Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel

by Peter Krass

The legends are colorful and many. Jack Daniel, it is said, ran away to escape a broken home; was a teenage moonshiner during the Civil War; and hauled black-market whiskey, hidden under loads of meat, to the wild river part of Huntsville, Alabama, sneaking into town after midnight to avoid the sheriff and his deputies. This is his story and how he created one of the most powerful and recognizable brands in the world.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 2004

About the author

I like to dabble for “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” as Ralph Waldo Emerson would remind us. Although I’m not sure how far dabbling will get you, I’ve enjoyed working on biographies, business books, newspaper stories, business articles, that all-consuming yet maddeningly elusive arena of fiction, and poetry.

And now my wife and I are Vermont farmers to boot, with a sugar bush that glows in the low winter sun, chickens who lay regularly, a coq who never crows before 7am, honey bees who are sweet as, well, honey, and 2 German shepherds who want more than anything to shepherd the chickens …

Reviews

[Emily]

A short book about my husband's ancestor, the whiskey legend Jack Daniel. I wanted to get through it. I'm a stubborn reader and rarely bail on books. But Blood & Whiskey's consistent pro-Confederate rhetoric had me feeling ill and bailing after 30 pages. Take this passage:

Nathaniel Bedford Forest cut a dashing, romantic figure, with his high cheekbones and chiseled face, mustache and goatee, and hair swept back to expose narrow, intense eyes. Prior to the war, Forrest had been an ambitious slave trader...by the late 1850s, he was selling a thousand or more slaves a year, sometimes selling free blacks back into slavery, and earning about $100,000 annually...An imaginative risk-taker who was fearless as he charged into the enemy's ranks, Forrest embodied southern chivalry."

It should have been neat to see this slice of history. Eric's ancestors and my ancestors crossing paths in his hometown at the Battle of Chickamauga, where I'll be running a marathon next year. But the thing is our ancestors kind of sucked. And to me, false nostalgia feels worse than nothing. Maybe when I'm older, this story will have more value.

[Bambi · Rating 2 out of 5]

After visiting Lynchburg last year, I picked this book up and expected it to be a fascinating read - as it turns out, there is very little actual information about the life of Jack Daniel - a few mentions in local newspapers, whatever information could be gleaned from church records, account books, etc. This is a very dry read and mainly background material to the time that he lived in.

[Christi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Robert Mckay · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a biography of Jack Daniel, this is sort of thin. As a look at Jack Daniel's whisky, it's sort of misleading.

The writing is clear and easy to read. And there is interesting information here. But whatever Jack Daniel's commitment to making high-quality whisky, the company that now makes the stuff isn't so committed. Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 may be the best selling Tennessee whisky there is, and one of the best selling whiskies in the world - it's certainly one of the most famous, if not the most famous - but it's nowhere near as good as some other brands. I'm an amateur, having been drinking whisky - for the first time in nearly 40 years, and for the first time with any attention to quality - only since September of 2021. But my first taste of Jack Daniel's convinced me that the stuff is awful, and I've since found much better whisky elsewhere. Yet the author makes it seem that the company today has the same high standard that (he says) Jack Daniel had. If it's the truth, then Jack Daniel turned out some atrocious junk, and if it's not, then either the author is a dupe or a deceiver.

Frankly, however interesting the book is, it strikes me as being in the nature of a puff piece for the distillery and the whisky it produces.

[Daniel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judging by the title, I was expecting an exciting story about Jack, but was really let down. There was not much about him at all. I noticed when I hit page 100, I didn't really learn much about him. However, the historical action that took place during his lifetime - Civil War and Reconstruction were detailed in here and I liked that. Overall though, I was pretty disappointed.

[Chloe Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was written so poorly written, extremely uninteresting and overall was difficult to get through.

[Eric Ducote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, don't like how the time jumps all over the place.

[MORTICA B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Jack Daniel's so I wanted to read about his life its so interesting

[DJMikeG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, exhaustively researched biography of Jack Daniel, the legendary whiskey distiller. Recommended for all history buffs, not just whiskey fans. Great companion piece to Dabney's "Mountain Spirits".

[Brody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Shows you the man behind the product.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly insightful look into the history of Jack Daniel, the man.

[Mari Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read! This would make a fun roadtrip...

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost never put a book down, but this was terrible. Very boring and dry, a disappointment to the JD legacy.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay if a little boring...Turns out that Mr. Daniel did not really have all that interesting a life. Made a darn good whiskey though.

[Todd Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read into the man and the brand

[Mark Bunch · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know Jack... this is the book- the tale of Gentleman Jack.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but lacking