🥃 Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is a Tennessee whiskey brand launched in 2017 by Fawn and Keith Weaver. It is named after Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved distiller of the 19th century who taught the young Jack Daniel. The whiskey is filtered through maple charcoal, and the 1856 version is 50% vol.

History. According to Thirty One Whiskey, Green was born in Maryland around 1820, and in the 1850s worked as head distiller for the preacher Dan Call in Lincoln County, Tennessee. There he taught Jasper Newton Daniel, the future founder of Jack Daniel’s. At first the brand had no distillery of its own and bought whiskey from other producers; the Shelbyville plant opened in 2019.

How it is made. The mash is at least 51% corn, with the rest grain from Tennessee. The spirit is filtered through sugar maple charcoal, the “Lincoln County Process”, which is linked to Green. It is aged in new charred American oak casks. The 1856 version has no age statement; according to Thirty One Whiskey, it is a whiskey of 8–14 years from another producer.

Current situation. In August 2025 a Tennessee court, on a claim from the creditor Farm Credit Mid-America, appointed a receiver for the company. According to The Whiskey Wash, from 1 June 2026 Fawn and Keith Weaver no longer run the company, and the receiver is preparing the brand and the distillery for sale.

Why it matters to you. Tennessee whiskey differs from bourbon by its charcoal filtering; “Tennessee Whiskey” is a US product name protected in the EU. Check the version and the strength. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe amount of alcohol.