November 29, 2025 • 41 mins
This podcast episode features a detailed exploration of the impending Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue, which stands as a hallmark event in the barbecue community. We are joined by Jed Laurette from the Jack Daniel's Distillery, who elaborates on the intricate preparations and logistics involved in hosting this prestigious competition. Additionally, we delve into the historical significance of Jack Daniel's whiskey, particularly highlighting the notable contributions of Nathan Nearest Green, the first master distiller, who played a pivotal role in shaping the distillery's legacy. Throughout our discussion, we also examine the symbiotic relationship between barbecue culture and whiskey, underscoring the cultural richness inherent in both practices. As we approach this celebratory event, we invite our listeners to engage with the festivities and appreciate the artistry that defines barbecue excellence.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Jack Daniels
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It's time for Barbecue Nationwith jt so fire up your grill, light
the charcoal, and get yoursmoker cooking.
Now from the Turnip Don't Burnit studios in Portland.
Here's jt.
This is an encore.
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with hall ofFamer Leanne Whippen.
That's her.
Ms. Whippen is with us todayagain, and we're coming to you from
(00:21):
the Turn It, Don't Burn itstudios here in Portland.
Dave and Chris are floatingaround here somewhere, and we'd like
to thank the folks at PaintedHills Natural Beef.
Beef the way nature intended.
Well, it's almost that time ofthe year.
The.
Jack, those two words.
Those two words are like your taxes.
They just resonate withpeople, you know, and.
(00:43):
But not in a bad way.
Not in a bad way at all.
Not in a bad way.
It's been two years.
Almost two years to the day.
I looked it up before we cameon the air.
We got Jed Laurent back withus from.
From Jack Daniels, and we'regoing to talk a little bit about
Jack itself and Jed's verydifficult job there at.
(01:06):
At the distillery.
Oh.
I mean, I tried to talk youout of a job.
I.
The last time you were on the show.
I remember.
You know what?
I pulled up the.
The podcast that we did twoyears ago, and I was listening, and
you were.
You were hustling pretty hard.
Yeah, I was.
I, you know, I gotta admit, it.
(01:27):
It.
But it's a damn good job ifyou get it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you can get it.
Yeah.
I don't think I was quitequalified, but I did volunteer, Leanne,
if you don't know, Ivolunteered to be the librarian.
Yes.
Jack Daniels.
Oh, yeah.
Because their library doesn'tcontain very many books, but a lot
of bottles of Jack.
(01:48):
So.
Sounds like a good job.
I was gonna work for free, youknow, type thing.
Yeah.
Anyway, since we.
And I. I emailed you aboutthis, Jed, since we last talked.
You said your title hasn'tchanged, but because you're an ambassador
for the brand and all that.
But you also have moreresponsibilities, so why don't you
(02:08):
walk our audience throughexactly what your terrible schedule
day to day is, and then kindof what they've so graciously piled
on your shoulders since thelast time.
So just a recap from last timewhen we talked.
My.
My job is senior brandambassador for the distillery.
(02:29):
And.
And like you were just talking to.
I'm a sensory tester.
I'm a master taster on theproperty so, yeah, the job's hard.
I. I've taken on someresponsibilities of historian for
on site.
So when we have tour guides orstaff that needs a little more information,
(02:50):
I'll gather it, I'll get with archive.
We'll look through video.
So that's a new addition.
We've started some new touroptions on the property.
And so I've helped compileinformation and help our team, where
there's a couple people whowork together to get those tours
going.
Because we have a lot ofrepeat offenders.
(03:11):
Yeah.
And they just want to seesomething new.
So building new tour tour options.
Oh, cool.
And what can people expect tosee if they come on the tour?
So our normal tour is a walkthrough the entire distillery.
None of it's a mockup.
So while you're walking aroundthe property, it's the same property
that Jack bought.
We're going to walk into thedistillery where we've made your
(03:32):
whiskey.
I mean, this.
It made the whiskey for FrankSinatra, the man, the singer.
Um, we're going to go through bottling.
You're going to see the whole thing.
We're an open book.
And so we always tell people,if you have a question, just ask.
And if we don't know theanswer, we have somebody who has
that answer.
So we'll.
We'll talk to you about anything.
(03:54):
Okay, I've got a question then.
Yeah, we had trying to thinkif it was Adrian Miller's book.
I don't think so.
I think it was Joe's book.
It was on the history of black barbecue.
And they mentioned in the bookthat there was a black man that worked
(04:15):
there and actually helpedteach Jack Daniels how to.
How to make it, how to distillwhiskey and.
Sure.
Yeah.
And then he stayed on as anemployee for quite a while now.
Oh, is that true?
Yeah.
He wasn't just an employee.
So the story starts with Jackmoving on to Mr. Dan Call's property.
(04:38):
He was in his preteen, earlyteen years, say, like 12, 13 years
old.
He met Mr. Nathan nearest green.
He's the black gentleman youwere talking about.
And he learned how to makewhiskey from Mr. Green.
Mr. Green was his mentor.
And so he learns how to make whiskey.
During that time period.
He was an enslaved man over onthe Call property.
(05:01):
Remember this is all duringthe Civil War, right after emancipation.
He wasn't just an employee.
Jack hired him on as the veryfirst master distiller we ever had.
It's an absolutely beautiful story.
It was more like an unclenephew or a father son kind of Situation.
That's how close they were.
Yeah.
(05:21):
The property we're on.
Mr. Green didn't come up hereto run whiskey with Jack, but his
son, George Green, came uphere, ran whiskey with Jack, and
they were best friends.
And we have never distilled adrop of whiskey in 157 years with
that.
Agreed.
Working with this.
So that's what I thought.
Yeah.
The family still Legacy.
Yeah.
(05:41):
And Mr. Green also was into barbecue.
That's how I tied in the story there.
Well, who is it?
Yeah, well, I thinkeverybody's in, Right?
That's a.
That's a great point.
Is that in that black barbecuebook thing?
I believe so.
I. I'll get you the name.
I'll email you the name.
Absolutely.
I would love to know that history.
(06:03):
Yeah.
But I just found thatfascinating that not only did Mr.
Green teach Jack how to.
How to distill and how to makewhiskey properly, but he was also
kind of a pit master, too.
So that was.
That would be awesomeinformation, especially at this time
of year when the Jack's comingin town.
(06:23):
Yeah.
You can add that to theconversation saying, look, whiskey
and barbecues always been together.
Yeah, well, it has, it has.
And you guys make some greatbarbecue sauce.
You know, I've tried.
No, it's really good barbecue sauce.
Have you tried our dry rubs?
No, I have not.
You'll be able to get somewhen you get down here.
(06:44):
There you go.
There you go.
So how long have you workedfor the Jack Daniels Company?
So I'm coming up on nine years now.
So the last time we talked, Iwas just over seven years.
Now I'm.
Or six years.
Just over six years.
Now I'm just over eight yearsand I'm still a rookie.
(07:06):
I know it sounds crazy, peoplelike, if your listeners know about
the distillery and they'vebeen down here, there's a chance
they came across twogentlemen, Goose and Randall.
They both retired last December.
At 46 years working here.
Yeah.
Nobody gives up on whiskey.
(07:27):
No.
Well, why should they?
It's the happiest place on earth.
Somebody else uses that term, but.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I think these days, yoursis probably happier, you know, the
Jack is probably much, much,much happier than that.
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, it smells wonderful, too.
I think we talked about thelast time I was on with you.
(07:47):
The smell of the smell comingfrom the square and the whiskey in
the air.
It's.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I'm excited.
I really am excited.
When was the last time youwere there, Jeff?
I haven't never been to theJack, you haven't.
No.
Oh, my gosh.
You're in for a treat.
I'm a rookie.
I'm a rookie.
So, Liang, how long have y'all known each other and why has
(08:08):
he not come down?
You know?
Well, I've been on the showalmost two years.
Almost two years.
But we knew each other beforethat just from, you know, his show
acquaintance.
We really never met until wewere at the national barbecue convention
in person.
So, yeah, the.
Jack just.
(08:29):
I just assumed.
Oh, no.
Wow.
No.
I keep telling you, I'm aYankee and we don't get out much,
so.
You know, definitely in for a treat.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Not only now that I've metLeanne in person, and she's going
to be spending a little over aweek with me up here.
That's.
We're.
We're old, old pals now.
(08:49):
But to go back and meet Jedand see the.
See the competition and seethe town of Lynchburg.
Now, if you ask me aboutKentucky, I've been to Kentucky hundreds
of times, literally.
Well, there's no need to sayanything about Kentucky.
Is there a real rival rivalry back.
(09:09):
There between Kentuckyneighbors of the North?
Yeah, to the north, Yeah.
I like that.
