Sherrie Moore is a relative of Jack Daniel and worked at his distillery for 31 years. How did a whiskey upstart get so good so quickly? A ringer, acknowledged Weaver. They don't know they're drinking Uncle Nearest until it's revealed.' 'These awards - major whiskey awards - they are blind taste. 'The whiskey is good, simply put,' summed up its master blender, Victoria Eady Butler. 'I expected that it would be huge, I didn't necessarily expect it would be the fastest-growing independent whiskey brand in US history,' said Weaver. More accolades came from GQ, Town & Country, Garden & Gun, Black Enterprise and Chicago Tribune.

It was the most awarded American whiskey of 20, earning back-to-back honors of 'World's Best' at Whisky Magazine's 20 World Whiskies Awards in New York and London.Įsquire and People named it a great Father's Day gift.

Wine Enthusiast called it Spirit Brand of the Year. The International Wines and Spirits Competition named it among the Five Best Whiskeys in the World so did Cigar and Spirits magazine. Oprah Winfrey selected it as one of her 'Favorite Things' in 2020. The new whiskey made just up the scenic road from Jack Daniel's took off like a bootleg-liquor driver. Representatives from Jack Daniel's and its parent company Brown-Forman checked it and in turn updated their own history.Īfter author Fawn Weaver read about little-known Uncle Nearest, she wanted to tell about his involvement in a way that would be remembered. 'It was not difficult because we put in so much time, effort and work in research before we said anything publicly,' Weaver said. The idea of an unknown fatherly tutor – a former slave, at that – behind one of history's best-known whiskey makers is a fantastic tale, but Weaver had no trouble convincing people.

She founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey Company in 2016, launched the whiskey in 2017 and by 2020 was making the most awarded and fastest-growing new American whiskey in history. Entertainment does not sustain for generations.'Ī better way, she decided, was to put his name on bottles of the good stuff. 'It became very clear once I began doing all the research that just wasn't going to work. 'The initial idea was to tell the story of Nearest Green and to cement his legacy with a book and a movie,' said Weaver, an author herself. Nearest Green, the hidden figure behind the Tennessee spirits empire, was largely forgotten until 2016 when he became part of the official Jack Daniel's story.Īfter author Fawn Weaver read about the little-known Black distiller, she wanted to tell about his involvement in a way that would be remembered. Young Jack would use that technique to become a household name with his smooth Southern whiskey beloved by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Keith Richards and Slash. 'Uncle Nearest,' as he was known to family and friends, taught Jack the so-called Lincoln County Process of sugar-maple charcoal filtering.

Mixed drinks with uncle nearest whiskey