Today is a very special day at 2oceansvibe and the earth in general. On September the 5th, 1850, Jack Daniel – one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time, was born. But that’s not altogether true..

We’ll tell you why in a sec. But first, here are some facts..

1) “Jack” was a nickname for Mr. Daniels. His real name was Jasper Newton Daniel.

2) Jack Daniel’s had 12 siblings.

3) He was raised by a family friend before being hired out at the age of 7 to work with Dan Call, a Lutheran minister who also owned a whiskey still. Pressured to devote his life to “lifting spirits” rather than “selling” them, Mr. Call sold his whiskey still to 13-year-old Jack.

4) Mr. Jack perfected the “charcoal mellowing” process at the age of 16, and registered his distillery that same year, in 1866. The Jack Daniel Distillery remains the oldest registered distillery in the country.

5) By 1904 (at the age of 54) Jack Daniel’s “Old No. 7″ was one of 20 whiskeys from around the world entered in a contest at the World’s Fair. His won the Gold Medal as “the world’s best whiskey”.

6) A year later, Mr. Jack tried to open the safe in his office, but he couldn’t remember the combination, so he kicked it in frustration. It broke his toe, causing infection to set in, and he eventually died (in 1911) from blood poisoning stemming from that mishap.

7) Mr. Jack Daniel never married or had children, but his great-grandniece Lynne Tolley is deeply involved in helping to run the Jack Daniel’s distillery today. She owns Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House (where she can often be found cooking the noontime meals), and she is an official taster at her Uncle Jack’s distillery every Friday.

BONUS FACT – And the reason why we celebrate Jack Daniel’s birthday for the whole of September. Jack would’ve turned 163 this year, but no one really knows exactly when in September Jack Daniel was born. A town fire destroyed the courthouse records, and conflicting dates on Mr. Jack’s and his mother’s headstones have left his date of birth in question. So he gets the whole month of September. But for a man as unique as Jack Daniel, one day just wouldn’t seem proper, anyway.

And no story about Jack Daniel would be complete without the obligatory pics of Fran Sinatra, Dean Martin and Keith Richards, doing what they do best..

SNEAKY COMPETITION: THIS IS NOW CLOSED

We’re giving away three bottles of Jack Daniel’s to the first three emails (editor@2oceansvibe.com) received, telling us the names of three Jack Daniel’s Music Scouts. HINT: look here..

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