Around the Barrel Ep060/Re059 - Linas Ruksenas  

 

Lucas Hendrickson: Very few people start collecting things on purpose. You start by grabbing one thing that catches your attention, then another, then another. Soon, you got to think about adding dedicated shelving, if not buying a whole new house. On this episode, we talk with Linus Ruksenas, the man behind the social media handle Jack Daniel's Library, about what kick-started his Jack Daniel's collecting habit, about how he sources all those wonderful bottles displayed on his Instagram feed, and about how he finally brought his spouse around to the idea of devoting their living room to the artful display of items that emerged from around the barrel.

 

Welcome back to Around the Barrel, the official podcast from the makers of Jack Daniel's. I'm your host, Lucas Hendrickson.

 

Linas Ruksenas: My name is Linas Ruksenas. I live in the United Kingdom. I was born and raised in Lithuania, and I'm a rare and exclusive Jack Daniel's whiskey collector and the creator of Jack Daniel's Library. And I am a collector of well over 300 different rare and exclusive Jack Daniel's whiskey bottles, including the ones from the sixties and seventies and vintage Decanters, limited edition bottle, some special releases signed by Master Distillers.

 

Lucas: Linas Ruksenas, welcome to Around the Barrel.

 

Linas: Hi Lucas. Thank you for having me.

 

Lucas: Absolutely. And thrilled to have you. A little sad we can't do this as a video podcast because you had this amazing background of well-appointed shelving with your collection. I am assuming just a mere fraction of it, of the stuff that you've collected over the years. Just starting out, talk a little bit about your getting started with collecting in general, and then how did you get into the world of rare and unusual Jack Daniel's bottles?

 

Linas: Yeah, so I always had a passion for collecting, whether it was coins, post stamps, beer cans, anything, I had it. So my first encounter with the Jack Daniel's happened in the middle of 2000s. Then my dear friend Weider introduced me to the Jack and Coke, this iconic drink. It was his favorite drink. So whenever I would go and visit him, he was living in Norway. So I would always buy a bottle of Old No. 7 at the airports. 

 

So on one of those occasions, it was in 2008, I noticed a totally different bottle of Jack Daniel's. The shape and size was the same, but the label looked different. So I bought that bottle and brought it back home. And after a little inspection and a little research, I found out that it was a Scenes from Lynchburg No. 8 bottle. And I remember I paid about $40 for this. So it was the same price as Ordinary Bottle, but what I didn't know at the time that this was really the beginning of something really big and really quite expensive, I would say.

 

Lucas: It can become that.

 

Linas: Yeah, so this was the first bottle that I had and it was the very beginning of my journey.

 

Lucas: So it was more the bottle itself rather than the liquid inside that was the early appeal for you. It sounds like Jack and Coke is kind of a universal thing. It's not just an America that it's the entryway for a lot of people to experiencing Old No. 7. How did it grow from there? Did it grow slowly? Did it grow quickly? Did you then see a lot of other collectible bottles near you that you were able to acquire and then start to catalog, if you will?

 

Linas: Yeah, so airport duty-free shops was my main source of the new bottles. So whenever I would go and visit my friend in Norway, I would always find some different bottles. In the following years. I would collect the Scenes from Lynchburg No. 8, 9, the few editions of a single barrel bottles, et cetera. And I was expanding my knowledge and learning more about the brand and the whiskey. And yes, the whole new World opened up at that point because at that point I only knew the old No.. 7 Bottle existed. 

 

So I also find out that I'm not the only one and there are many, many people around who collect the different bottles. And yeah, I connected with the people. I got to go to the Jack Daniel's collectors meeting. So we would trade. We would buy and sell and yes, and the bottles were keep coming home. So I was really excited and really happy, except my wife, which she was a little bit concerned about cluttering the house with the bottles.

 

Lucas: Sure. Well, I was going to ask, how much did that travel retail world help you build your collection? So between that AND just finding stuff out in the wild, if you will, and then getting plugged into this collector's world, it sounds like it really pressed the gas pedal down pretty hard on your acquisition habit.

