Product description
In September 2012, Jack Daniel's Distillery launched the Master Distillers Series, honoring the seven master distillers who have held this position from the distillery's founding to the present day.
Third on their list is Lemuel "Lem" Tolley, to whom the edition presented here is dedicated.
Lem was the son of Lillie Motlow (Jack Daniel's granddaughter) and John Lafayette Tolley. He took over as master distiller in 1941 and held the position for the next 23 years, until 1964. He was a very conscientious man, concerned with maintaining high production standards while constantly improving efficiency. During his tenure, two extremely important articles on Jack Daniel's whiskey were published, one in Fortune magazine and the other in True, which probably helped to conquer world markets. He also witnessed the acquisition of Jack Daniel's Distillery by Brown-Forman Corporation in 1956. Little is known about Lem Tolley's private life, except that it revolved around the Jack Daniel's distillery.
Lem Tolley retired in 1964, and Jess Gamble took over as Master Distiller. He remained in Lynchburg for the rest of his life, and was buried there in 1980.