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Jack Daniel’s Assistant Master Distiller, Chris Fletcher, will be in Australia until the end of August to celebrate the distillery’s 150th anniversary, open since 1866.
Fletcher is the grandson of retired fifth Master Distiller, Frank Bobo, and was born and bred in the town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, where the distillery is located. Over the next few weeks, he will share his incredible knowledge and passion with whisky enthusiasts down under, hosting intimate masterclasses and tastings in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth as part of his series: ‘A Journey through 150 Years of Craft & Cocktail Culture’.
His first time in Australia, drinks bulletin caught up with Fletcher to find out the important details on what to expect during the celebrations and get a glimpse into his own personal history as a member of the Jack Daniel’s family.
drinks bulletin: What is your earliest memory of your grandfather at the distillery?
Chris Fletcher: I remember going to the distillery with my Grandfather when I was about four or five years old. On Sunday afternoons he would work and I would tag along with him, but I didn’t realise back then what the distillery did. Certainly, my Grandfather was very involved in making the whisky, but as a boy, my time with him was more about exploring and just being together.
DB: Do you have a personal favourite of any of the Jack Daniel’s expressions?
CF: You know - it’s hard to choose, but I would say the Old No. 7. It’s the number one classic premium in the world, and the flavour profile is hard to beat. But I do also like our single barrel, because with it coming from just one barrel you can pick up the subtle variations in flavour that the oak barrel gives our whisky.
DB: Tell us about the travelling drinking experiences and whisky masterclasses that you’re hosting while you’re in Australia?
CF: We’ll be taking consumers on a journey through the 150 years that the Jack Daniel Distillery has been making whisky in Lynchburg. We’ll taste several different expressions of our whisky and from there, consumers will experience a number of eras - from what it was like during prohibition in the 1920s in Tennessee, to when Frank Sinatra adopted our brand and famously called it the “nectar of the gods”.
DB: What was the inspiration behind the 1866 cocktail, which will be the celebratory drink for the anniversary?
CF: As is the case with any good cocktail, we want to showcase the whisky first, but also maintain balance with the flavours we add. Here we have balanced the sweetness of a blueberry and black peppercorn shrub with bitters, and the topping of ginger beer is great with Jack Daniel’s.
We wanted something that would throwback to the 150 years that we’ve been making whisky, but also something that people would enjoy today. I think that we’ve knocked it out of the park.
DB: How will you be celebrating the anniversary back at the distillery in Lynchburg?
CF: We are releasing a number of commemorative 150th anniversary bottles for our friends around the world to purchase and collect. We also have some events coming up this fall. We’re going to have a little party in Lynchburg to celebrate the last 150 years and make a toast to the next. We are extremely proud and very fortunate that so many people around the world love our brand, and obviously we have many friends in Australia - it’s our third largest market in the world, so I’m just very excited to be here.
For more information on Chris Fletcher’s Jack Daniel’s 150th anniversary events, visit their website.
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