Uncle Nearest Distillery Bus Tour with Tastings from Nashville

On the Uncle Nearest distillery tour, you will learn all about the man himself, Nathan “Nearest” Green, AKA Uncle Nearest. Nathan Green was born into slavery in Tennessee. He was also widely regarded as the finest whiskey distiller in the area. He is widely believed to be the perfector of the “Lincoln County Process,” where whiskey is filtered through sugar maple charcoal before barreling. This filtration process is what separates Tennessee Whiskey from bourbon. Nearest Green taught a young Jack Daniel the art of whiskey making.

Years later, after the Civil War when Nearest Green was a free man, Jack hired “Uncle” Nearest as his first master distiller, making him the first African American master distiller in the country. Years later, the Nearest Green Distillery was opened in his honor, and is one of the largest black-owned distilleries in the country.