Tommy Lee injected Jack Daniel’s straight into his veins: 'That’s when I knew it had all gone horribly wrong.'

Monday, 27 July 2026 at 08:32

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Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee has shared one of the most extreme stories from his long battle with booze and drugs. During a heroin-fueled night, he and bassist Nikki Sixx decided not to inject drugs, but a dose of the “nectar of the gods.”

Now 63, the rocker told the Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast just how deep he and his bandmate had sunk into addiction in the late ’80s. The two Mötley Crüe members were known back then as the “Terror Twins” for their excessive lifestyle and heavy drug use.

The heroin ran out, so they grabbed Jack Daniel’s

According to Lee, he and Sixx had been doing large amounts of heroin throughout the night. When their stash finally ran out, they went looking for an alternative. Their eyes landed on a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

'[We] filled up the cap with Jack and then pulled a couple syringes, and were shooting Jack Daniel’s.'

- Tommy Lee

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While whiskey is typically meant to be drunk, the musicians chose to inject it straight into their bodies. That exact moment, Lee says, gave him a rare flash of clarity about just how dangerous things had become.

'It was at that moment where I went, ‘Okay, what is happening? We could just drink this, but we’re shooting it. This is f***ing wrong. And somebody’s going to die.'

- Tommy Lee

Tommy Lee could actually taste the whiskey

Lee claims he could taste the whiskey as soon as it hit his bloodstream. He says it felt similar to injecting heroin.

'You could taste it, the way you taste heroin,' he said. In an earlier interview, he described the flavor as oaky.

The bizarre incident happened during a period when the band members were barely functioning. In 1989, all four members of Mötley Crüe ultimately decided to check into rehab.

'We were zombies and people weren’t waking up. We were like someone’s going to die soon.'

- Tommy Lee

Staying sober proved harder than getting clean

Over the years, the drummer has been through rehab multiple times, but never managed to hold onto sobriety for good.

'I think three years is the longest I’ve done,' he admitted. '“I get so excited that I’m like, ‘Oh my god, dude, I’ve been sober for a year,’ and I celebrate. That’s the f***ing problem.”'

Lee has previously said that at the height of his alcoholism he was drinking up to two gallons of vodka a day.

Well, as we always say: drink in moderation. Alcohol isn’t for bingeing, let alone getting addicted to.

Want to know more about Jack Daniel’s? Check out our hub.