Q&A With Chris Fletcher Of Jack Daniel’s

A Talk With Jack Daniel’s Assistant Distiller

By Richard Thomas

Chris Fletcher,
Jack Daniel’s No. 2 Distiller
(Credit: Brown-Forman)

Sitting down with Chris Fletcher, then working in the Lead Chemist at Buffalo Trace, was only the second interview I did for The Whiskey Reviewer, and just the third published. We spoke of Fletcher’s prior work in the lab at Jack Daniel’s and the differences between Lynchburg and Frankfort, but little did I know that in slightly more than a year’s time Fletcher would be going back to Tennessee to become Master Distiller Jeff Arnett’s deputy. Once Fletcher was well-established in his new role, I naturally wanted to ask about his new job and catch up with him.

RT: When we first met, you were in the lab at Buffalo Trace. But you’re a Lynchburg area native and got started in the business working as a tour guide at Jack Daniel’s, if I recollect. What did it feel like going home to become Jeff Arnett’s deputy? 

CF: You are correct.  I was raised here in Lynchburg, so this is home for me.  I started working in this industry in May of 2001 as a tour guide right here at Jack Daniel’s.  At the time, I was studying chemistry at Tennessee Technological University and my tour guiding job was mostly in the summers as a way to make a little money.  I began working as a chemist with the company in 2003 which led me to different roles in the whiskey making business including nearly three years with Buffalo Trace.  I have a lot of great friends there still, but the opportunity to work for Jeff here at Jack Daniel’s is a special thing for me.  Jeff is great to work for, and being back home is just an added bonus!

RT: Part of the distiller’s job these days is public relations, and I imagine you are spending much more time on the road meeting vendors and drinkers these last couple of years than you did when you were in the lab. What was that transition like? 

CF: I do travel some meeting friends of Jack all over the world now.  Jeff and I split this responsibility so usually if one of us is on the road the other is here at the distillery.  This wasn’t a huge transition as I have done some of this type of work many times over the last 13 years of my career, but I do enjoy the opportunity to meet people.  Jack Daniel’s is known world wide, and no matter where I am in the world when I mention I am from Tennessee people always know Jack… and Elvis.

The copper in Lynchburg
(Credit: Brown-Forman)

RT: Your Grandad, Frank Bobo, was the fifth Master Distiller at Jack Daniel’s. Now that you are back at Jack, do you ever muse on the idea of a child, nephew or cousin following you, giving Jack a dynasty like Beam or Turkey?

CF: I’ve never really thought about that.  Certainly being able to work each day at the same desk that my grandfather did is very special to me.  And Jack Daniel’s is more than just whiskey for me; it’s family.  But there are many families here in Lynchburg that are just as proud and passionate about the quality of Jack Daniel’s as I am.  We have the best whiskey makers in the world here in Lynchburg, and it’s not just Jeff and me.  Our team here in Lynchburg still truly makes Jack Daniel’s with the same processes our families have used for 150 years.  If I am ever blessed with a child or family member who wants to learn the process, it would be a neat thing but I would never pressure them into it.

RT: Now that you’ve been in place as Assistant Distiller for a couple of years, are there any Jack Daniel’s expressions that are out or upcoming that have lots of Chris Fletcher’s fingerprints on them? 

I’m very involved with our Single Barrel products, and we’ve just released a barrel proof version of this whiskey.  We are individually bottling each barrel at whatever proof mother nature creates for us without any water added at all and with minimal filtration. 

It is amazing how our maturing environments here can create such a bold and enjoyable whiskey.  We don’t artificially heat our barrelhouses, we just allow the seasons to mature our whiskey slowly, and we had one barrel last year that finished off above 140 proof!  The proof on that product is typically around 130 proof. 

We also have our Single Barrel Rye coming out at some point.  We have some barrels getting very close to our desired flavor in the upper floors of our barrelhouses, but we won’t bottle any until we think it is perfect.  This rye whiskey is one I am very excited about.  We started distilling it years ago while I was a chemist in our R&D team, and the complexity of flavors is amazing.  It has a 70 percent rye mash bill, so you have a nice peppery punch that is rounded beautifully with a subtle fruitiness and warm barrel-driven caramel and oak.

The Lincoln County Process, JD style
(Credit: Brown-Forman)

RT: Jack Daniel’s may very well overtake Johnnie Walker as the world’s top-selling whiskey in the near future. Any ideas on what you and your colleagues might do if it breaks that you’ve achieved that landmark?

CF: Since my focus is on getting the whiskey made and into the barrels to mature, I don’t even know exactly how many cases we consistently export each month or week to tell you the truth.  Once we ensure the whiskey is in the barrels, we leave it mother nature; all we can do is sample it to see how it is progressing.  Once we taste the whiskey and it meets the flavor consistency we want, the whiskey is bottled.

I have very little to do with bottling and shipping of goods, so to talk about cases sold is somewhat foreign to me.  Of course it would be somewhat gratifying to know that our whiskeys are enjoyed by more people all over the world than any other, but it won’t impact anything we do here.  And I probably won’t know anything about it when it happens.

6. Speaking of Johnnie Walker, is there any expectation in Lynchburg that next year will see another attempt in Nashville to repeal or amend the Tennessee Whiskey Law of 2013, that enshrined the Lincoln County Process?

CF: I don’t know of any expectations, but as a native Tennessean I am proud that Tennessee Whiskey stands for the highest quality whiskey in the world.  We will never lower that quality here at Jack Daniel’s.