Chris Fletcher

Born in Lynchburg, TN in 1981,  Chris Fletcher grew up only a few miles from the Jack Daniels distillery and was exposed to the distilling processes there from a very early age. Chris’ grandfather was Frank Bobo, the fifth Master Distiller at Jack Daniel’s, and Chris would frequent the distillery, including playing in the water at Cave Spring Hollow. Following high school, Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Tennessee Technological University. 

During the summer following his sophomore year, Chris took a job at Jack Daniel’s as a tour guide. Given his young age, he was worried patrons on his tours would test his knowledge, so he studied and learned all he could about the distilling process and the history of Jack Daniels. After graduating, he worked as a laboratory technician at Brown-Forman from 2003-2008 and as a production support group leader from 2008-2011. 

In April of 2011, Chris left Brown-Forman to become the lead chemist at Buffalo Trace. Just over two and a half years later, though, he would return to Brown-Forman and to Lynchburg, this time as assistant Master Distiller under Jeff Arnett. When Arnett stepped down in 2020, Chris became the 8th Master Distiller at Jack Daniel’s.

Where his grandfather Frank Bobo resisted change at Jack Daniels, Chris has embraced it.   Under his tenure, Jack Daniel’s has expanded their product lines with the releases of Jack Daniel’s Bonded and Jack Daniel’s Triple Mash. He also released a Single Barrel Special Release Rye whiskey in 2021 and contributed two new whiskeys to the Jack Daniel’s Experimental Tasters Series. One of these experimentals is finished in Jamaican Allspice wood barrels, and the second is a blend of Tennessee Whiskey and Rye. The Tennessee whiskey and Rye whiskey used in the blend were both produced on the same day and, as such, are referred to as ‘twins’, giving rise to the name ‘Twin Blend’.

Chris may have settled a long-debated question about the origin of the Old #7 brand name. Many have said it was because the number 7 was Jack’s lucky number, or it was the 7th mash recipe Jack settled on for his whiskey. Some say it’s because he had 7 girlfriends in his lifetime, or it was a result of government distillery redistricting. However, Chris has said his grandfather, Frank Bobo, was told by his mentor, Lem Motlow, that the Old #7 name arose from a mixed-up barrel shipment: Years ago, the distillery sent a barrel to Denver, Colorado.  Transportation at that time took the barrel through Nashville and on to St Louis. From St Louis, cargo was shipped on a line numbered 1-9, depending on its intended destination’s direction.  The line from St. Louis to Denver and onto California was line #7. When a barrel shipped on line #7 failed to arrive, the saloon owner in Denver requested a search for the missing barrel and that a new barrel be sent from Lynchburg. Jack obliged and sent a second barrel. Around the time the second barrel arrived in St Louis, the terminal manager had found the first barrel. The manager told them to put the words ‘New’ and ‘ Old’ on the barrels so they could be differentiated. Eventually, the saloon owner received both barrels and wrote back to Jack asking that in the future he only send the “Old #7,” and the name stuck.

Chris currently resides in Lynchburg, Tennessee, with his wife, Ashley, and son, Payne Thomas.

Contributed by Dr. George Crow, San Diego, California