1954 would present the opportunity to add another award to the Jack Daniel collection as a whiskey competition was to be held in Brussels, Belgium…Jack Daniel’s whiskey went on to win the Star of Excellence, awarded to whiskeys for a “surpassing of excellence.” This commemorative bottle celebrating that achievement was released in 2005.
Beginning in 1996 and continuing for the next 10 years, the Jack Daniel Distillery released its Gold Medal Series of commemorative bottles. Comprised of seven unique designs, each bottle in this series celebrates a different gold medal won by the Distillery. In the U.S., the series featured 750ml bottles filled with 90 proof whiskey. International markets offer these bottles only in a 1 liter size, with the exception of the first bottle in the series which was available only in the 750ml size.
The bottle we currently have here for sale has been signed by the late Jimmy Bedford, Jack Daniel’s’ sixth master distiller.
This special bottle is the sixth in the Jack Daniels Gold Medal Series and honours the 1954 Brussels Belgium Star of Excellence. As usual, there is a heart-warming story of simple country folk associated with this bottling:
“The story goes that Reagor Motlow, one of Lem’s sons, received a letter about a whisky judging contest in Brussels, Belgium. He handed the letter to Herb Fanning, his right hand man and told him to take care of it. And indeed Mr. Herb did! He walked right out of the production line and pulled off the first three bottles and sent them on their way. According to Mr. Herb, when the folks from the advertising department found he had pulled whisky for the competition from the bottling line, they were a bit upset and asked him why he hadn’t looked for some special whisky for the judging. To this Mr.Herb exclaimed, “Why all Jack Daniels is special!”
Later Mr. Herb, in recalling the story said he figured he might get fired over that, but about that time letter came announcing that Jack Daniels had won the star of Excellence!
The second letter seemed to set things right between Mr.Herb and the advertising team, because not only did Mr.Herb keep his job for many years before retiring, but he also appeared in quite a few Jack Daniels ads. Herb became one of Lynchburg’s best known and much loved citizens, and was a fixture on the Square until he passed away in 1997 at the ripe old age of 93. Mr.Herb’s lifelong love of and faith in Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey epitomises the character of the people behind the Jack Daniel Brand.”.