 

Linas: Yeah, that's for sure. It was just only for a very beginning that travel retail helped me a lot with a handful of bottles. And then I started looking online and there's still a few online shops, you can get some different bottles, but the main thing was joining the other collectors and communities and just getting the insights and then the knowledge and yeah, it's many people around the world and everyone is helping each other. So I mainly source all my bottles through other collectors and people in the whiskey communities.

 

Lucas: Now, have you traveled to the United States yet to do any of your collecting? Have you visited the home place of Jack Daniel's, Lynchburg Tennessee yet?

 

Linas: Yeah, so I can get back a little bit and I tell you how did, I started my Jack Daniel's library journey. So yeah, so it been in 2020, so already I was collecting for around 12 years and I had around already 250 in my collection. So I brought this really nice presentation set of Jack Daniel's and I made a short video clip of it and I created a brand new Instagram account and I uploaded the video. So I always wanted to do some sort of catalog for myself or the bottles that I own. And I uploaded that video on the Instagram and actually the first handle on the Instagram that I had, it was, I called it Jack Daniel's expert. That's really beautiful set, actually was Dolphin in set No. 3. It came in a beautiful black box and contained a hand-selected barrel strength whiskey with the two whiskey samples and the two whiskey glasses and a personalized bottle stopper.

 

That was really, really an amazing set and really collectible. So I uploaded that on my Instagram account and I was really surprised that several hundred people watched that video, even though I didn't have any followers, it's just a few friends. So that encouraged me to continue and show more of my collection. Being on the social media and Instagram gave me a lot of opportunity to connect with the people around the world. I get to connect with many fans, collectors, and some of them behind the Jack Daniel's Distillery. So one of them invited us for a tour at the Jack Daniel's Distillery. So it shows that anything that happen on the social media, then you connect with the people. 

 

So coming back to your question, yes, so I visited Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg last year, and it was a dream coming true for me. We flew, flew out last year, it was actually it was actually exactly one year last April, me and my wife, we flew in the United States to visit the Lynchburg and we stayed there for three days. We wanted to experience as much as we can.

 

Lucas: There's three days worth of stuff to experience in Lynchburg, even though it's as small as it is. Was that your first time to the United States?

 

Linas: Yes, it was our first time in the United States and first time in Lynchburg until that I only knew the Lynchburg from the pictures and videos and from the stories of other people telling.

 

Lucas: Sure. And how did it compare to not only where you live now, but where you've been growing up, where you've traveled in Europe? Give us a little compare and contrast there.

 

Linas: So it's totally different. I live in Surrey just outside London. It's much more busy people, it's much more busy here, more traffic. The life goes quite fast here compared with a quite remote and rural town and small, tiny place as Lynchburg where it looks like the life is going at much slower pace. So we stayed in Lynchburg for three days. We were staying in the Lynchburg Inn. So in the daytime we would go and explore the town and the city, and of course we visited the Jack Daniel's Distillery. And in the evenings we sit back on the porch, we sip of Jack and Coke or Jack neat, and we would just enjoy the time and watching Jack Daniel's trucks passing by.

 

Lucas: Sure. What was your favorite part of the distillery itself? Either learning about process or just seeing the scale of that world-class operation happening in this tiny town in the middle of Tennessee?

 

Linas: So that was really my dream coming true. It was a dream for many years. So on the day of the tour, we started with the lunch at iconic Mary Bobo's Restaurant. So we had a delicious food and we got to meet the people and to learn the history behind. And then we went to the distillery, to the visitor center, and our private tour guide was Jed. He was very experienced.

 

Lucas: Friend of the pod. Jed Lirette, yes.

 

Linas: Very knowledgeable and he was very patient answering hundreds of my questions. And it was an amazing time to step and walk in these grounds of Lynchburg and Jack Daniel's Distillery. And we just soaked in all the energy, the history, and the legacy of this place. It was amazing. We visited all these landmarks as a cave spring and the old Jack Daniel's safe.

