Entrepreneur Mixes Liquor With Black History To Serve Up Uncle Nearest Whiskey

Uncle Nearest boss Fawn Weaver just landed on the cover of American Whiskey Magazine’s March 2019.
Fawn is the CEO, Co-Founder and Chief Historian of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, is featured in an 8-page cover story, “Taking On The World: The Rise of Uncle Nearest.”
Uncle Nearest was created to honor the whiskey-making process of the person many now refer to as the “godfather of Tennessee whiskey,” Nathan “Nearest” Green.
As the first known African-American master distiller, the brand is the first in the spirit industry’s history to commemorate an African-American.
Weaver’s cover reinforces the contributions many minorities before her have made to the whiskey trade throughout history and illustrates the importance of bringing their oft lost stories to the forefront.
Weaver chose to revive and celebrate Nearest Green’s story with his own namesake whiskey – seemingly 160 years in the making – which was one of two brands just named World’s Best at Whisky Magazine’s 2019 World Whiskies Awards in New York.
This marks another historic milestone as Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is the first African-American founded and led brand to be honored as World’s Best.

“Its may seem cliché to keep pushing the spotlight away from me and toward Nearest, his legacy, his family and the Uncle Nearest team, but it is the way it should be.” – Fawn Weaver

“Until last year, the vast majority of the world had no idea who Nearest was, and we have a long way to go before his name is more fully recognized. But it is because of the passion and hard work of the Uncle Nearest team that I have no doubt we are well on our way to making Nearest Green a household name around the world.”
It is that dedication and sense of purpose seen in the company’s first national television commercial, which was groundbreaking in the spirits industry due to its unscripted nature.
The commercial, aptly titled “The Why,” follows Uncle Nearest team members to bars, restaurants and spirit shops around the country as they share this great American story and the brand inspired by it.
“The Why” debuted following the Super Bowl and was narrated by Emmy Award-winning Westworld actor, Jeffrey Wright.