Why is Sept. 5 so important for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand?

SHELBYVILLE — The fifth of September is a special date for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. It’s a date that stretches across three centuries, on a journey to preserve the legacy of America's first recorded African American master distiller, Nearest Green.

Once enslaved on a farm owned by pastor Dan Call, Nearest Green taught whiskey-making to a young Jack Daniel, whose birthday is celebrated as Sept. 5.

Annie Bell Green Eady — Nearest Green's granddaughter — was born on Sept. 5, 1901. Although his name was relatively unknown to most outside his familial descendants, Eady made sure everyone she met, family or otherwise, knew about her grandfather.

Decades later, Eady's granddaughter, Victoria Eady Butler, serves as Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey's master blender. And she's still talking about her decedent.

'Whiskey truly is in my blood': Uncle Nearest master blender pays tribute to family's legacy

More than 165 years after Nearest Green revolutionized charcoal-filtered whiskey, his descendants and biggest supporters will gather this Sept. 5 to marvel over the future plans for the Middle Tennessee distillery.

As the popularity of Nearest Green’s story grows, so has the Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand. Travel sites have dubbed the distillery “Malt Disney,” Butler said, making it a destination, not just a tour stop, because there’s so much going on at the 325-acre property on Shelbyville Highway.

And to think. It all started with a newspaper article.

In 2016, author Fawn Weaver was traveling overseas when she read the article about Nearest Green. She was drawn into the story of the once-enslaved master distiller and his relationship with an energetic neighbor and tutor, who later founded Jack Daniel's, a  Tennessee whiskey and global brand produced in nearby Lynchburg.

Within weeks, Weaver made it her mission to bring Nearest Green's name to the world, eventually launching Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey in 2017.

No longer in the shadow of another, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey has become one of the most awarded American whiskeys or bourbons for the past three years, raking in nearly 400 national and international awards since its launch.

“She was proud of the story,” said Butler, who was brought on board in 2019 by Weaver, transforming her into America's first Black female master whiskey blender.

More: Record-breaking sales for Uncle Nearest whiskey, named for a slave who mentored Jack Daniel

Keeping legacy alive

The Sept. 5 date pops up again with the birth of Weaver in 1976. She also shares the birthday with New York Times reporter Clay Risen, who wrote the story about Nearest Green that spurred the brand's journey.

It was Daniel's close relationship with the formerly enslaved Green that solidified Tennessee's connection to whiskey. Using a method adapted from West African traditions, Green developed what became known as the "Lincoln County Process" of filtering whiskey through sugar maple charcoal.

When the distillery opened to the public in 2019, the date was — you guessed it — Sept. 5.

“Everything we do here at Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is done with purpose and on purpose. Nothing we do is happenstance,” said Butler, twice honored as Master Blender of the Year by Whisky Magazine's American Icons of Whiskey Awards.

A little more than six months after opening, the pandemic put a halt to tours. But the whiskey makers moved forward by procuring the product and transforming the former Tennessee walking horse breeding and training operation into a distillery.

Uncle Nearest Whiskey reopened June 19, 2021, on Juneteenth, the annual commemoration of the end of enslavement of African Americans that was first marked in 1866.

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Nearest Green name is growing

Although it’s taken nearly 170 years to give Nearest Green the spotlight he deserves, Butler believes it was divine timing.

Over the past five years, Uncle Nearest has become the fastest-growing American spirit in history, she said, and the only major brand to honor an African-American man. The brand is also the only major whiskey company owned and led by an African-American woman.

Since reopening, weekend tours and tastings at Uncle Nearest Distillery are consistently booked. If you want to go, it’s best to make reservations in advance, Butler said. At the end of the 1 ½-hour tour of the operation, you’ll find an enormous welcome center and gift shop where you can buy Uncle Nearest-branded items, as well as the whiskey itself.

“People ask me a lot, ‘Are you bitter that it took so long?’ No, I'm not mad. Not bitter. Things happen when they are supposed to," Butler said. "I have learned to trust process that has been put before me."

Because of Weaver, Butler said, Nearest Green's name — and spirit — is alive on the lips of millions.

Another addition to the property is a concession stand that sells Tennessee's most iconic snacks. And nearby is a secret door that leads visitors into Philo + Frank's, a non-alcoholic speakeasy designed to educate guests about Tennessee's role in the women's suffrage movement and temperance movement.

Four months ago, Barrel House II barbecue and brews opened. (The first Barrel House is located in Lynchburg, home to Jack Daniel’s Distillery.)

In the near future, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey will release another expression of the brand. The release date for the mystery whiskey is under wraps.

There have been five brand variants produced, with Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey and Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch available for purchase at the distillery. Uncle Nearest is also available at liquor stores across the nation.

Sometime in the fall, Humble Baron, an on-site bar, restaurant and event venue, will open. The restaurant will feature a menu of elevated Southern cuisine, hand-picked by James Beard nominee Gerry Garvin, the star of the cooking show "Turn Up the Heat."  Renowned Atlanta chef Jay Craddick will lead the team.

When completed, Butler believes the bar area will be certified as the longest in the world by Guinness World Records — more than 405 feet long.

In the years to come, Butler said plans into constructing on-site accommodations.

"We're just going to keep going," Butler said. "We've just barely scratched the surface."

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NEAREST GREEN DISTILLERY: IF YOU GO

Hours of operation for Nearest Green Distillery, located at 3125 U.S. Highway 231 S. in Shelbyville, are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Distillery tour and tasting is 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Reservations are recommended, as tours often sell out. Cost for the 1 ½-hour tour is $35 for adults, $31.50 for seniors/military, $25 for non-drinking adults, $10 for ages 10 to 17 and free for ages 10 and younger.

The facilities are closed to the public Monday-Wednesday as well as most major holidays. Visit UncleNearest.com to book a tour and learn more.

Barrel House II restaurant serves from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Visit the website at barrelhousebbq.com.

Plans are in the works to open Humble Baron restaurant in October. Visit humblebaron.com.

Reach reporter Nancy DeGennaro at degennaro@dnj.com. Keep up with restaurant news by joining Good Eats in the 'Boro (and beyond) on Facebook and follow Murfreesboro Eats on TikTok.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Find out why Sept. 5 so important for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey