Shelbyville, Tennessee is recognized as the center for the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. The town has hosted the annual Tennessee Walking Horse National celebration, a prestigious equestrian event, since 1939.
But not many people know that Shelbyville is also home to a whiskey distillery to what was once deep secret, until now. It’s been called "the greatest story never told."
In 2016, New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur, Fawn Weaver traveled to Tennessee to do some research on a man named Nearest Green. Everyone called him Uncle Nearest. Weaver and a team of journalists, historians, archivists, archeologists, conservators and genealogists logged more than 3,000 hours of collective research. They found roughly 10,000 original artifacts and documents from six different states shedding light on the untold story of Uncle Nearest.
During a recent visit to Nearest Green Distillery, our tour guide, Xavier Northcutt, recounted the amazing story of a once enslaved African American. Uncle Nearest worked for Reverend Dan Call by making whiskey on his farm located just outside of Lynchburg. Although not highly mentioned, everyone knew Uncle Nearest was a skilled distiller. He used sugar maple charcoal to filter the whiskey, a process that was used to filter water in Africa for centuries.
Northcutt explained this processing method is still used today and is known as the Lincoln County Process. It is the only difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. During the time he worked for the reverend, Uncle Nearest started mentoring a young, orphaned boy who also worked on the farm.
After the civil war, Nearest was a free man but chose to continue working at the distillery. The young man continued to learn from Uncle Nearest and was successful in selling the whiskey in several communities. Eventually the young man bought the distillery from Reverend Call and named Uncle Nearest his first Master Distiller, making Uncle Nearest the first African American Master Distiller.
By this time Uncle Nearest had retired but his sons Lewis, Eli and George all continued the tradition of making whiskey for the young man. So did Uncle Nearest’s grandsons Charlie and Ott.
The young businessman went on to be known as one of the most famous whiskey makers in the world. Today we all know him as Jack Daniel.
Northcutt said Weaver founded the Nearest Green Foundation to honor his legacy. Weaver also launched the Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand in 2017 making her the first African American woman to head a major spirits brand and opened the Nearest Green Distillery in 2019. It is also the first spirit brand with an all-female Executive team.
Uncle Nearest couldn’t read or write but he honed his skills and became one of the wealthiest African Americans in Lynchburg, Tennessee immediately following the end of slavery.
Northcutt took us outside the distillery which sits on 458 acres and was once a Tennessee Walking Horse Ranch. He said the distillery honors Uncle Nearest by continuing to produce award-winning whiskey. He added the distillery also plays homage to the walking horse industry, the women’s right movement and certain treats made in the state.
Our tour started with a quick stop at the concession stand where Northcutt highlighted all the treats. He talked about the Goo Goo clusters and how they originated in Nashville. He said Goo was short for Grand Ole Opry. Cotton candy was another Nashville invention. They sell Moon Pies and Little Debbie snacks made here in Chattanooga. He said Mountain Dew started as a mixer with whiskey and was invented by Barney and Ally Hartman before the Pepsi-Cola Company purchased it and removed the alcohol creating the soft drink.
Northcutt ushered us into a hidden speakeasy, Philo + Frank’s located in the concession stand. The room opened into a spacious bar he described as a non-alcoholic speakeasy to honor prohibition and Weaver’s religious family. The room also contained hidden symbolisms. The bar had 18 barstools which Northcutt said was to commemorate the 18th amendment which prohibited the sale of alcohol and emerged from the temperance movement.
He pointed to the additional 18 seats across the room. He said the total of 36 chairs was to recognize the work done by the women of the suffrage movement which led to the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. Suffrage supporters considered it imperative to secure the 36th ratification as soon as possible prior to the elections in 1920. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the amendment.
Northcutt explained how the stained-glass windows gave the room a church-like appearance. The temperance movement was rooted in Protestant churches, which introduced abstinence pledges as early as 1800.
Northcutt walked us over to the barrel room where hundreds of whiskey barrels lined the walls. The perfume of whiskey permeated the room. He explained how Uncle Nearest whiskey is still made using the same charcoal filtering method Nearest made famous across the country. The whiskey will age in oak barrels for years, depending on the product being produced.
He showed the group the various stages of charring some of the whiskey barrels go through to impart flavor to the whiskey. The longer the barrel is burned and charred inside the deeper the oak flavor and undertones. The barrel room has no temperature controls. Northcutt said they allow Mother Nature to do the work. He said the heat and cold allow the barrels to expand and contract flavoring and coloring the whiskey.
We toured the bottling area where each of the small batch whiskey products are bottled and labeled by hand.
Northcutt took us to the sample room. We sampled Uncle Nearest 1884 Whiskey, Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey, the Master Blend Edition, Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Whiskey and Uncle Nearest Straight Rye Whiskey. The 1856 whiskey is the year Nearest was credited with perfecting the Lincoln County Process and the 1884 whiskey is the year he retired.
Northcutt said every batch is curated by the great-great-granddaughter of Nearest Green, and Master Blender, Victoria Eady Butler. She was named Master Blender of the Year by Whiskey Magazine for two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022. She is the first female African American master whiskey blender.
Northcutt said there are plans to add an additional building to double their production capacity. He said the distillery is also working with local colleges and universities to teach students the process of distilling and making whiskey. The Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative is a partnership between Uncle Nearest and Jack Daniel’s to increase diversity in the American whiskey industry. Together the two Tennessee Distilleries have pledged $5 million to advance minority leadership in the spirits industry.
After the tour we were shown inside Humble Baron, the bar and restaurants on-site at the distillery. It is the Guinness World Recorder holder for the world’s longest bar at 518-feet. Northcutt explained that it was shaped into three horseshoes to honor the area’s rich tradition of the Tennessee Walking Horse. The bar is named after Weaver’s husband Keith, who Co-Founded Uncle Nearest Inc. Prior to joining the brand full time, he worked as an Executive VP of Worldwide Government Affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Northcutt said Weaver named the bar Humble Baron because he’s remained humble despite his success.
The distillery is a minority owned business that embraces its rich history while also breaking new barriers. The Nearest Green Legacy Scholarship was created allowing Nearest’s direct descendants to get into college and have their tuition fully paid for. New whiskey products are being developed by their Master Blender, likely to receive many more accolades. The tour was an educational and inspirational experience.
But more importantly people now know the true story of Uncle Nearest the greatest Master Distiller in American history.