Well, you know, you can't goto Kentucky, especially like Louisville
or someplace like that, and,you know, they don't talk about the
quality of their bourbon and,you know, smooth Kentucky sipping
whiskey and all that stuff,you know.
(09:32):
Except what still fascinatesme north of Louisville, there's Oldham
county, which I spent a lot oftime in, is a dry county, much like
Lynchburg.
Is Lynchburg so dry?
Lynchburg, absolutely.
So if you walk down thestreet, if you brought your own drink
with you in Lynchburg, willyou get in trouble?
(09:54):
Do you want to meet the sheriff?
No, not really.
Not really?
No.
I'll take your word for itthat he's a good guy.
No.
So we're a dry county in thesense that you can drink at home.
We have no bars, taverns,pubs, no liquor by the drink.
So.
Yeah.
So open container walkingaround is kind of a.
(10:15):
No, no.
Got it.
We tend to have a lot of parties.
I mean, while you're downhere, you'll.
You'll probably findsomebody's house that you can hang
out at.
Probably.
I would.
I would think that that wouldprobably be the case, you know, almost
guarantee it.
Yeah, I would think so.
So, Leanne, how many timeshave you been to the Jack?
Gosh, I haven't counted, quite frankly.
(10:37):
I'm not competing this year.
I'm judging this year.
But the last time I competedat the maybe seven, eight years ago.
It's been a while, but I'vebeen judging almost every year since
then.
You know, we could have metearlier because they had asked me
to judge the Jack a few yearsback and then I couldn't because
(11:00):
they asked me like a weekbefore and I couldn't clear my schedule.
Somebody had poked out.
It was kind of a celebritydeal or whatever, but it doesn't
matter.
But they said, can you be herelike Thursday?
And it was like Monday, like,no, I can't.
(11:21):
I didn't know.
If they asked me now, though,I'd probably, probably make it happen.
You know what I mean?
Anyway, we're going to take a break.
We're going to be back withJed and Leanne and myself here on
Barbecue Nation after this.
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(12:04):
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(12:27):
This is an encore.
Welcome back to BarbecueNation on JT with Ms. Whippen here,
hall of famer.
I will tell you something, Leanne.
I was.
I just ran out of time.
I was trying to get adirector's chair back made for you
before you came up here.
In a few days, it said Ms.Whippen on the back.
Oh, that would have been cute.
(12:48):
That might be your.
That might be your Christmas present.
You know, I would likesomething a little more comfortable
than a director's chair.
So you can.
I'll put a pillow on it.
That's exactly what I'll do.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll put a pillow in and aSnuggie blanket because he'll be
cold up here.
I will, I will.
So let's talk about thecompetition, Jed.
(13:10):
Now, you know you have to be invited.
You have to have competed.
I mean, there's all kinds of prerequisites.
What happens like next week atthe end of this coming week and Then
you've got about 10 days till the.
Maybe two weeks till the Jack starts.
What's going on there at the.
At the distillery in the townof Lynchburg.
(13:32):
So, yeah, starting.
Starting next week, we'regoing to be coordinating everything
from.
We've already got food truckslined up.
We've got kind of, like apetting zoo stuff.
We have, like, a craft fair downtown.
When you get down here, you'llsee, like, people might be selling
some stuff on the square, likea craft fair.
(13:53):
And you drop down in theWiseman park, which is right behind
Ms. Mary Bobo's, and theyshould have some food trucks out
and some.
Some different, like, drinks.
But next week, we'll be coordinating.
Finalizing all of that.
We should be getting our gianttent in where we actually do the
judging portion of it, makingsure that simply we have everything
(14:14):
from the tent to toilets.
Everything needs to becoordinated from the most important
thing to, you know, justmaking sure everybody has facilities
that they can get to.
But we're gonna have musiciansplaying music.
We're gonna have all kinds ofstuff for the actual events.
So next week, we'll prettymuch be coordinating all those things.
(14:34):
So now I know Leanne, whenshe's at a judging table with the
other judges, they get to have samples.
But do you get to sneak aroundand have a little taste of the barbecue?
No, the.
The most they'll let me do isjudge the desserts.
Hello.
The desserts are epic there.
(14:55):
I mean, they are so large,sometimes it takes two.
Two people to carry them in.
But seriously, they are.
At the World FoodChampionships, they do, like, unbelievably
cheffy type food.
But for these barbecuers toput out the desserts that you see
there, they're culinary.
I mean, just beautiful.
Oh, they're beautiful.
Yeah.
And they taste as good as they look.
(15:17):
It's.
I would agree, but no, I don't.
I don't get a chance to walkaround to the table and sneak a bite.
Maybe after the judging, ifthe tray's coming past, we might
grab something.
Hand action there.
Yeah, just a quick snatch.
But we've got a lot of stuffgoing on.
We.
We've got the.
And I'm looking at my listright now.
We have a cocktail competition now.
(15:40):
Oh, yeah, right.
So for the barbecuers or chefsthat want to have, like, a little
bit of fun, make their owncocktail, we have a competition for
that, and we have kind of like a.
Have you seen the.
I think it's Iron Chef, wherethey have the box.
They open the box right theycan make whatever it is inside the
box.
So we've had that for a fewyears, but it's.
(16:02):
It's a fun.
It's.
But once you're in the.
And Leanne, you can speak this.
Once you're in there judging, you're.
You're in there, right?
You're in there.
Yeah.
I mean, you could take a breakto go to the restroom, but you're
in there.
And I must say, you guys havestepped it up as far as the size
of the tent, because it wasnever that big.
And even when the awards came,it was like, people were, like, all
(16:22):
smushed together.
And now it's a huge tent, and.
It'S an epic tent.
Yeah.
But people actually go on theoutside of the tent and watch the
judges judge, which to me is just.
It's torture.
They're watching us judge andeat this food.
I don't know what they expectto gain from that, but, yeah, there's
an actual, like, audiencearound the perimeter of the tent
(16:44):
while we're judging.
Yeah.
Because they can't get in.
So judging tent is for the judges.
Right.
So you can stand around theoutside, but you can't get into the
tent and mingle with the judges.
Do they hold up little signsthat say, we'll judge for food, something
like that?
No, I might do that to you,Leanne, because I won't be able to
(17:05):
get in the tent.
So I might just hold up alittle science.
Say, I know.
Leanne, you have to do.
Aside from this whole barbecuething is Ms. Mary Bobos is known
for her fried chicken, and shedoes, like, certain seatings, and
you have to have reservations.
And I forgot to tell you about that.
It's probably already booked,but that is one thing you need to
do when you're there is.
(17:26):
Go ahead.
How is that Miss Mary Bobo's today?
The fried chicken isabsolutely amazing.
Yeah, that's, like, a thing.
All right, I'm leaving right now.
You guys finish the show.
I'm going.
Might take me a couple days toget there, but I'll.
I'll make it there.
So there.
There are.
Jt, real quick.
There's a.
There's a special rule, andI'm sure it's everywhere for the
KCBS judges, but there's noalcohol allowed in a tent for judges,
(17:52):
so they're right next toDaniels, and they cannot drink at
all.
Just water.
That's all we're allowed.
How do you make it, Leanne?
How do you survive?
Fine.
I do fine.
She makes up for it in theevening after the judging's over.
Well, I don't know.
You said there was a cocktailcontest, so.
(18:12):
Is that.
Are all the.
All the entries in thecocktail contest?
Are all they.
Are they all made with Jack?
Yeah.
Old number seven.
Actually, it's got to be veryspecific to old number seven.
They can do anything they want.
Like, I think it was last yearor the year before, we had some folks
smoke, like an old Fashioned,which is cool.
Barbecue smoking.
(18:34):
They played on that.
But yeah, yeah.
They have to use all of a sudden.
Wow, they need a judge for that.
Yeah.
Do they need a judge for that?
Right.
Say things like, I'll judgeanything, just let me judge.
That's what you say.
I just wonder, just on theJack side of things, what is your
most recent product thatyou've launched?
(18:54):
Is it that.
Honey, I know that's been outa long time, but is that the last
or what?
You launch one every year.
I mean, how does it work?
And you have gentleman's Jack, too.
Gentleman's Jack is from.
Yeah, this is hard to believe.
We have, and we call themexpressions, but we have 15, I think
(19:17):
15 is the count.
15 expressions of our whiskey.
So gentleman Jack, old numberseven, honey fire apple, single barrel,
select barrel proof rye,barrel proof rye, bonded triple mash,
bonded rye, Sinatra.
We have a few.
All right.
But what's amazing about ourproducts, every bottle we have, it
(19:40):
is Jack Daniels.
Old number seven, JackDaniels, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniels,
honey.
It's always the Jack Danielsbrand and it's expression of that
whiskey.
And so we, we, we makewhiskey, we make a bunch of expressions,
but we make just a couple ofgrain bills.