 

Lucas: The infamous safe. 

 

Linas: Yeah of course. And then one of the highlights of the tour was of course the whiskey tasting. So we tasted a few different whiskey and Jed was brilliant, guiding us through the different flavors and the different expressions of the whiskey. So that was really, really amazing time. And actually I would like to mention as I'm at Tennessee Squire myself, so we got to visit-

 

Lucas: Oh, there you go.

 

Linas: Yeah. So we got to visit the Motlow House as well.

 

Lucas: Yes.

 

Linas: We met people that are working there, and also I got to meet a few fans of myself so that was really amazing.

 

Lucas: The Motlow House is always a fascinating visit if you're Squire and you're able to get in there and just see the various collectibles that have happened over obviously 150 years plus, but also from different parts of the country and people who donate stuff to that ongoing and always shifting collection as well. Did you see anything of note that you went, "I wish I had that?"

 

Linas: Yes, the cabinets that the things are placed are really, really amazing. I noticed some of the old bottles, even from the beginning of early nineties, I think, they're so rare and only probably I saw them for the first time in real life. I only would see them in the pictures. So yes, it's an amazing exhibition for the people. Yeah.

 

Lucas: Now characterize for me how Jack Daniel's is viewed where you're from as opposed to how it might be viewed in the United States. What's the general feeling about Jack Daniel's? How is Old No. 7's reputation on that side of the pond?

 

Linas: So what I can say is this experience, I can tell from people around me here in the UK, or I'm originally, as I mentioned, I'm from Lithuania, so everyone actually knows the Old No. 7, and that's about it. And it's the same on social media. People didn't really know that other bottles existed. So when they look at my collection on my social media accounts, they are really, really surprised. So I'm really happy to share the whole different side of Jack Daniel's product that probably people have never seen in their lives.

 

Lucas: Sure. Well, and even in the timeframe in which you've been collecting, there's been brand extensions and brand expansions and new expressions and the smaller batch projects come out there. And certainly right now through travel retail, it's pretty much the only place that you can get the new American single malt expression. So what are the interesting things that you have seen come your way through just traditional channels besides probably the hunting that you do through your connections and network?

 

Linas: So Travel Retail, they have an American single malt, which actually it's really nice whiskey. I really like it. It's probably my favorite at 45%. And I am really happy that it's now widely available so people can try it. And actually, I'm really impressed with how Jack Daniel's is stepping up and releasing so many new fantastic whiskeys, especially in the last five to seven years. I understand Jack Daniel's doesn't have to do that because they have Old No. 7 Whiskey and they can make it and sell all day long.

 

Lucas: Sure, yeah. It's a full-time gig. But at the same time with the leadership team that's there right now and all the folks that are moving the brand forward, this is the fun part of their job is to create those new and different expressions and expand the friends of Mr. Jack that way. So it is cool to see that that's making an impact on that side of the world as well.

 

Linas: Yeah, so I totally agree. This is what I wanted to tell that I see that Jack Daniel's love doing it. They're stepping up, they are moving on, and they're making this wonderful expression of a Jack Daniel's whiskey. So as I'm a big fan of a brand, so I'm in for a treat, I'm really happy.

 

Lucas: I noticed the other day we are recording this towards the end of March of 2024. You posted, well, maybe this was further back. I was looking in your Instagram story archives and that you were a big fan of the, I can't remember the number of the Distillery Series, but it was the High Toast Oak version of the Distillery Series. What's your idea or what's your thoughts on that particular expression of those smaller batch?

 

Linas: Yeah, so I'm a big fan of the new Jack Daniel's Expressions. I mostly tried them all. As a collector, try to source them all and I love to try them. So I'm a big fan of barrel proof whiskeys, and now I'm really happy to see that barrel proof rye whiskey has been made as a normal shelf bottle as a single bar, followed the very successful version of a barrel proof rye of the Tennessee Taster and special release of the 2020. Also, from the whiskey that is more widely available and much more affordable. I'm a big fan of Bonded whiskey and-

 

Lucas: The Bonded Series is fantastic.

