Motlow Distilling Company
The Motlow Distilling Company was opened by Lem Motlow in Birmingham in 1902. Motlow, the nephew of Lynchburg, Tennessee's Jack Daniel, was forced to close when Jefferson County enacted local prohibition in 1907. Some references locate this distillery at 2431 Avenue B, but it may have been in Pratt City.
It reopened in 1911 as the Jack Daniel Distilling Company, which had been forced to move its operations out of Tennessee when that state passed its own prohibition laws in 1910. This plant was more certainly located in Pratt City. The distillery bottled both Jack Daniel's No. 7 Lincoln County Whisky and Motlow's own corn whisky, as well as Motlow's peach brandy. The business relocated to St Louis, Missouri before Alabama's statewide prohibition law went into effect in 1915. National prohibition forced the company out of business in 1918. Motlow eventually re-opened his uncle's Lynchburg distillery, where the company has been able to produce, but not sell, its liquor ever since.
Bottles embossed with either name and "Birmingham, Ala." are avidly collected by connoisseurs of Jack Daniel's memorabilia. Lem's cousin Frank "Spoon" Motlow operated Motlow's Saloon in Birmingham. A painted advertisement for "Motlow's Corn and Jack Daniells' No. 7 Lincoln County Whiskies" can still be seen on the corner of 2nd Avenue North and 24th Street.
References
- Atkins, Leah Rawls (1981) The Valley and the Hills: An Illustrated History of Birmingham and Jefferson County, Alabama. Birmingham: Birmingham-Jefferson Historical Society. ISBN 0897810317
- White, Marjorie Longenecker (1981) The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society ISBN 9990230099