Okay.
All right.
We're going to take anotherbreak, and we're going to be back
(20:02):
with Jed and Leanne and talkmore about the Jack and the fun we're
going to have there in abouttwo weeks, right after this.
You're listening to Barbecue Nation.
At least I hope you are.
Hey, everybody, it's JT And Ihave eaten, if you've ever looked
(20:23):
at me, you know that.
But I have eaten seafood allover the world, and I can tell you
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If you want to learn moreabout Oregon Dungeness crab, just
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(20:44):
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Check it out.
This is an encore.
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with hall ofFamer Ms. Leanne Whippin.
Speaking of Ms. Whippin,here's something for you, Jed.
Have you ever tried her pig powder?
(21:06):
Pick powder?
Yeah.
I mean, is that.
The name of.
It is pig powder?
Yeah.
It's tram tabs.
It's after my dad.
Yeah.
What's the name of it?
It's trim tabs Pig powder.
All right.
I'm writing it down.
It's.
It won best trap on the planet.
And a lot of competitors use that.
And.
And you know what?
Proof.
This is a funny story.
(21:27):
Not funny, but very interesting.
I noticed that in the past fewdays, my sales of pig powder have
dipped a little bit, and Ican't figure this out.
Well, hello.
Everyone's going to the Royal.
They already have their pig powder.
They already have.
They're on the road to the Royal.
And I really do think so manycompetitors use it, and there's a
(21:50):
little bit of a slump becausethey don't need it at this time.
They either already have it orthey were too late to the.
You know, whatever.
But I do attribute it to that.
Where can I buy it?
You can get it@pigpowder.com.
i personally fill and ship outthe orders.
Hey, JT, do you like the way Ihad her plug that?
I. I love it.
I'm just sitting back.
I'm just sitting back.
(22:12):
It's all good.
It's all good.
See, you can sell pig powder,but I can't judge desserts, you know?
So I think, jt, the last timeI was on your show, yeah, I was a
novice, you know, smoker at best.
But since I've talked to y',all, I've done, I think, two full
(22:33):
briskets.
My daughter, my oldestdaughter, got married, and she wanted
me to do pulled pork for the wedding.
There were sandwiches andsuch, and I did what would be close
to £50.
Yeah, right?
50.
Yeah.
I don't know.
We did, like, eight to ten butts.
I have no idea.
(22:53):
And so I smoked all of them.
I gotta tell you, everybodywas happy.
I didn't kill anybody with my smoke.
Very good.
But I did not have pick powderbecause I did not know.
Good.
It is.
It is, it is.
I'll bring you some when I come.
Oh, nice.
All right.
If you want to do it.
Okay.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
(23:15):
You can't see it because of mygreen screen, but I've got a few
boxes of it right behind me.
There's.
Oh, my goodness.
And Leanne and I are going topay for our television expenses by
standing on the corner sellingpig powder.
Do you know I have a wholepallet landing this Thursday and
I unload the pallet myself andbring it up to my second floor apartment
(23:36):
and it takes me four hours upand down the steps and I keep it
in my apartment.
Come on, Leanne, can you flexfor us?
I can, yeah.
She, she may be little, butshe's mighty.
I'm going to tell you.
That sounds like it.
Yeah.
Big workout.
(23:56):
Oh, okay.
And I also need to plug our,our good friends at Painter Hills
Natural Beef.
Don't forget, you can go tonaturalbeef.com and if you type in
the code BBQ Nation, you get15% off.
And Leanne is actually goingto go to cowboy country with us here
in about a week, a little overa week, and see where Painted Hills
(24:17):
comes from.
So there you go.
But just use the code BBQ Nation.
I don't know why my nose isitching today.
I'm like Bewitched or something.
Anyway, there it is.
Those are the two plugs forthe show.
How big of an effect does theJack have on Lynchburg?
I mean, you always see things, Jed.
You know, seafare comes intoSeattle and it's got a $385 million
(24:42):
impact on the economy.
But that thing is a week longRose Parade and in Portland, you
know, those types of things.
But when you get into a reallysmall town like Lynchburg in comparison
to the bigger cities and youhave an event like this, it's got
to have a really positivefinancial impact on the community.
Sure.
I would say, like this is the34th jack we've done.
(25:06):
And what's, what's amazing isin kind of like Leanne was talking
about her pick powder, it kindof ebbs and flows.
Right.
So in the early part of ouryear, January and February, we don't
see a lot of people come in.
You know, it's cold, it'swinter time, school's still in.
So travel as far as tourism isdown, but around this time of year,
(25:28):
school's back in.
But people are having likefall breaks and this is perfect.
You know, we're bringing moreand more and more things to the Jack
because we want your listenersto come and visit.
It doesn't, I mean, if you'reclose to come and see this, why not?
If you're in Nashville,Huntsville, if you're in Atlanta,
(25:48):
Georgia, you're only threehours away from us.
You know, I mean, come to theJack, you'll have a great tour, you'll
have a great experience.
It's Family friendly.
And we want more and morepeople to come.
I think our max we've everhad, and I think I said this a couple
years ago, the highest count Ithink was 30,000 over the weekend.
(26:08):
And it's a multi day eventover the weekend.
Now we have an Indianmotorcycle rally just before it.
So last year I think we hadover 300 bikes.
Indian motorcycles come in forthe rally.
So we want the influx ofpeople to experience a little town.
Whose idea was it originallyto do the Jack?
(26:28):
The competition?
Oh, God.
You would ask me a questionthat is going to slip my mind.
Oh, my goodness.
I don't know.
I have to just be honest with you.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Leanne, do you know?
No, I don't.
I'm kind of curious, though.
I know.
I think my dad was at thefirst Jack judging.
Yeah.
(26:49):
I mean, it's.
Yeah.
35 years.
I don't know.
Okay.
Well, I certainly don't or Iwouldn't have asked the question.
But you know who would know isArtie Davis.
He would probably know.
Artie Davis knows everythingabout everything.
And that's.
I'm being.
I'm not being mean.
I'm just saying already,anything to do with barbecue, he'll
be there.
He hands out the.
(27:10):
The little walnuts, the goodluck walnuts to each of the teams.
Yes, I got one of those.
Yeah.
He goes around with dirty Dickand the two of them go and hand it
down.
That's right.
And they hand out the little walnuts.
The dirty.
Dirty Dick handing out nuts.
Oh, yes.
Dirty Dick in the legless wonders.
Yeah.
So what is.
(27:30):
What is he hauling those nutsaround in?
I don't know, but it's alittle bag, isn't it?
A little sack?
Yeah, yeah.
It's like a burlap sack.
Right.
I think.
I think you're correct.
I think you're correct.
J.T.
just.
I lost it.
(27:51):
I'll be back in a minute.
Just.
Yes.
He hands out the nuts from theburlap sack.
Yeah, there you go.
Do they have ribbons on themor are they.
No, they are a whole walnut inthe shell and they have the little
Jack Daniels logo thing on it.
And it's good luck, right?
(28:12):
It is.
It's good luck.
Yes, you do.
That's why it's passed out.
And it's.
It's a big deal.
So I sent a request for theinformation on the question you asked
and hopefully I get a responsehere quickly.
Well, we've got the afterhours too, so if we If.
If it goes into that, thenthat'll be fine.
I. I didn't know about Artie'snuts, so.
(28:37):
So the interesting thing aboutthe jack is it is a world invitational,
but even though they call itinvitational, there is a lottery.
So you get three KCBSsanctioned state champions from New
Jersey say they go into a lottery.
Only one state champion can get.
(28:57):
Can.
Can get pulled.
So you could still be a statechampion and not qualify to be in
the jack.
So it's really kind of alottery and an invitational because
some of the are automaticjacks, which mean you automatically
get in the jack if you win.
Grand champion.
Right.
And then they.
They also.
The.
The big deal about this isyou've got all the international
(29:17):
teams.
That's.
So you're getting really.
It's true.
World.
So you're getting people fromall teams from all over the world
that come in on this thing.
So we have 66 domestic teamsand 15 international teams going
to be here in about two weeks.
Wow.
Yeah.
Fifteen.
(29:38):
So that.
That's.
That's.
That's 25%.
The 66.
Because I'm a math person.
Well, approximately, yeah.
That are going to be international.
And so they have to figureout, you know, if they're going to
get their equipment from here.
And.
And maybe they've never cookedon it.
So, I mean, it's really interesting.
(29:58):
And you can always tell theinternational dessert, because some
countries like marzipan orwhatever, and so you'll know that
it isn't a domestic.
It came from an international team.
You can almost always tellwhen you're tasting the desserts,
because it's not Americana desserts.
That's what's so fun about this.
(30:19):
Jed, let me jump in here for a second.