 

Linas: –Bonded Rye as well. So these are great pours on their own or mixed. And I'm really happy actually because it's with this week that Jack Daniel's Bonded Rye has been released in UK.

 

Lucas: Certainly have been a fan of that entire Bonded Series. And even at that 100 proof point, the Triple Mash and the Old No. 7 Bonded are smooth and approachable and great for mixing. The Bonded Rye, take that neat, it will rock you back a little bit. It's nice and spicy, but makes for great cocktail fixings as well. So it's been great to see across the timeframe we've done this show, how those brands have been expanded upon and focused with the single barrel stuff and the special releases and obviously the Distillery Series. So I'm glad that those things are starting to make their way off of the continental United States and various places around the world as well. You got started with Jack and Coke, as so many of us do. What's your favorite cocktail these days? And then also what's your favorite Expression to have with just a little bit of water or ice or neat?

 

Linas: Yeah, so my favorite cocktail, it's an iconic Jack and Coke, the drink that started it all. It's been a part of a laughterful evenings with the family and friends ever since my friend introduced me to this drink in the middle of 2000s. I really like because it's refreshing, easy drinking, and it's very easy to make. But of course it's not the only one drink that I like. The other good alternative for me personally would be the Lynchburg Lemonade. Have you tried it?

 

Lucas: Oh, sure.

 

Linas: It's known for, its refreshing zesty flavors. Also, it is made of Jack Daniel's, Triple Sec Liqueur, lemonade and or lemon light soda over ice. Really good.

 

Lucas: Let me ask about, again, the social media component of what you do. Obviously you've built up this nice collection of followers across your brands. How has that network of now reliable sources for you on bottle acquisition, how has that grown and have you had to edit down and find the really good, the really solid sources to trade with, to share with? What's that been like to have your fandom for this product and these bottles then be expanded by your social media network?

 

Linas: Yeah. So then my social media accounts grew. I get to know more and more people around, and it's a brilliant thing to connect with people. I get to connect with other Jack Daniel's fans and enthusiasts and collectors and it is really nice that people follow me every day and every single step of mine. But the true source of the whiskey that I have, it's always through the collector communities and the people I knew already before the Instagram and the social media. So getting to know the people, it's just can open so many, many doors for you.

 

Lucas: Sure. Do you have a favorite bottle that someone pointed you towards? And then do you have a favorite one overall when you found on your own?

 

Linas: So yes, I have many favorite bottles. And I can tell you I'm a big fan of vintage Old No. 7 bottles. And as a collector, I am drawn to different things about the bottle, different sizes, different shapes, different labels and tax labels, bottles that come from different countries, bottles that come in gift boxes and presentation sets. So I was quite obsessed at some point with all these differences that I managed to collect over 50 of these vintage bottles that come from seventies, eighties, or nineties. And actually one kind of Old No. 7 Bottle that stand out from the rest, it's 78 proof or 78 British proof bottles. So these would be my favorites.

 

Lucas: Is there a holy grail, is there a bottle out there that you've seen or that you know about that has alluded you to this point, that you're like, "I need that to make the collection quote unquote complete?"

 

Linas: So actually there are many, many things. As a collector, I am still understanding and seeing that is just a very small, tiny amount of the bottles that I have. There are many, many more different, some even more rare and more vintage bottles. And with the new releases, I am barely trying to keep up as Jack Daniel's makes so many of them. But I'm more actually as a collector drawn to the series of the lines of the bottles. The bottles that made for some special occasions. And I can give you an example. It would be like a series, and the good example would be the Gold Medal Bottle Series. So starting in the 1996, Jack Daniel's released a seven bottles comprising of seven different unique designs.

