them both laughing about the long-term project that emerged from Around the Barrel.

For a whiskey as legendary as Jack Daniel’s, it’s only fitting that its first salesman was a man of mythic proportions. But Angelo Lucchesi was exceptional, not for his salesmanship, but for his grace and kindness. On this episode, Jack Daniel’s Historian Nelson Eddy returns to the podcast to share Angelo’s incredible story, from one-time monk to Sinatra’s right-hand man, to building a legacy of decency and respect, Around the Barrel. 

When a company has decades of history and millions of friends, it needs caretakers dedicated to keeping the story straight. Or at least interesting. Thankfully, Jack Daniel’s has had two of the best. On this episode, host Lucas Hendrickson talks with Goose Baxter and Randall Fanning, the two people who have been in charge of keeping the home fires burning for Mr. Jack’s most ardent admirers – the Tennessee Squires, about how frying catfish can lead to a very long career, how what you leave out from a set of instructions can be more important than what you put in, and about how you could possibly encapsulate a lifetime of memories living and working Around the Barrel.

When you do something well and for an extended period of time, two competing thoughts can come into your head: First, if it ain’t broke, don’t break it. And second, let’s see how we can break it…creatively. On this episode of Around the Barrel, we talk with Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Chris Fletcher about his eventful year, about the three expressions that are relatively new to store shelves but took a long time (on purpose) to get there, and about getting back out in the world after spending the last couple of years at home.

For everything we know with rock-solid certainty about Mr. Jack Daniel and the distillery that bears his name, a thousand more myths have popped up over the years. It’s to be expected when the famous square bottle and iconic black and white label, not to mention the whiskey inside, have touched the farthest reaches of the globe. On this episode, we talk with Nelson Eddy, the distillery’s longtime writer and historian, about the questions he gets posed as the keeper of the distillery’s legend, about the true significance of the Old No. 7, and about how what was true in Mr. Jack’s day largely remains true today when it comes to what’s made in and around the barrel.

Many of us can find the task of keeping our living spaces nice and tidy for even the occasional houseguest daunting. When your job requires being prepared to welcome guests that number well into the hundreds of thousands, it takes a completely different mindset. On this episode we talk with Erik Brown, the new Homeplace Manager for the Jack Daniel Distillery, about trying to bring normalcy into a pursuit that’s far from normal, about using history to inform the future of the visitor experience in Lynchburg, and about how one makes the seemingly incongruous transition from working around the racetrack to working around the barrel.

For far too many in this “new is always better” world, the word “innovation” tends to mean “blow everything up and start from scratch.” When you’re stewards of a brand with more than 150 years of experience and expectation, that definition simply will not stand. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t make those adjustments that open up a world of new opportunities.

On this episode, we talk with current Jack Daniel Distillery team leaders Chris Fletcher and Lexie Phillips about how looking through the lens of innovation not only clarifies the past, but also reveals the future; how one year on Coy Hill can make a big difference in completely unforeseen ways; and how taking things up a notch yields spectacular results.

Tradition has always been important in Lynchburg, but after a year in which many of our most beloved traditions came to a halt, they are more meaningful than ever. Fortunately, this past October saw the return of one our most anticipated — the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue. On this episode of Around the Barrel, we talk with two people with both deep history and great affection for the Jack – Tuffy Stone and Brad Leighninger — about how this year’s competition was different, how winning the Jack can change a pitmaster’s life in unexpected ways, and how you can learn something new every time you set up and cook in the Hollow.

If you want to get better at something, sometimes all you have to do is pay attention. This is especially true when it comes to understanding the complex world of distilled spirits. If you pay attention to every drop of liquid that passes under your nose, over your palate, and into your being, you’ll begin to compile the knowledge and expertise that can only come through experience.

On this episode of Around the Barrel, we talk with Kenny Coleman, co-host of the Bourbon-focused podcast “Bourbon Pursuit,” about the path he and his cohorts took to gain that knowledge, how listening to their audience encouraged them to share even more of it, and the centuries-long rivalry that can inform interactions between Kentucky and Tennessee gets erased when you’re sitting and sipping Around the Barrel.