Speaking of desserts, when wewent to the NBBQA convention last
year, I showed you thatpicture behind me is from there,
but they also had the highschool kids competing there.
And one of the things theywere doing was making desserts.
And Leanne and I were eatingand arguing our way through the desserts.
(30:43):
Which one was better?
Because I like this littlekind of.
I don't even know what.
Simple.
I can't remember what it was.
Yeah, it was a little.
But it had some strawberriesand whipped cream on it, and it was
quite sweet.
And she wanted something else.
So I just kept going back tothat one, that one setup.
And the girls kept giving memore and more strawberry treats.
(31:05):
But if they're anything likethat or a couple of levels above
that, they're.
Look at her.
Look at her.
I can't even put it into words.
Okay, okay.
All right.
I got an answer.
You did?
Okay.
Yeah.
I mean, it was Jack Daniel.
Our people are amazinglyefficient here.
(31:27):
Ms. Debbie Christian just hitme back up.
You know how I was saying thatwe're always trying to make the event
bigger and more inclusive asfar as family and people coming.
That was the whole premisebehind starting it.
It was promotion and communityawareness, getting people down here
to Jack Daniels and to promotebarbecue and to promote the distillery.
(31:49):
So the whole reason for theJack was to promote those two things
was barbecue and community.
So cool.
Yeah.
So I would like to think thatwe were trying to put our foot into
the barbecue game, but it wasjust to get some good cooks down
here to cook for us.
There's nothing wrong withthat, Jed.
I'm telling you.
I'm telling you.
(32:09):
We're going to take a break.
We're going to come back withJed Lorette and wrap up the show
talking about Jack Daniels andthe Jack coming up.
And we will all return just momentarily.
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(33:13):
This is an encore.
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
We're very fortunate to haveJed Laurette with us today.
Jed is from the Jack Daniels Distillery.
He's a branded bastard.
He's a taster.
He's semi serious pork butt cooker.
He's all kinds of things, buthe's doing that.
(33:34):
And I'll get to meet him herein a couple of weeks.
That's kind of fun like that.
Jed also was served in theNavy and for what, 15 years, something
like that.
Five years active duty.
And then I worked for thegovernment for another ten and a
half years.
And then you.
Thank you for your service.
Yeah, thank you.
And then you came to yoursenses and went home and got a job
(33:57):
there?
Yes, yes, absolutely.
Well, that's good.
Now I'm only kidding about coming.
Yeah, it's.
It's all good.
Do.
I don't know what thecorporate structure is.
Jed on for Jack Daniels there and.
But do the head guys, the guysthat we normally think of in suits
(34:18):
and ties, do they come down tothe competition?
Do they hang out?
Do they walk around?
You'll see some people, likeour Heron company is brown foreman.
They're out of Louisville, Kentucky.
And you'll see some folks comedown from Louisville for the event.
Our master distiller, ourassistant distiller, folks who work
(34:39):
here in Lynchburg, they'll beat the event that night.
But yeah, you'll see out oftowners that are corporately part
of Jack Daniels show for the event.
Is your master distiller a woman?
Chris Fletcher is our masterdistiller, but Lexi Phillips is our
assistant distiller.
She's the very first femaleassistant distiller we've ever had.
(34:59):
That's what I thought.
I remember hearing that.
She's unbelievable.
She's fourth generation working.
Yeah.
Her family has a huge legacyat the distillery.
Yes.
So when you guys have acompany party, it's more like a family
Christmas get together, isn't it?
Because you've had thesefamilies that work so many generations
(35:21):
for Jack Daniels, like theGreens, Christie's family and all
that.
Yeah.
So, I mean, we have actually afamily family picnic once a year
here at the distillery.
So on Saturday, we've got abuilding on the south side of town
where we'll bring bouncehouses and all kinds of stuff.
And it really is kind of likea family reunion.
Everybody knows everybody,they went to school together, they
(35:43):
work together their whole lives.
So, yeah, it's kind of like afamily reunion.
Wow.
Yeah, that's cool.
That.
That is very cool.
I think there should be moreof that, if possible, around.
So are you gonna make it downto Byron's party?
Do I need to get you on thelist there or what?
So you're saying Byron Chisholm?
(36:04):
Byron Chisholm from BadByron's Butt Rub?
Oh, yeah.
Well, if I get an invite.
I don't know if I've gotten aninvite, to be honest with you.
Yeah, that sounds.
So if we can make some thingshappen, that.
That would be.
I can.
I think we can handle that.
I think JT just wants me to.
It's like, all right, Jed,just leave the whiskey.
(36:25):
You can leave now.
I'll get you in on the food list.
I mean, you know.
Yeah, it can be.
It can be that way.
Well, we're worried.
We Are really looking forwardto it.
Is there anything you can.
I know Leanne has judged theJack several times, but is there
anything that you can say?
Now, Leanne, we know you'vebeen here before, but you really
(36:46):
need to pay attention to this.
And I don't mean her judging.
I mean anything ancillaryoutside the judge's.
Tent as far as what she needsto be aware of.
Yeah, I mean, you know, howmuch is bail bonds in Lynchburg?
So.
(37:06):
Oh, my God.
No, no, you really don't wantto meet the sheriff.
Although I gotta tell you,he's a good guy.
He really is a good guy.
Yeah.
Look, when you just talking toyour guests, when you show up here
at Jack, you're going to wantto make a trip down to the square,
walk through the.
The actual competitors tentsarea, and then maybe take a tour.
(37:30):
Go to Bobo's, get a bite toeat, and be here for the judging
and the actual award ceremonyfor the evening.
If you've been to a small towncounty fair, it's kind of that same
vibe.
I'm really hoping we havefunnel cake.
All right.
I don't know if we're going to.
I'd like to put in a special request.
(37:52):
You guys do the big party onthe hill Friday night.
And last year I was ranting,raving about your fried chicken up
there, and I don't think youhad fried chicken on that.
I'm trying to look and see.
So I hope it's there thisyear, but I think.
Yeah, I don't think you had itlast year.
You usually have it every year.
(38:13):
I think the worst thing thatwe can do and watch me put my foot
in my mouth is have barbecuebefore the barbecue event.
Like serve barbecuers barbecuebefore they have.
Yeah.
So I don't.
I've got a whole list offeatured vendors, and I don't have
one person doing funnel cake.
(38:34):
Oh, the horror.
Yeah, don't cry.
I think it's going to be all right.
I'm a little upset by it, though.
Look, jt, I'm a big boy.
You're not talking toshrinking violet here.
Come on.
My funnel cake.
Yeah, it's gonna be.
It's gonna be a blast.
(38:55):
It's always fun.
It really is.
And we're hoping, we'repraying that the rain holds off,
or if it's gonna rain, let itrain a couple days ahead of time
just to knock the dust downand pull it off a little.
But no, it's.
It's always good.
But for your.
For your listeners, come andSee us.
We have amazing offerings hereat the distillery.
(39:18):
To go and look around.
And it's free just to walkthrough the visitor center.
We got all kinds of stuff foryou to look at there.
You know what they do thereis, you know this, Jed, but you don't,
Jeff, is that they willactually engrave your bottles that
you buy and they'll putwhatever you want on the bottle for
you.
So you can have your own signature.
(39:39):
Bottle to take as long as it's appropriate.
Jt.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I think.
Watch.
Watch this, Jed.
I think that little one on myshelf behind me has got some engraving
on it.
Leanne, didn't you get one of those?
No.
Well, no, seriously, though,you can, because I remember having
(39:59):
wood chicks put on my bottleand just as a memorabilia piece.
Oh, it's a great little piece.
Yeah.
We could do Barbecue Nation onit, something like that.
Yeah, you can.
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah.
But it's kind of in a littlehouse there, and I only heard about
it the one time, but for thosewho are going down there, if you
want something like that, youcan do that.
So, Leanne, to your questionearlier about our latest release,
(40:21):
we have a.
A fully matured whiskey thatwe finished in Anejo Tequila Barrel.
Yeah.
So we.
We do have that.
It's our latest distillery offering.
We do have our new bonded ryewhiskey that just came out.
It's a brand new offering.
(40:42):
We're not trying to getsomething out new every year, but
we do have some new whiskey.
Hopefully it'll still beavailable when y' all come down for
the visit in a couple weeks, so.
Right.
Yeah.
Hard to find rare whiskey.
Very good, Jed.
Lorette from Jack Daniels, andhe's got a short title but a long
(41:04):
job description and which alot of people would fight over.
Jed, thanks.
And I know you're going tostick around for a couple weeks.
Yeah.
And it's going to be fun.
That's going to wrap it up forthe regular show.
Don't forget, we've got afterhours coming up if you're doing the
pod version.
And so we want to thank Jedagain and the folks at Jack Daniels
and thank Ms. Whippen there,for which I'm going to see in about
(41:28):
four days, I think five days.
