In a business where family tradition tends to matter, Chris Fletcher stepped up Wednesday to follow in his grandfather's footsteps to lead production of the Jack Daniel’s whiskey brand.
The Tennessee distillery introduced Fletcher as master distiller for the flagship brand of Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp. Fletcher spent six years as assistant master distiller and assumes the top role following Jeff Arnett's departure after 12 years leading the distillery.
Fletcher, 39, is the grandson of former Jack Daniel's master distiller Frank Bobo, who served in the role for more than two decades until retiring in 1989. Fletcher's boyhood home was about three miles from the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, where Jack Daniel's is produced.
This photo provided by Brown-Forman CorporationLack Daniel Distillery shows Chris Fletcher, the new master distiller at Jack Daniel's. The Tennessee distillery introduced Fletcher as master distiller for the flagship brand of Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Fletcher spent six years as assistant master distiller and assumes the top role following Jeff Arnett's departure after 12 years of leading the powerhouse brand. (Ed RodeBrown-Forman CorporationLack Daniel Distillery via AP)
Fletcher sat at his grandfather’s desk while speaking to the media Wednesday. He recalled tagging along with his grandfather at the distillery as a boy and said his grandfather “will always be my vision of a true distiller."
“I couldn’t be more excited to be in this role," Fletcher said. “It’s such a special place from a distilling and whiskey-making standpoint.”
Larry Combs, the distillery’s senior vice president and general manager, said Fletcher “represents the generations of families who have worked and continue to work" at the distillery.
“Chris has whiskey making in his blood, but he also has this incredible and unique combination of knowledge, expertise and creativity that will position us well into the future," Combs said.
Jack Daniel’s sells more than 17 million cases globally of its spirits lineup — including flavored brand extensions and super-premium products that fetch higher prices. Sales for the powerhouse Tennessee Whiskey brand have grown at an annual rate of 5% in the past five years.
As master distiller, Fletcher will be responsible for every phase of production. He'll oversee work on product innovation and serve as a global ambassador for the brand.
The continuity of multiple generations of families holding prominent production or business positions is common across the American whiskey sector. It's also typical for the new generation to learn from the bottom up.
Fletcher's time at Jack Daniel’s stretches back to 2001 when he worked as a part-time tour guide while attending college. He worked as a Brown-Forman chemist in research and development for eight years and spent several years working in the bourbon industry.
Brown-Forman's other leading brands include Woodford Reserve and Old Forester bourbon and el Jimador and Herradura tequila.
ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
