Lem ‘Big Hyde’ Tolley

Sometime around 1847, a child by the name of Jasper Lee Daniel was born to Calaway and Lucinda Daniel.  No one could have known that Jasper “Jack” Daniel would eventually become a distiller and found what was to become the most popular whiskey on the planet in Jack Daniel’s Old #7.

Jack never married and had no children.  He did, however, have many siblings: Nine from his biological mother and an additional three from his stepmother.  Without children of his own, Jack was known to take his nephews and grand-nephews under his wing. One of Jack’s grand-nephews was Lem Tolley, who was the grandson of Jack’s favorite sister “Nettie” (Finetta).. Lem’s mother was Lillian Elizabeth Motlow, who, at the age of 25 in 1890, had married a gentleman named John Tolley. Eight years later, Lemuel Lee Tolley was born in Franklin County, Tennessee.

Not much is known about the early life of “Lem”, but he grew rapidly into a tall, rugged man with a thick skin and stern demeanor, earning him at an early age the nickname ‘Big Hide’. As soon as he was able, Lem ‘Big Hide’ Tolley became a second-generation distiller (his father also worked at the Jack Daniel’s distillery), and in 1941, Big Hide became only the third Master Distiller at Jack Daniel’s. 

Big Hide would face several great challenges during his tenure at Jack Daniels.  Because Tennessee was the last state to repeal prohibition in 1938, the distillery had only been back in operation for three years when he took over.  One year later, in 1942, the distillery would once again have to close as a result of the Second World War..  At the end of the conflict in 1946, Jack Daniel’s once again began to produce Tennessee whiskey, even though in the immediate years following the war, good ingredients, especially quality corn, were very difficult to come by. 

Fortunately for the folks in Lynchburg, celebrities, politicians, sports stars, and the whiskey world in general craved the drink that Frank Sinatra had deemed ‘The Nectar of the Gods’.  This resulted in short supply and great demand, so there was enormous pressure on Big Hide to cut corners, increase production, and have a hope of meeting demand. Nevertheless, the gruff Big Hide refused, responding, “We are only gonna do it one way, just like Uncle Jack”. 

Big Hide was known to be a very hard worker; he routinely worked 6 days a week, frequently on Sundays, and was even seen working on Christmas Day.  A Nobel prize-winning author once wrote, “In a changing world, there are some things you can count on, like the quality of Jack Daniels”. Many people in the whiskey business felt that this quality, and particularly the consistency of the whiskey, was attributed to none other than Big Hide Tolley.

Lem was also the Master Distiller when the company was purchased by The Brown-Forman Corporation in 1954. He worked for the spirits conglomerate for about ten years, but, seeing even more rapid change coming, and not being keen on change anyway, Big Hide retired in 1964 at the age of 66.

Sadly, Lemuel Lee “Big Hide” Tolley passed away on December 24, 1980, in Lynchburg, TN.  He was survived by his wife, Ethel, and their three children: Marjorie, John, and Lily.

In 2014, Jack Daniel’s released a commemorative Master Distillers Series #3 whiskey in Lem’s honor.  The handcrafted spirit was distributed with a custom rocks glass complete with Big Hide’s signature engraved on the side..

Contributed by Dr. George Crow, San Diego, California.