And for everybody listening,thank you for being with us.
Until next time, I'm jt.
You're listening to BarbecueNation, and remember our motto, turn
it, don't burn it.
Barbecue Nation is produced byJTSV LLC Productions in association
with Salem Media Group.
All rights reserved.
It's time for Barbecue Nationwith jt so fire up your grill, light
the charcoal, and get yoursmoker cooking.
Now from the Turnip Don't Burnit studios in Portland.
Here's jt.
This is an encore.
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with hall ofFamer Leanne Whippen.
That's her.
Ms. Whippen is with us todayagain, and we're coming to you from
(00:21):
the Turn It, Don't Burn itstudios here in Portland.
Dave and Chris are floatingaround here somewhere, and we'd like
to thank the folks at PaintedHills Natural Beef.
Beef the way nature intended.
Well, it's almost that time ofthe year.
The.
Jack, those two words.
Those two words are like your taxes.
They just resonate withpeople, you know, and.
(00:43):
But not in a bad way.
Not in a bad way at all.
Not in a bad way.
It's been two years.
Almost two years to the day.
I looked it up before we cameon the air.
We got Jed Laurent back withus from.
From Jack Daniels, and we'regoing to talk a little bit about
Jack itself and Jed's verydifficult job there at.
(01:06):
At the distillery.
Oh.
I mean, I tried to talk youout of a job.
I.
The last time you were on the show.
I remember.
You know what?
I pulled up the.
The podcast that we did twoyears ago, and I was listening, and
you were.
You were hustling pretty hard.
Yeah, I was.
I, you know, I gotta admit, it.
(01:27):
It.
But it's a damn good job ifyou get it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you can get it.
Yeah.
I don't think I was quitequalified, but I did volunteer, Leanne,
if you don't know, Ivolunteered to be the librarian.
Yes.
Jack Daniels.
Oh, yeah.
Because their library doesn'tcontain very many books, but a lot
of bottles of Jack.
(01:48):
So.
Sounds like a good job.
I was gonna work for free, youknow, type thing.
Yeah.
Anyway, since we.
And I. I emailed you aboutthis, Jed, since we last talked.
You said your title hasn'tchanged, but because you're an ambassador
for the brand and all that.
But you also have moreresponsibilities, so why don't you
(02:08):
walk our audience throughexactly what your terrible schedule
day to day is, and then kindof what they've so graciously piled
on your shoulders since thelast time.
So just a recap from last timewhen we talked.
My.
My job is senior brandambassador for the distillery.
(02:29):
And.
And like you were just talking to.
I'm a sensory tester.
I'm a master taster on theproperty so, yeah, the job's hard.
I. I've taken on someresponsibilities of historian for
on site.
So when we have tour guides orstaff that needs a little more information,
(02:50):
I'll gather it, I'll get with archive.
We'll look through video.
So that's a new addition.
We've started some new touroptions on the property.
And so I've helped compileinformation and help our team, where
there's a couple people whowork together to get those tours
going.
Because we have a lot ofrepeat offenders.
(03:11):
Yeah.
And they just want to seesomething new.
So building new tour tour options.
Oh, cool.
And what can people expect tosee if they come on the tour?
So our normal tour is a walkthrough the entire distillery.
None of it's a mockup.
So while you're walking aroundthe property, it's the same property
that Jack bought.
We're going to walk into thedistillery where we've made your
(03:32):
whiskey.
I mean, this.
It made the whiskey for FrankSinatra, the man, the singer.
Um, we're going to go through bottling.
You're going to see the whole thing.
We're an open book.
And so we always tell people,if you have a question, just ask.
And if we don't know theanswer, we have somebody who has
that answer.
So we'll.
We'll talk to you about anything.
(03:54):
Okay, I've got a question then.
Yeah, we had trying to thinkif it was Adrian Miller's book.
I don't think so.
I think it was Joe's book.
It was on the history of black barbecue.
And they mentioned in the bookthat there was a black man that worked
(04:15):
there and actually helpedteach Jack Daniels how to.
How to make it, how to distillwhiskey and.
Sure.
Yeah.
And then he stayed on as anemployee for quite a while now.
Oh, is that true?
Yeah.
He wasn't just an employee.
So the story starts with Jackmoving on to Mr. Dan Call's property.
(04:38):
He was in his preteen, earlyteen years, say, like 12, 13 years
old.
He met Mr. Nathan nearest green.
He's the black gentleman youwere talking about.
And he learned how to makewhiskey from Mr. Green.
Mr. Green was his mentor.
And so he learns how to make whiskey.
During that time period.
He was an enslaved man over onthe Call property.
(05:01):
Remember this is all duringthe Civil War, right after emancipation.
He wasn't just an employee.
Jack hired him on as the veryfirst master distiller we ever had.
It's an absolutely beautiful story.
It was more like an unclenephew or a father son kind of Situation.
That's how close they were.
Yeah.
(05:21):
The property we're on.
Mr. Green didn't come up hereto run whiskey with Jack, but his
son, George Green, came uphere, ran whiskey with Jack, and
they were best friends.
And we have never distilled adrop of whiskey in 157 years with
that.
Agreed.
Working with this.
So that's what I thought.
Yeah.
The family still Legacy.
Yeah.
(05:41):
And Mr. Green also was into barbecue.
That's how I tied in the story there.
Well, who is it?
Yeah, well, I thinkeverybody's in, Right?
That's a.
That's a great point.
Is that in that black barbecuebook thing?
I believe so.
I. I'll get you the name.
I'll email you the name.
Absolutely.
I would love to know that history.
(06:03):
Yeah.
But I just found thatfascinating that not only did Mr.
Green teach Jack how to.
How to distill and how to makewhiskey properly, but he was also
kind of a pit master, too.
So that was.
That would be awesomeinformation, especially at this time
of year when the Jack's comingin town.
(06:23):
Yeah.
You can add that to theconversation saying, look, whiskey
and barbecues always been together.
Yeah, well, it has, it has.
And you guys make some greatbarbecue sauce.
You know, I've tried.
No, it's really good barbecue sauce.
Have you tried our dry rubs?
No, I have not.
You'll be able to get somewhen you get down here.
(06:44):
There you go.
There you go.
So how long have you workedfor the Jack Daniels Company?
So I'm coming up on nine years now.
So the last time we talked, Iwas just over seven years.
Now I'm.
Or six years.
Just over six years.
Now I'm just over eight yearsand I'm still a rookie.
(07:06):
I know it sounds crazy, peoplelike, if your listeners know about
the distillery and they'vebeen down here, there's a chance
they came across twogentlemen, Goose and Randall.
They both retired last December.
At 46 years working here.
Yeah.
Nobody gives up on whiskey.
(07:27):
No.
Well, why should they?
It's the happiest place on earth.
Somebody else uses that term, but.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I think these days, yoursis probably happier, you know, the
Jack is probably much, much,much happier than that.
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, it smells wonderful, too.
I think we talked about thelast time I was on with you.
(07:47):
The smell of the smell comingfrom the square and the whiskey in
the air.
It's.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I'm excited.
I really am excited.
When was the last time youwere there, Jeff?
I haven't never been to theJack, you haven't.
No.
Oh, my gosh.
You're in for a treat.
I'm a rookie.
I'm a rookie.
So, Liang, how long have y'all known each other and why has
(08:08):
he not come down?
You know?
Well, I've been on the showalmost two years.
Almost two years.
But we knew each other beforethat just from, you know, his show
acquaintance.
We really never met until wewere at the national barbecue convention
in person.
So, yeah, the.
Jack just.
(08:29):
I just assumed.
Oh, no.
Wow.
No.
I keep telling you, I'm aYankee and we don't get out much,
so.
You know, definitely in for a treat.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Not only now that I've metLeanne in person, and she's going
to be spending a little over aweek with me up here.
That's.
We're.
We're old, old pals now.
(08:49):
But to go back and meet Jedand see the.
See the competition and seethe town of Lynchburg.
Now, if you ask me aboutKentucky, I've been to Kentucky hundreds
of times, literally.
Well, there's no need to sayanything about Kentucky.
Is there a real rival rivalry back.
(09:09):
There between Kentuckyneighbors of the North?
Yeah, to the north, Yeah.
I like that.
Well, you know, you can't goto Kentucky, especially like Louisville
or someplace like that, and,you know, they don't talk about the
quality of their bourbon and,you know, smooth Kentucky sipping
whiskey and all that stuff,you know.
(09:32):
Except what still fascinatesme north of Louisville, there's Oldham
county, which I spent a lot oftime in, is a dry county, much like
Lynchburg.
Is Lynchburg so dry?
Lynchburg, absolutely.
So if you walk down thestreet, if you brought your own drink
with you in Lynchburg, willyou get in trouble?
