Born on September 5, 1850, Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel was the youngest of ten children. His parents were of Scottish and Irish descent. In 1864 Jack learned the art of whiskey making from the preacher and an enslaved man named Nathan "Nearest" Green. Nearest eventually became Jack Daniel Distillery’s head distiller. Daniel’s distillery — founded in Lynchburg, Tennessee in 1866 — was the first registered distillery in the country (at the time, distilleries were required to register with the federal government, and the Jack Daniel Distillery was given Registered Distillery Number 1). Today, Jack Daniel Distillery is one of the most distinguished and recognizable names in the spirits industry.Among all their offerings Jack Daniel's Black Label stands out as the instantly recognizable, iconic classic and the brand's flagship. It accounts for 96% of Jack Daniel's sales, making it the best selling whiskey in the world. While the true meaning behind the "Old No. 7" on the label was lost with Daniel's death, it is known that it won 7 gold medals in a very different time. It received its very first at the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis, Missouri, where the spirit reigned supreme over 24 others from across the globe ― a sign of things to come. The most important step in its creation is still the charcoal mellowing, or as they like to call it "The Extra Blessing". Before going into barrels, the clear, 140-proof distillate is filtered through handcrafted charcoal drop by drop, a process that takes from 3 to 5 days and is the reason behind the Black Label's signature smoothness.