design:retail - February 2018 - 35

← The Barrel House
hosts tastings
and tours.
↙ Opposite page
[Left] Casework
in The Motlow
House opens to
reveal a hidden
speakeasy bar.

035

↙ Opposite page
[Right] The
White Rabbit
Bottle Shop
sells specialty
and collectors'
bottles on-site.
↓ The Motlow
House features a
homey aesthetic.

Also on property is the three-story Barrel House
1-14, which was originally built in 1938 and named
because it was the 14th of the first tract of barrel
houses. Visitors are greeted with a heady aroma
that is dubbed "the angel's share," as each barrel
releases 7 percent to 10 percent of its contents due
to evaporation. Combined with the new glassenclosed tasting areas integrated into aisles of the
space, the 10,861-sq.-ft. Barrel House is the standout stop of the distillery tour.
"At specific locations, all three levels of ricks have
been carefully carved away, offering clearings within the thicket of stacked barrels," Dvorak describes.
"Here, two simple, pin-mounted glass volumes
supported by slender steel frames are placed over
fields of dark limestone, their soaring walls interrupted only by the building's interwoven, heavy
timber superstructure above. Flanking the main
aisle, these spaces allow for a private and sophisticated product sampling experience."
A location not on the tour, but an integral part of
the brand, is The Motlow House, the 4,837-sq.-ft.
recently reconstructed home of Jack Daniel's
nephew and former company president, Lem
Motlow. In an effort to retain its residential charm,

the only difference from the exterior was the addition of an enclosed sunroom to the rear. Simple
wainscoting, curated paint colors and white oak
plank floors salvaged from the Barrel House round
out the homey aesthetic.
Reserved for members of Jack Daniel's Tennessee
Squire Association, The Motlow House holds exclusive events and has an interesting design feature
that adds to its ambience. "In the second floor event
spaces, a portion of the floor-to-ceiling casework
pivots on an axis to reveal a speakeasy bar dedicated
to each room," Ferguson notes.
While Hadley says Brown-Forman doesn't have
any more specific plans related to the Jack Daniel
Distillery, he acknowledges how positive the
visitor response has been so far. "We receive continuous feedback from guests on how surprising
it is to enter Barrel House 1-14 and how completely
unexpected it is," he says. "It makes for a memorable tasting experience."
This two-year project to renew and refresh
Jack Daniel's visitor experience and experiential
marketing has resulted in a cohesive journey
for guests with better branding-smooth as
Tennessee whiskey.

PROJECT FILE
The Jack Daniel
Distillery: The White
Rabbit Bottle Shop,
Barrel House 1-14,
The Motlow House
Lynchburg, Tenn.
RETAILER

Brown-Forman Corp./
Jack Daniel's
CONTRACT DESIGN FIRM

Clickspring Design
ARCHITECT

Tuck-Hinton Architects
GENERAL CONTRACTOR

Messer Construction Co.
COSULTANTS/ENGINEERS

NOVUM Structures (Barrel
House 1-14); EMC Structural
Engineers; Parsons Engineering;
Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and
Cannon Inc.; Shadley Associates
P.C.; MP&E Engineering LLC
STORE FIXTURES

1220 Exhibits Inc., Kevin
Sanders (aka "The Barrel Man")
SIGNAGE & GRAPHICS

1220 Exhibits
FURNITURE

1220 Exhibits (custom
fabricated), Brown-Forman
(in-house collection),
The Antique Factory, RH,
Anthropologie, Dot & Bo, Knoll
Furniture, Hooker Furniture,
Pottery Barn, Wayfair LLC,
Chairish Inc., Jamie Young Co.,
The Home Depot Inc.
MILLWORK

Indianapolis Woodworking Intl.
(The Motlow House)
GLASS

NOVUM Structures
(Barrel House 1-14)
TECHNOLOGY

Brown-Forman (in-house staff),
Trinity Video Communications
Information in the project file is
provided by the retailer and/or
design firm.

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