(09:54):
Do you want to meet the sheriff?
No, not really.
Not really?
No.
I'll take your word for itthat he's a good guy.
No.
So we're a dry county in thesense that you can drink at home.
We have no bars, taverns,pubs, no liquor by the drink.
So.
Yeah.
So open container walkingaround is kind of a.
(10:15):
No, no.
Got it.
We tend to have a lot of parties.
I mean, while you're downhere, you'll.
You'll probably findsomebody's house that you can hang
out at.
Probably.
I would.
I would think that that wouldprobably be the case, you know, almost
guarantee it.
Yeah, I would think so.
So, Leanne, how many timeshave you been to the Jack?
Gosh, I haven't counted, quite frankly.
(10:37):
I'm not competing this year.
I'm judging this year.
But the last time I competedat the maybe seven, eight years ago.
It's been a while, but I'vebeen judging almost every year since
then.
You know, we could have metearlier because they had asked me
to judge the Jack a few yearsback and then I couldn't because
(11:00):
they asked me like a weekbefore and I couldn't clear my schedule.
Somebody had poked out.
It was kind of a celebritydeal or whatever, but it doesn't
matter.
But they said, can you be herelike Thursday?
And it was like Monday, like,no, I can't.
(11:21):
I didn't know.
If they asked me now, though,I'd probably, probably make it happen.
You know what I mean?
Anyway, we're going to take a break.
We're going to be back withJed and Leanne and myself here on
Barbecue Nation after this.
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(12:04):
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Just go to HeritageSteel usand find out more.
You'll love it.
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(12:27):
This is an encore.
Welcome back to BarbecueNation on JT with Ms. Whippen here,
hall of famer.
I will tell you something, Leanne.
I was.
I just ran out of time.
I was trying to get adirector's chair back made for you
before you came up here.
In a few days, it said Ms.Whippen on the back.
Oh, that would have been cute.
(12:48):
That might be your.
That might be your Christmas present.
You know, I would likesomething a little more comfortable
than a director's chair.
So you can.
I'll put a pillow on it.
That's exactly what I'll do.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll put a pillow in and aSnuggie blanket because he'll be
cold up here.
I will, I will.
So let's talk about thecompetition, Jed.
(13:10):
Now, you know you have to be invited.
You have to have competed.
I mean, there's all kinds of prerequisites.
What happens like next week atthe end of this coming week and Then
you've got about 10 days till the.
Maybe two weeks till the Jack starts.
What's going on there at the.
At the distillery in the townof Lynchburg.
(13:32):
So, yeah, starting.
Starting next week, we'regoing to be coordinating everything
from.
We've already got food truckslined up.
We've got kind of, like apetting zoo stuff.
We have, like, a craft fair downtown.
When you get down here, you'llsee, like, people might be selling
some stuff on the square, likea craft fair.
(13:53):
And you drop down in theWiseman park, which is right behind
Ms. Mary Bobo's, and theyshould have some food trucks out
and some.
Some different, like, drinks.
But next week, we'll be coordinating.
Finalizing all of that.
We should be getting our gianttent in where we actually do the
judging portion of it, makingsure that simply we have everything
(14:14):
from the tent to toilets.
Everything needs to becoordinated from the most important
thing to, you know, justmaking sure everybody has facilities
that they can get to.
But we're gonna have musiciansplaying music.
We're gonna have all kinds ofstuff for the actual events.
So next week, we'll prettymuch be coordinating all those things.
(14:34):
So now I know Leanne, whenshe's at a judging table with the
other judges, they get to have samples.
But do you get to sneak aroundand have a little taste of the barbecue?
No, the.
The most they'll let me do isjudge the desserts.
Hello.
The desserts are epic there.
(14:55):
I mean, they are so large,sometimes it takes two.
Two people to carry them in.
But seriously, they are.
At the World FoodChampionships, they do, like, unbelievably
cheffy type food.
But for these barbecuers toput out the desserts that you see
there, they're culinary.
I mean, just beautiful.
Oh, they're beautiful.
Yeah.
And they taste as good as they look.
(15:17):
It's.
I would agree, but no, I don't.
I don't get a chance to walkaround to the table and sneak a bite.
Maybe after the judging, ifthe tray's coming past, we might
grab something.
Hand action there.
Yeah, just a quick snatch.
But we've got a lot of stuffgoing on.
We.
We've got the.
And I'm looking at my listright now.
We have a cocktail competition now.
(15:40):
Oh, yeah, right.
So for the barbecuers or chefsthat want to have, like, a little
bit of fun, make their owncocktail, we have a competition for
that, and we have kind of like a.
Have you seen the.
I think it's Iron Chef, wherethey have the box.
They open the box right theycan make whatever it is inside the
box.
So we've had that for a fewyears, but it's.
(16:02):
It's a fun.
It's.
But once you're in the.
And Leanne, you can speak this.
Once you're in there judging, you're.
You're in there, right?
You're in there.
Yeah.
I mean, you could take a breakto go to the restroom, but you're
in there.
And I must say, you guys havestepped it up as far as the size
of the tent, because it wasnever that big.
And even when the awards came,it was like, people were, like, all
(16:22):
smushed together.
And now it's a huge tent, and.
It'S an epic tent.
Yeah.
But people actually go on theoutside of the tent and watch the
judges judge, which to me is just.
It's torture.
They're watching us judge andeat this food.
I don't know what they expectto gain from that, but, yeah, there's
an actual, like, audiencearound the perimeter of the tent
(16:44):
while we're judging.
Yeah.
Because they can't get in.
So judging tent is for the judges.
Right.
So you can stand around theoutside, but you can't get into the
tent and mingle with the judges.
Do they hold up little signsthat say, we'll judge for food, something
like that?
No, I might do that to you,Leanne, because I won't be able to
(17:05):
get in the tent.
So I might just hold up alittle science.
Say, I know.
Leanne, you have to do.
Aside from this whole barbecuething is Ms. Mary Bobos is known
for her fried chicken, and shedoes, like, certain seatings, and
you have to have reservations.
And I forgot to tell you about that.
It's probably already booked,but that is one thing you need to
do when you're there is.
(17:26):
Go ahead.
How is that Miss Mary Bobo's today?
The fried chicken isabsolutely amazing.
Yeah, that's, like, a thing.
All right, I'm leaving right now.
You guys finish the show.
I'm going.
Might take me a couple days toget there, but I'll.
I'll make it there.
So there.
There are.
Jt, real quick.
There's a.
There's a special rule, andI'm sure it's everywhere for the
KCBS judges, but there's noalcohol allowed in a tent for judges,
(17:52):
so they're right next toDaniels, and they cannot drink at
all.
Just water.
That's all we're allowed.
How do you make it, Leanne?
How do you survive?
Fine.
I do fine.
She makes up for it in theevening after the judging's over.
Well, I don't know.
You said there was a cocktailcontest, so.
(18:12):
Is that.
Are all the.
All the entries in thecocktail contest?
Are all they.
Are they all made with Jack?
Yeah.
Old number seven.
Actually, it's got to be veryspecific to old number seven.
They can do anything they want.
Like, I think it was last yearor the year before, we had some folks
smoke, like an old Fashioned,which is cool.
Barbecue smoking.
(18:34):
They played on that.
But yeah, yeah.
They have to use all of a sudden.
Wow, they need a judge for that.
Yeah.
Do they need a judge for that?
Right.
Say things like, I'll judgeanything, just let me judge.
That's what you say.
I just wonder, just on theJack side of things, what is your
most recent product thatyou've launched?
(18:54):
Is it that.
Honey, I know that's been outa long time, but is that the last
or what?
You launch one every year.
I mean, how does it work?
And you have gentleman's Jack, too.
Gentleman's Jack is from.
Yeah, this is hard to believe.
We have, and we call themexpressions, but we have 15, I think
(19:17):
15 is the count.
15 expressions of our whiskey.
So gentleman Jack, old numberseven, honey fire apple, single barrel,
select barrel proof rye,barrel proof rye, bonded triple mash,
bonded rye, Sinatra.
We have a few.
All right.
But what's amazing about ourproducts, every bottle we have, it
(19:40):
is Jack Daniels.
Old number seven, JackDaniels, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniels,
honey.
It's always the Jack Danielsbrand and it's expression of that
whiskey.
And so we, we, we makewhiskey, we make a bunch of expressions,
but we make just a couple ofgrain bills.
Okay.
All right.
We're going to take anotherbreak, and we're going to be back
(20:02):
with Jed and Leanne and talkmore about the Jack and the fun we're
going to have there in abouttwo weeks, right after this.
You're listening to Barbecue Nation.
At least I hope you are.
Hey, everybody, it's JT And Ihave eaten, if you've ever looked
(20:23):
at me, you know that.
