Ex-slave who trained Jack Daniel gets new recognition
The substantial contribution of a former slave on Jack Daniel’s history is being thrust into the limelight as Tennessee’s whiskey industry explodes.
New York Times best-selling author Fawn Weaver was struck by the story of Nathan “Nearest” Green, a slave from Lynchburg, Tenn., who taught Jack Daniel the craft of whiskey distilling, after a New York Times article about Green went viral last year.
After thousands of hours spent researching the topic, Weaver announced last week the launch of the Nearest Green Foundation, an organization dedicated to honoring Green’s involvement in the Tennessee whiskey industry.
“The idea that there were positive stories out there of whites and blacks working side by side, through and beyond the Civil War, resonated with me,” Weaver said in a statement. “I liked the story of Jack Daniel, but Nearest Green’s story and the community at large really stayed with me.”
Projects in the works for the foundation include a museum in Lynchburg dedicated to the history of Tennessee whiskey, the Nearest Green Memorial Park in Lynchburg, a book scheduled for completion this year and a scholarship fund to benefit Green’s direct descendants.
Weaver and her husband purchased a 313-acre farm once owned by Dan Call, where Call’s slave, Green, taught Daniel, a neighbor, how to make whiskey. The site was also home to the original Jack Daniel’s distillery. A two-room cabin where Green lived during the Civil War and a Greek revival home where Call and Daniel once lived are being rebuilt.
Call eventually handed his still over to Daniel, and Weaver uncovered documents showing the Daniel and Green families worked together for decades, according to a media release.
“It was on the Call farm that young Jack became one of the world’s most famous pupils and Uncle Nearest, the greatest teacher in the fine art of distilling Tennessee whiskey,” Weaver said.
Tennessee whiskey is undoubtedly having a moment. People from around the world are showing interest in the iconic product, which remains one of the state’s top exports. Just last month, the Tennessee Distillers Guild launched an official Tennessee Whiskey Trail to showcase the burgeoning industry and its history.
The whiskey boom has brought an unprecedented number of tourists to Tennessee distilleries, including Jack Daniel’s massive property in Lynchburg, which sees hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.
The behemoth distiller responsible for producing the vast majority of Tennessee whiskey recently started embracing Green’s story and talking about his involvement during public tours, according to the New York Times article last year.
“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,” said Mark McCallum president of Jack Daniel’s Brands.
Green’s story is reflective of a much larger and mostly undocumented relationship between slavery and whiskey distilling in Tennessee.
In her research, Weaver interviewed more than 100 people connected to Green’s story, including his 106-yearold granddaughter and other descendants of Green.
“When Fawn contacted us, we were excited to hear that someone was bringing to light all of this information about our family,” said Mitchell Green. “Until now, only our family and a small community were aware of the impact our ancestor had on the Tennessee whiskey industry.”
Separately, a group Weaver helped pull together is releasing a Tennessee whiskey this month called Uncle Nearest 1856.
“When I met with the descendants of George Green, the son most known for helping his father, Nearest, and Jack Daniel in the whiskey business, I asked them what they thought was the best way to honor Nearest,” Weaver said. “Their response was, ‘No one owes us anything. We know that. But putting his name on a bottle, letting people know what he did, would be great.’”
Contact Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.