Uncle Nearest Whiskey

September 6, 2019 2:47 PM

Meet The Black Woman Who Is Honoring The Legacy Of Enslaved Man Who Taught Jack Daniel How To Make Whiskey Nathan “Nearest” Green, was the one who first taught a young Jack Daniel how to distill whiskey and who is thought to have perfected the Lincoln County Process that defines Tennessee Whiskey. And his name will now never be forgotten, because it’s being brought to life with Uncle Nearest.
posted by NedKoppel (16 comments total)

This is cool! I'll have to try tracking down a bottle.
posted by tobascodagama at 3:04 PM on September 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

(A little bit of a derail but please note that at the current time, the distillery is sourcing the whiskey they are bottling. This means they are buying it from other distilleries, more or less fully matured and ready to bottle. There is nothing particularly devious about this and the practice, which many other distilleries also follow, dates back to the 19th century. So for now, when you buy the whiskey, you are supporting its future endeavors and vision.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 3:13 PM on September 6, 2019 [16 favorites]

Good to know. Still, an endeavor worth such support, methinks.
posted by NedKoppel at 3:22 PM on September 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also covered on Gastropod earlier this year. When I listened to that podcast episode, I was really surprised at how... forthcoming (?) Jack Daniels was about this history. It felt like a pretty bold step for the company to be so public about the association of slavery with their product. I visited the distillery a couple years ago, and I honestly don't remember seeing a ton of information about Nearest (although, to be fair, I didn't spend a ton of time in the visitor center). Maybe the displays hadn't been put up when I was there.
posted by backseatpilot at 4:41 PM on September 6, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'm going to be a woke drunk.
posted by Keith Talent at 5:28 PM on September 6, 2019 [17 favorites]

this is why I prefer bourbon.
posted by valkane at 6:40 PM on September 6, 2019

well, and the flavor. jack daniels isn’t very good whiskey.
posted by valkane at 6:41 PM on September 6, 2019 [4 favorites]

Personally, I think whiskey isn't very good whisky.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:31 PM on September 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

Kidding, by the way; I just couldn't resist the joke
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:34 PM on September 6, 2019

Does that page not have scroll bars, or is it just me?
posted by adam hominem at 7:49 PM on September 6, 2019

I have to say though, I am generally happy to partake of the Nearest Whiskey I have on hand.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:37 PM on September 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

I have to say though, I am generally happy to partake of the Nearest Whiskey I have on hand.

And I am just settling for the nearest whiskey.
posted by Literaryhero at 10:13 PM on September 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm going to be a woke drunk.

I believe the word is droke.
posted by philip-random at 10:23 PM on September 6, 2019 [6 favorites]

And I am just settling for the nearest whiskey.

I thought that's what I'd said, but you do you.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:26 PM on September 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

Came for the joke, not disappointed.
posted by Foosnark at 4:34 AM on September 7, 2019

I tried to resist, really I did...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:09 AM on September 7, 2019