But I have eaten seafood allover the world, and I can tell you
there's no place better thanhere in Oregon and our Dungeness
crab.
If you want to learn moreabout Oregon Dungeness crab, just
go to OregonDungeness.org and.
And find out how to cook it,how to catch it, where to buy it,
and the sustainability of whatthey're doing there in the Oregon
(20:44):
Crab Commission.
Check it out.
This is an encore.
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with hall ofFamer Ms. Leanne Whippin.
Speaking of Ms. Whippin,here's something for you, Jed.
Have you ever tried her pig powder?
(21:06):
Pick powder?
Yeah.
I mean, is that.
The name of.
It is pig powder?
Yeah.
It's tram tabs.
It's after my dad.
Yeah.
What's the name of it?
It's trim tabs Pig powder.
All right.
I'm writing it down.
It's.
It won best trap on the planet.
And a lot of competitors use that.
And.
And you know what?
Proof.
This is a funny story.
(21:27):
Not funny, but very interesting.
I noticed that in the past fewdays, my sales of pig powder have
dipped a little bit, and Ican't figure this out.
Well, hello.
Everyone's going to the Royal.
They already have their pig powder.
They already have.
They're on the road to the Royal.
And I really do think so manycompetitors use it, and there's a
(21:50):
little bit of a slump becausethey don't need it at this time.
They either already have it orthey were too late to the.
You know, whatever.
But I do attribute it to that.
Where can I buy it?
You can get it@pigpowder.com.
i personally fill and ship outthe orders.
Hey, JT, do you like the way Ihad her plug that?
I. I love it.
I'm just sitting back.
I'm just sitting back.
(22:12):
It's all good.
It's all good.
See, you can sell pig powder,but I can't judge desserts, you know?
So I think, jt, the last timeI was on your show, yeah, I was a
novice, you know, smoker at best.
But since I've talked to y',all, I've done, I think, two full
(22:33):
briskets.
My daughter, my oldestdaughter, got married, and she wanted
me to do pulled pork for the wedding.
There were sandwiches andsuch, and I did what would be close
to £50.
Yeah, right?
50.
Yeah.
I don't know.
We did, like, eight to ten butts.
I have no idea.
(22:53):
And so I smoked all of them.
I gotta tell you, everybodywas happy.
I didn't kill anybody with my smoke.
Very good.
But I did not have pick powderbecause I did not know.
Good.
It is.
It is, it is.
I'll bring you some when I come.
Oh, nice.
All right.
If you want to do it.
Okay.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
(23:15):
You can't see it because of mygreen screen, but I've got a few
boxes of it right behind me.
There's.
Oh, my goodness.
And Leanne and I are going topay for our television expenses by
standing on the corner sellingpig powder.
Do you know I have a wholepallet landing this Thursday and
I unload the pallet myself andbring it up to my second floor apartment
(23:36):
and it takes me four hours upand down the steps and I keep it
in my apartment.
Come on, Leanne, can you flexfor us?
I can, yeah.
She, she may be little, butshe's mighty.
I'm going to tell you.
That sounds like it.
Yeah.
Big workout.
(23:56):
Oh, okay.
And I also need to plug our,our good friends at Painter Hills
Natural Beef.
Don't forget, you can go tonaturalbeef.com and if you type in
the code BBQ Nation, you get15% off.
And Leanne is actually goingto go to cowboy country with us here
in about a week, a little overa week, and see where Painted Hills
(24:17):
comes from.
So there you go.
But just use the code BBQ Nation.
I don't know why my nose isitching today.
I'm like Bewitched or something.
Anyway, there it is.
Those are the two plugs forthe show.
How big of an effect does theJack have on Lynchburg?
I mean, you always see things, Jed.
You know, seafare comes intoSeattle and it's got a $385 million
(24:42):
impact on the economy.
But that thing is a week longRose Parade and in Portland, you
know, those types of things.
But when you get into a reallysmall town like Lynchburg in comparison
to the bigger cities and youhave an event like this, it's got
to have a really positivefinancial impact on the community.
Sure.
I would say, like this is the34th jack we've done.
(25:06):
And what's, what's amazing isin kind of like Leanne was talking
about her pick powder, it kindof ebbs and flows.
Right.
So in the early part of ouryear, January and February, we don't
see a lot of people come in.
You know, it's cold, it'swinter time, school's still in.
So travel as far as tourism isdown, but around this time of year,
(25:28):
school's back in.
But people are having likefall breaks and this is perfect.
You know, we're bringing moreand more and more things to the Jack
because we want your listenersto come and visit.
It doesn't, I mean, if you'reclose to come and see this, why not?
If you're in Nashville,Huntsville, if you're in Atlanta,
(25:48):
Georgia, you're only threehours away from us.
You know, I mean, come to theJack, you'll have a great tour, you'll
have a great experience.
It's Family friendly.
And we want more and morepeople to come.
I think our max we've everhad, and I think I said this a couple
years ago, the highest count Ithink was 30,000 over the weekend.
(26:08):
And it's a multi day eventover the weekend.
Now we have an Indianmotorcycle rally just before it.
So last year I think we hadover 300 bikes.
Indian motorcycles come in forthe rally.
So we want the influx ofpeople to experience a little town.
Whose idea was it originallyto do the Jack?
(26:28):
The competition?
Oh, God.
You would ask me a questionthat is going to slip my mind.
Oh, my goodness.
I don't know.
I have to just be honest with you.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Leanne, do you know?
No, I don't.
I'm kind of curious, though.
I know.
I think my dad was at thefirst Jack judging.
Yeah.
(26:49):
I mean, it's.
Yeah.
35 years.
I don't know.
Okay.
Well, I certainly don't or Iwouldn't have asked the question.
But you know who would know isArtie Davis.
He would probably know.
Artie Davis knows everythingabout everything.
And that's.
I'm being.
I'm not being mean.
I'm just saying already,anything to do with barbecue, he'll
be there.
He hands out the.
(27:10):
The little walnuts, the goodluck walnuts to each of the teams.
Yes, I got one of those.
Yeah.
He goes around with dirty Dickand the two of them go and hand it
down.
That's right.
And they hand out the little walnuts.
The dirty.
Dirty Dick handing out nuts.
Oh, yes.
Dirty Dick in the legless wonders.
Yeah.
So what is.
(27:30):
What is he hauling those nutsaround in?
I don't know, but it's alittle bag, isn't it?
A little sack?
Yeah, yeah.
It's like a burlap sack.
Right.
I think.
I think you're correct.
I think you're correct.
J.T.
just.
I lost it.
(27:51):
I'll be back in a minute.
Just.
Yes.
He hands out the nuts from theburlap sack.
Yeah, there you go.
Do they have ribbons on themor are they.
No, they are a whole walnut inthe shell and they have the little
Jack Daniels logo thing on it.
And it's good luck, right?
(28:12):
It is.
It's good luck.
Yes, you do.
That's why it's passed out.
And it's.
It's a big deal.
So I sent a request for theinformation on the question you asked
and hopefully I get a responsehere quickly.
Well, we've got the afterhours too, so if we If.
If it goes into that, thenthat'll be fine.
I. I didn't know about Artie'snuts, so.
(28:37):
So the interesting thing aboutthe jack is it is a world invitational,
but even though they call itinvitational, there is a lottery.
So you get three KCBSsanctioned state champions from New
Jersey say they go into a lottery.
Only one state champion can get.
(28:57):
Can.
Can get pulled.
So you could still be a statechampion and not qualify to be in
the jack.
So it's really kind of alottery and an invitational because
some of the are automaticjacks, which mean you automatically
get in the jack if you win.
Grand champion.
Right.
And then they.
They also.
The.
The big deal about this isyou've got all the international
(29:17):
teams.
That's.
So you're getting really.
It's true.
World.
So you're getting people fromall teams from all over the world
that come in on this thing.
So we have 66 domestic teamsand 15 international teams going
to be here in about two weeks.
Wow.
Yeah.
Fifteen.
(29:38):
So that.
That's.
That's.
That's 25%.
The 66.
Because I'm a math person.
Well, approximately, yeah.
That are going to be international.
And so they have to figureout, you know, if they're going to
get their equipment from here.
And.
And maybe they've never cookedon it.
So, I mean, it's really interesting.
(29:58):
And you can always tell theinternational dessert, because some
countries like marzipan orwhatever, and so you'll know that
it isn't a domestic.
It came from an international team.
You can almost always tellwhen you're tasting the desserts,
because it's not Americana desserts.
That's what's so fun about this.
(30:19):
Jed, let me jump in here for a second.
Speaking of desserts, when wewent to the NBBQA convention last
year, I showed you thatpicture behind me is from there,
but they also had the highschool kids competing there.
And one of the things theywere doing was making desserts.
And Leanne and I were eatingand arguing our way through the desserts.
