Unsung IP Hero: Nathan “Nearest” Green, The First African American Master Distiller in America

Jack Daniel appears to the right in a white hat, seated next to an unidentified black man believed to be Nearest Green or one of his sons.

Nathan “Nearest” Green was an African American master distiller who played a crucial, though long overlooked, role in the creation and success of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey through his know-how in the art of distilling.

In the mid-1800s Green was a slave living in Lynchburg, Tennessee.  He became renowned for his distilling skills, and was often ‘rented’ out to nearby farms and plantations interested in learning his methods. Green’s method involved charcoal mellowing, a process in which whiskey is filtered through wooden charcoal chips before it is placed in casks for aging. This technique is believed to be inspired by the charcoal filtering techniques used to purify water and foods in West Africa.

In the 1850s Nearest was rented to Dan Call, a preacher, slave owner and whiskey distiller. It was during this time that he started his relationship of mentoring a young boy, Jasper “Jack” Daniel, an orphan who worked for Call, in the art of distillation. When introducing Green to an 8-year-old Jack Daniel, Call said, “Uncle Nearest is the best whiskey maker I know of.” As the two got to know one another, Call asked Green to teach Daniel everything he knew about distilling.

After the Civil War and emancipation, Daniel founded Jack Daniel’s Distillery and Green went on to work for the Distillery as its first master distiller, making Green the first African American master distiller in the United States. Green’s method of charcoal mellowing gave Jack Daniel’s whiskey a distinct smoothness of flavor that set it apart from competitors. Since then, seven generations of Nearest Green descendants have worked for Jack Daniel Distillery, with three direct descendants currently employed there. The relationship between the two men was so close that their families often sat together at the dinner table, with Daniel known amongst the families as Uncle Jack and Green as Uncle Nearest. Green’s descendants relay that Daniel paid his employees based on tenure, not color, a policy that Daniel’s descendants continued. Census data shows that the Greens were wealthier than many of the white families living in their area, with Green’s sons owning a sizable amount of land.

Green’s contributions were instrumental in the creation and success of Jack Daniel’s Distillery. However, his legacy was unknown to the public for over a century until, in 2016, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery noted  on its 150th anniversary that Daniel had learned distilling from one of Call’s slaves, Nearest Green. Inspired by this announcement, Fawn Weaver, an African American entrepreneur and historian, brought widespread attention to Green’s story in a New York Times article in 2017. After months of research and interviews, Weaver worked with the Distillery to help integrate Green’s legacy into the Distillery’s tours.

Weaver went on to purchase the farm on which that Daniel and Green began distilling, and she founded the Nearest Green Foundation which has established a museum, a memorial park, and a book in honor of Green. The foundation provides a college scholarship for Green’s descendants. Weaver also founded Uncle Nearest, Inc. which began bottling Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. Uncle Nearest has become the fastest-growing whiskey brand in the U.S. and has been the most awarded bourbon and American whiskey of 2019 to 2023 with over 715 gold medals including Spirit Brand of the Year from Wine Enthusiast, whisky of the Year from USA Spirits Ratings, and three “World’s Best” honors from Whisky Magazine’s World Whiskies Awards.

For more information please see: https://www.nearestgreen.com/about-nearest-green/; https://www.history.com/news/jack-daniels-enslaved-distiller-nathan-nearest-green; https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/dining/jack-daniels-whiskey-slave-nearest-green.html; https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/dining/drinks/uncle-nearest-whiskey-black-owned.html; https://www.sporkful.com/the-enslaved-man-who-taught-jack-daniel-how-to-make-whiskey/.