I’m saying “Uncle,” not giving in to defeat here, nor wrestling you down to get something from you. I’m telling you to say “Uncle,” as in Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which has become the fastest-growing and best-selling premium whiskey brand on the market to date. It currently has sold nearly 1.5 million bottles.
This is an impressive feat for an African American-owned distillery. I would also go on to say a historic achievement when you think about all the major whiskey brands here in the US. I’ve known all the typical brands stocked on the shelves of my local wine and spirit store: Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Booker’s, and, of course, Jack Daniels.
What made me come to write this story was the foundation of how Uncle Nearest came into existence. I just discovered the brand a couple of years ago in an article in The New York Times, titled “Jack Daniel’s Embraces a Hidden Ingredient: Help from a Slave.” It was a slave who helped create one of the world’s best-known whiskey brands. Nathan “Nearest” Green was a Tennessee slave who taught a teenager, Jack Daniel, distilling techniques. Jack went on to develop the Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey brand. Mr. Green was considered the first African American master distiller.
So many African American discoveries have been erased from history. Slave owners often took credit or outright stole the slaves’ patents or achievements that have shaped the American industry. The success of Uncle Nearest didn’t get lost, though, due to the extensive work of Mrs. Fawn Weaver, an African American real estate investor and best-selling author. She made it her mission to bring both the history and talent of this African American distiller to life.
Mrs. Weaver relocated to Tennessee to discover archival information on the working relationship between Green and Daniel. Through her research, Ms. Weaver brought her findings to the attention of Brown-Forman, owners of the Jack Daniels brand to recognize that Nathan “Nearest” Green was its first African American master distiller and Jack Daniel is listed as its second master distiller.
In 2017, Mrs. Weaver went on to partner up with a Nashville whiskey maker to bring her brand Uncle Nearest 1856. At that time, she was the only African American woman to oversee a major spirits brand. Again, another historic feat in a white, male-dominated industry.
Through its Nearest Green Foundation, it’s keeping the story alive, telling the history of Nathan Nearest Green as the first African American distiller. The 50th-anniversary edition of the book Jack Daniel’s Legacy is now available with proceeds going to the Nearest Green Foundation for the purpose of building the Memorial Park and the Legacy Scholarship Fund.
The company has also developed the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund, which has earmarked $50 million to support the growth and start-up of other minority-owned spirit brands.
The brand has won over 150 awards, including the No. 1 Whiskey from Tennessee for the third year in a row from Cigar & Spirits Magazine and Best American Whiskey. I can see why. My choice is the Uncle Nearest 1884 Small-Batch Whiskey (93-proof) with its smooth and sweet taste and a slight hint of maple. I take mine neat.
If you’re looking for a compelling backstory, dedicated blending, and a top-notch finished product, then you’re in for a true delight with this Tennessee line of whiskeys. Experience the history and savor the flavor of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. ●
