(Mental Floss) -- The legend of Jack Daniel reaches all the way back to the moment he was born. Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly when that was.



Jack Daniel believed the more memorable his image, the more memorable his whiskey.



Some records show that Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel came into the world on September 5, 1846. His tombstone, however, says 1850. Strange, because his mother died in 1847.



All of this might not normally matter, but Jack's birth date is important to his overall legend, which proudly proclaims him "the boy distiller." So perhaps it's best we begin when Jack was first introduced to whiskey, which we know was early in life.



Leaving home at a young age, Jack struck out on his own with nothing more than a handful of items valued at $9. He ended up at the home of Dan Call, a preacher at a nearby Lutheran church and the owner of a general store. There, Reverend Call also happened to sell whiskey that he distilled himself.



Jack quickly became determined to learn the craft. In fact, many storytellers claim the boy wonder bought the still from Call and began pursuing the business full-time at the ripe age of 16. If that legend is true, then Jack began selling his own Tennessee whiskey only three years later; the famous black labels on the company bottles proudly pronounce, "Established and Registered in 1866."



In reality, no documents support that myth. Jack may have been a teenage moonshiner, but he didn't register his business with the federal government until 1875. And by then, Jack would have been the more booze-appropriate age of 29.



The maker makes his mark



Whatever legends exist, one thing is certain: Jack Daniel had a brilliant mind for marketing. Even as a youngster, Jack understood that if people remembered him, they would remember his whiskey.



To that end, he decked himself out in a formal knee-length coat, a vest, a tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat, and was never caught out of "uniform" again.



Jack also established the Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band -- a 10-member outfit solely devoted to promoting his whiskey across the countryside. With uniforms and instruments from the Sears & Roebuck catalog and a specially designed wagon for traveling, Jack made sure the band played every saloon opening, Fourth of July celebration, and political rally around.



But perhaps Jack's most brilliant decision concerned how to present his whiskey. From the beginning, Jack had been one of the first sellers to stencil his distillery name on his whiskey jugs.



Next, he upgraded to round, custom-embossed bottles. But when a glass salesman showed him a prototype square bottle in 1895, Jack realized he'd stumbled upon something unique. The new bottles not only stood out from the crowd, but also had a shape that would prevent them from rolling around and breaking during transport. In addition, the square look reinforced the idea that Jack was a square dealer who put honest work and high standards first.



Whatever effort Jack Daniel put into his marketing, he never let quality slip. In 1904, the distiller decided on a whim to enter his whiskey in the taste competition at the St. Louis World's Fair. It came as little surprise when he won.



Lucky No. 7



Perhaps Jack's greatest coup was the name he gave his high-quality product -- Old No. 7. Naturally, nobody seems to know why. The official historian at the Jack Daniel Distillery today says it's the most oft-asked question on factory tours.



As you might imagine, many theories have been advanced. Jack had seven girlfriends. Jack believed the number seven was lucky. Jack was honoring a merchant friend who owned seven stores that distributed Jack's liquor. Jack misplaced a batch of whiskey for seven years and, upon finding it, labeled it "Old No. 7."



None of these stories, however, makes as much sense as the less-than-sexy explanation from Jack
Who died from complications of gangrene from an injury to his foot? What was Daniel's "uniform" made of? What was Daniel's uniform? When was Daniel born? Who knows exactly when Jack Daniel was born?
Jack Daniel formal knee-length coat, a vest, a tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat, formal knee-length coat, a vest, a tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat, September 5, 1846. nobody knows exactly when that was.
question: Who died from complications of gangrene from an injury to his foot?, answer: Jack Daniel | question: What was Daniel's "uniform" made of?, answer: formal knee-length coat, a vest, a tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat, | question: What was Daniel's uniform?, answer: formal knee-length coat, a vest, a tie, and a wide-brim planter's hat, | question: When was Daniel born?, answer: September 5, 1846. | question: Who knows exactly when Jack Daniel was born?, answer: nobody knows exactly when that was.