Jack Daniel's WELSH whiskey? Original recipe for famous drink 'discovered in dusty book by ancestor of distillery's founder'
By Leon Watson
PUBLISHED: 06:37 EST, 15 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:24 EST, 15 June 2012
The original recipe for legendary American whiskey Jack Daniel’s has been discovered in a dusty old book - in Wales.
Businessman Mark Evans, 54, was researching his family history when he discovered the recipe in a book of herbal remedies.
It was written in 1853 by his great-great grandmother who was called Daniels and was a local herbalist in Llanelli, South Wales.
Mark Evans found the recipe for legendary American whiskey Jack Daniel's in a dusty book in Llanelli, South Wales
Her brother-in-law left the Welsh town at about the same time to move to Lynchburg, Tennessee, where the Jack Daniel’s distillery was opened three years later.
And the Jack Daniel’s website states the founder of the distillery was from Wales.
Mr Evans says the ingredients in his great-great grandmother's recipe match what goes into the best selling whiskey in the world.
He said: 'I’m pretty sure I’ve discovered the original recipe in great-great grannie’s book.
Jack Daniel's is the world's best-selling whiskey, but its history is a mystery because the distillery's early records were destroyed in a courthouse fire
The family of whiskey distiller Jack Daniel were originally from Wales before they emigrated to the U.S.
A worker at the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, checks some of the whiskey aging barrels
'I was doing some family research, looking at photographs and things, and I wanted to look at the family bible.
'At the bottom of the bookcase was this book.'
Mr Evans' grandmother Lillian Daniels Probert, who is 97 and living in Llanelli, can recall her own grandmother using the book to make herbal remedies and ointments.
He said: 'My great, great-grandmother wrote in the book in 1853, and Jack Daniel's is dated 1866, so it predates it.
'There is a link, because my grandmother’s grandfather's brother - my great, great uncle - left for America and nobody ever heard from him after a couple of letters.
'That was during the time that Jack Daniel's was set up, but more important than that, he was called John 'Jack the Lad' Daniel's.
'We know he went to Lynchburg, Tennessee, and I'm pretty sure he used great-great grannie's recipe to start off the whiskey business.'
The history of Jack Daniel's is a mystery because the distillery's early records were destroyed in a courthouse fire.
A spokesman for the company said: 'We know our founder was from Wales - we would love to see the book and the recipe.'