Source: Jack Daniel’s/Uncle Nearest / Jack Daniel’s/Uncle Nearest
Fawn Weaver is making history in the bourbon market with her premium Whiskey brand Uncle Nearest. Since launching in 2017, Uncle Nearest has become a hot commodity in the bourbon industry for its bold, sweet and spicy flavor combinations.
Selling over five million bottles thus far, Weaver recently announced that she and her team beat sales expectations for the month of October. The buzzing whisky brand generated over $100 million in sales for the month and is projected to double that number by the end of 2023, according to Because Of Them We Can.
Weaver, who is a historian and a New York Times Best Selling Author, gushed about the huge feat to BOTWC, telling the media outlet:
“When we entered the bourbon market, we had no idea we were making history as the first and only brand to commemorate an African American, and the first major spirit company to be founded and led by a leadership team of all women. The question on the mind of so many in the CPG and spirits industry was, ‘Could a brand with a story broaching American topics no one had ever attempted be embraced by consumers of every background, gender and race?’ That answer has become abundantly clear. The world had been waiting for Uncle Nearest for more than 160 years, they just didn’t realize it until our bottles hit shelves.”
How it all started
Weaver’s journey with Uncle Nearest began in 2016 while she was on vacation in Singapore. The writer and entrepreneur grew inspired after she read an article about Nathan “Nearest” Green, who was the nation’s first African American master distiller.
An enslaved man from Lynchburg, Tennessee, Green taught Jack Daniel of the world-famous Jack Daniel’s Whisky how to distill. It was then that Weaver set out on an endless mission to honor Green’s incredible legacy and history.
First, she purchased the farm where Green and Daniel began distilling. Then, Weaver brought a four-acre plot, which she turned into a memorial park honoring Green and his legacy. The bustling entrepreneur started the Nearest Green Foundation and then introduced her first bottle of aged whiskey, Uncle Nearest 1856, made exactly the same way Green taught Daniel. The company has been unstoppable since.
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey now owns a 323-acre distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee where they make batches of their flavorful bourbon for guests. The brand has received over 450 awards including the 2022 Best in Class Distiller Award and the 2022 Gold Medal Award from the Denver International Spirits Competition. Uncle Nearest is sold in every state throughout the nation and in 12 countries, too.
Weaver now works alongside Green’s great-great-granddaughter, Victoria Eady Butler to scale the brand.
“It’s important to set the record straight because anyone who accomplished something like Nearest did should be honored,” she added.
Jack Daniel’s brand president Mark McCallum, has since gushed about the company’s success and has shown Weaver and Butler support for their hard work and dedication.
“Our primary ambition is to do all that should be done to honor the memory and role of Nearest Green and, therefore, we recognize any activity that supports this ultimate goal as worthy,” he said in a statement.
Congrats to Fawn Weaver and the entire team at Uncle Nearest. Read more about the company here.
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