 

Everyone was a commemorative bottle of seven different Jack Daniel's gold medals won over the years. And the other example would be the Scenes from Lynchburg, actually it's one of the most popular series produced by the Jack Daniel's Distillery and the most looked after for collectors. So starting in the 1998, Jack Daniel's released 12 of the different bottles with the different labels annually. And every bottle had a different label, like a scene showing a life from Lynchburg, creating some sense of historical nostalgia. So I have 11 of these bottles in my collection and I'm missing one, it's number four, so I'm always for lookout.

 

Lucas: I was going to ask if it was on either end of the scale, if it was number one or number 12, it's one right in the middle that gets going to eat at you for a while until you are able to track one of those down. I'm sure you've probably answered this question online quite a bit, but if you had one tip to give to a newbie whiskey collector or Jack Daniel's collector, what would it be? What would be the primary piece of advice you'd pass along to them?

 

Linas: I think I can give them a couple of tips which are equally important. So first I would say is just to research the brand and the bottles and just build your knowledge base. That would be the main thing.

 

Lucas: Sure.

 

Linas: And then the other thing, it's very important as well, it would be to understand the bottle valuations. It's really crucial to know the value of the bottle so you can do a correct purchasing decisions. The other thing would be that I highly suggest and really worked for me is just to surround with the other similar minded people just to join the whiskey communities and collectors groups and just soak in all the insights and the knowledge from other people. And one more very important thing is just I would suggest people research and understand the seller, so the person or the shop they're buying from.

 

Lucas: Oh, sure.

 

Linas: It's a lot of counterfeit bottles and scammers around these days. So ask other people around, ask for references, and if you're not sure, everyone can approach me anytime. I am very happy to connect and to get to know other people and similar minded people. And talking about the tips for collectors. So I'm currently working on the project. I'm working on launching a community or discussion group where I will be sharing all my knowledge about the Jake Daniels whiskey, where do I sources, how to create the collection, all the tips, and it'll provide the members with an access to valuable resources and expertise in the whiskey collecting.

 

Lucas: Excellent. One last thing. How does your wife feel about the collection now?

 

Linas: So yeah, she was not happy some of the times being the house to be cluttered with the bottles, but actually this is the project that my library custom-built cabinets, we did it about three years ago. So actually to me, coming back to the point, it reminded me like a library. So it was the true beginning of my Jake Daniels library journey. And yeah, my wife is really happy. It turned out really, really good and–

 

Lucas: It looks fantastic.

 

Linas: –It's a centerpiece of our living room. Yeah.

 

Lucas: Sure. Let's tell listeners where they can find your content online as well as all the places that they can connect with you at.

 

Linas: Yeah, so everyone can find me and find a ton of information, resources on my Jake Daniels Library account on Instagram. I'm also on TikTok, a little bit of Facebook and YouTube, but Instagram would be the main place.

 

Lucas: And then there's a link there to follow your relatively new newsletter, correct? Is that where you're doing the knowledge share primarily moving forward?

 

Linas: Yes. Yes. Something I have started to do. Yes. I would like to share more of my insights of how I started, where do I source my bottles? And just a little tips for the people because I get to ask many, many times, like hundreds of messages a day. People ask me various questions about Jake Daniels. So yeah, so the newsletter and the project that I'm working on to building the community and the discussion group.

 

Lucas: We're excited to see where this goes from there. Best of continued luck on the project, the growth of the library, the exposure that you bringing to the brand across the world. But again, thanks for joining us on Around the Barrel.

 

Linas: Yes, thank you for having me.

 

Lucas: Thanks for checking out this episode of Around the Barrel. You can find archived episodes of Around the Barrel on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more, plus on the web at jackdaniels.com/podcast. And if you like what you hear, please follow, rate and review while you're at it. Cheers, y'all, and join us next time for more conversations Around the Barrel. 

 

Your friends at Jack Daniel's remind you to drink responsibly. Jack Daniel's and Old No. 7 are registered trademarks, copyright 2023, Jack Daniel's. Tennessee Whiskey, 40% alcohol by Volume, 80 proof. Distilled and bottled by Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee. Around the Barrel is intended for listeners 21 years of age and older.