(30:43):
Which one was better?
Because I like this littlekind of.
I don't even know what.
Simple.
I can't remember what it was.
Yeah, it was a little.
But it had some strawberriesand whipped cream on it, and it was
quite sweet.
And she wanted something else.
So I just kept going back tothat one, that one setup.
And the girls kept giving memore and more strawberry treats.
(31:05):
But if they're anything likethat or a couple of levels above
that, they're.
Look at her.
Look at her.
I can't even put it into words.
Okay, okay.
All right.
I got an answer.
You did?
Okay.
Yeah.
I mean, it was Jack Daniel.
Our people are amazinglyefficient here.
(31:27):
Ms. Debbie Christian just hitme back up.
You know how I was saying thatwe're always trying to make the event
bigger and more inclusive asfar as family and people coming.
That was the whole premisebehind starting it.
It was promotion and communityawareness, getting people down here
to Jack Daniels and to promotebarbecue and to promote the distillery.
(31:49):
So the whole reason for theJack was to promote those two things
was barbecue and community.
So cool.
Yeah.
So I would like to think thatwe were trying to put our foot into
the barbecue game, but it wasjust to get some good cooks down
here to cook for us.
There's nothing wrong withthat, Jed.
I'm telling you.
I'm telling you.
(32:09):
We're going to take a break.
We're going to come back withJed Lorette and wrap up the show
talking about Jack Daniels andthe Jack coming up.
And we will all return just momentarily.
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(33:13):
This is an encore.
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
We're very fortunate to haveJed Laurette with us today.
Jed is from the Jack Daniels Distillery.
He's a branded bastard.
He's a taster.
He's semi serious pork butt cooker.
He's all kinds of things, buthe's doing that.
(33:34):
And I'll get to meet him herein a couple of weeks.
That's kind of fun like that.
Jed also was served in theNavy and for what, 15 years, something
like that.
Five years active duty.
And then I worked for thegovernment for another ten and a
half years.
And then you.
Thank you for your service.
Yeah, thank you.
And then you came to yoursenses and went home and got a job
(33:57):
there?
Yes, yes, absolutely.
Well, that's good.
Now I'm only kidding about coming.
Yeah, it's.
It's all good.
Do.
I don't know what thecorporate structure is.
Jed on for Jack Daniels there and.
But do the head guys, the guysthat we normally think of in suits
(34:18):
and ties, do they come down tothe competition?
Do they hang out?
Do they walk around?
You'll see some people, likeour Heron company is brown foreman.
They're out of Louisville, Kentucky.
And you'll see some folks comedown from Louisville for the event.
Our master distiller, ourassistant distiller, folks who work
(34:39):
here in Lynchburg, they'll beat the event that night.
But yeah, you'll see out oftowners that are corporately part
of Jack Daniels show for the event.
Is your master distiller a woman?
Chris Fletcher is our masterdistiller, but Lexi Phillips is our
assistant distiller.
She's the very first femaleassistant distiller we've ever had.
(34:59):
That's what I thought.
I remember hearing that.
She's unbelievable.
She's fourth generation working.
Yeah.
Her family has a huge legacyat the distillery.
Yes.
So when you guys have acompany party, it's more like a family
Christmas get together, isn't it?
Because you've had thesefamilies that work so many generations
(35:21):
for Jack Daniels, like theGreens, Christie's family and all
that.
Yeah.
So, I mean, we have actually afamily family picnic once a year
here at the distillery.
So on Saturday, we've got abuilding on the south side of town
where we'll bring bouncehouses and all kinds of stuff.
And it really is kind of likea family reunion.
Everybody knows everybody,they went to school together, they
(35:43):
work together their whole lives.
So, yeah, it's kind of like afamily reunion.
Wow.
Yeah, that's cool.
That.
That is very cool.
I think there should be moreof that, if possible, around.
So are you gonna make it downto Byron's party?
Do I need to get you on thelist there or what?
So you're saying Byron Chisholm?
(36:04):
Byron Chisholm from BadByron's Butt Rub?
Oh, yeah.
Well, if I get an invite.
I don't know if I've gotten aninvite, to be honest with you.
Yeah, that sounds.
So if we can make some thingshappen, that.
That would be.
I can.
I think we can handle that.
I think JT just wants me to.
It's like, all right, Jed,just leave the whiskey.
(36:25):
You can leave now.
I'll get you in on the food list.
I mean, you know.
Yeah, it can be.
It can be that way.
Well, we're worried.
We Are really looking forwardto it.
Is there anything you can.
I know Leanne has judged theJack several times, but is there
anything that you can say?
Now, Leanne, we know you'vebeen here before, but you really
(36:46):
need to pay attention to this.
And I don't mean her judging.
I mean anything ancillaryoutside the judge's.
Tent as far as what she needsto be aware of.
Yeah, I mean, you know, howmuch is bail bonds in Lynchburg?
So.
(37:06):
Oh, my God.
No, no, you really don't wantto meet the sheriff.
Although I gotta tell you,he's a good guy.
He really is a good guy.
Yeah.
Look, when you just talking toyour guests, when you show up here
at Jack, you're going to wantto make a trip down to the square,
walk through the.
The actual competitors tentsarea, and then maybe take a tour.
(37:30):
Go to Bobo's, get a bite toeat, and be here for the judging
and the actual award ceremonyfor the evening.
If you've been to a small towncounty fair, it's kind of that same
vibe.
I'm really hoping we havefunnel cake.
All right.
I don't know if we're going to.
I'd like to put in a special request.
(37:52):
You guys do the big party onthe hill Friday night.
And last year I was ranting,raving about your fried chicken up
there, and I don't think youhad fried chicken on that.
I'm trying to look and see.
So I hope it's there thisyear, but I think.
Yeah, I don't think you had itlast year.
You usually have it every year.
(38:13):
I think the worst thing thatwe can do and watch me put my foot
in my mouth is have barbecuebefore the barbecue event.
Like serve barbecuers barbecuebefore they have.
Yeah.
So I don't.
I've got a whole list offeatured vendors, and I don't have
one person doing funnel cake.
(38:34):
Oh, the horror.
Yeah, don't cry.
I think it's going to be all right.
I'm a little upset by it, though.
Look, jt, I'm a big boy.
You're not talking toshrinking violet here.
Come on.
My funnel cake.
Yeah, it's gonna be.
It's gonna be a blast.
(38:55):
It's always fun.
It really is.
And we're hoping, we'repraying that the rain holds off,
or if it's gonna rain, let itrain a couple days ahead of time
just to knock the dust downand pull it off a little.
But no, it's.
It's always good.
But for your.
For your listeners, come andSee us.
We have amazing offerings hereat the distillery.
(39:18):
To go and look around.
And it's free just to walkthrough the visitor center.
We got all kinds of stuff foryou to look at there.
You know what they do thereis, you know this, Jed, but you don't,
Jeff, is that they willactually engrave your bottles that
you buy and they'll putwhatever you want on the bottle for
you.
So you can have your own signature.
(39:39):
Bottle to take as long as it's appropriate.
Jt.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I think.
Watch.
Watch this, Jed.
I think that little one on myshelf behind me has got some engraving
on it.
Leanne, didn't you get one of those?
No.
Well, no, seriously, though,you can, because I remember having
(39:59):
wood chicks put on my bottleand just as a memorabilia piece.
Oh, it's a great little piece.
Yeah.
We could do Barbecue Nation onit, something like that.
Yeah, you can.
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah.
But it's kind of in a littlehouse there, and I only heard about
it the one time, but for thosewho are going down there, if you
want something like that, youcan do that.
So, Leanne, to your questionearlier about our latest release,
(40:21):
we have a.
A fully matured whiskey thatwe finished in Anejo Tequila Barrel.
Yeah.
So we.
We do have that.
It's our latest distillery offering.
We do have our new bonded ryewhiskey that just came out.
It's a brand new offering.
(40:42):
We're not trying to getsomething out new every year, but
we do have some new whiskey.
Hopefully it'll still beavailable when y' all come down for
the visit in a couple weeks, so.
Right.
Yeah.
Hard to find rare whiskey.
Very good, Jed.
Lorette from Jack Daniels, andhe's got a short title but a long
(41:04):
job description and which alot of people would fight over.
Jed, thanks.
And I know you're going tostick around for a couple weeks.
Yeah.
And it's going to be fun.
That's going to wrap it up forthe regular show.
Don't forget, we've got afterhours coming up if you're doing the
pod version.
And so we want to thank Jedagain and the folks at Jack Daniels
and thank Ms. Whippen there,for which I'm going to see in about
(41:28):
four days, I think five days.
And for everybody listening,thank you for being with us.
Until next time, I'm jt.
You're listening to BarbecueNation, and remember our motto, turn
it, don't burn it.
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