Fawn Weaver: Telling the story of “Love, Honor, and Respect”
P
assionate is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but very few people who claim to be; actually are. So when I was given the opportunity to interview Fawn Weaver, the CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey I jumped at the chance. With an insatiable sense of curiosity, and total dedication, find out exactly how and why, the American author and, entrepreneur wanted to tell this story.
Building on the knowledge attained in a New York Times article, Weaver was reading, titled Jack Daniel’s Embraces a Secret Ingredient: Help from a Slave She became immediately fixated on the story - the true story; and what the image attached to the article was representing.
Given the information and historical evidence we now know, along with her skill as a writer demonstrated by her two notable novels, Happy Wives Club and The Argument Free Marriage, she could have, put pen to paper and written a historical-fiction book, which I assume would become a bestseller.
Read the world-exclusive interview we had below to find out more about the person behind the business and the original ideas that led to the creation of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
What was it about the story of Nathan 'Uncle Nearest' Green and Jack Daniel's that ultimately lead you to become the CEO of Uncle Nearest? Could you walk me through your initial thoughts as you embarked on this historical whiskey journey?
I was in Singapore and the story was on the cover of the New York Times International Edition. At the time, I was nearing 40 years old, and in my lifetime, I could not tell you of a ubiquitous American brand in which an African American had ever been given credit for being an integral part at the very beginning. And yet, the article titled, Jack Daniel’s Embraces a Secret Ingredient: Help from a Slave was attempting to do just that.
Fawn Weaver 2021 - Photo Credit - Eric Ryan Anderson
“The image accompanying the story was as remarkable as the story itself. ”
Jack Daniel, the most famous American whiskey maker of all time – then and now – was taking the only official company picture he’s ever taken. It was with his leadership team and he was surrounded by all white men. However, the center of the photo was not actually Jack Daniel. He’d ceded the center positioning in the photo to a Black man. And no one knew who that Black man was, although it was rumored to have been Nearest Green.
We now know it was his son, George, but nonetheless. My initial thought was, “Holy cow! This is the early 20th century in Lynchburg. A black man would not have been in a picture of this stature, let alone in the center position. Jack Daniel was making a statement here.” It was that thought that caused me to embark on this journey to see if I could prove this story. And the more I dug, the more I was certain this was a story of (love, honor, and respect), and it was quite possibly the first real case of allyship documented in American business history.
“If what I thought was true, turned out to actually be true, we were looking at one of the most amazing business stories in history, as well as one of racial equality.”
When studying the inspiring story and uncovering facts and other historical information, How did you get the material you investigated confirmed as true historical facts?
I am so fortunate that the moment I shared with the townspeople of Lynchburg, as well as the African American elders who grew up there but had moved out of town, as well as Nearest Green and Jack Daniel's descendants, I had all the help I could possibly need.
The eldest of Nearest Green’s descendants was his granddaughter, and at the age of 106, she was still alive and living on her own. She passed away at the age of 108. Jack’s eldest descendant was 102 when I arrived in town. She died not long after Nearest’s granddaughter, right before her 105th birthday. The number of elders over the age of 85 in the town of Lynchburg was astounding. It’s as if so many held on just long enough for this story to be confirmed and shared with the world.
“I had the assistance of a local genealogist who had been doing that for over 20 years and knew the story of Nearest and Jack quite well. ”
The longtime head of archives for the Tennessee State Library and Archives was a tremendous help, as was the archivist at the various National Archives, especially those in College Park, MD, Georgia, and DC. Even the Library of Congress helped me pull all the older trademarks. I took out ads in the local newspapers every Friday asking sharing with readers my research and asking them to look in their attics and basements for any documents with the last names of Green, Daniel, Motlow, and Waggoner (the four names I was most interested in based on my studies). The longtime historian for Jack Daniel’s brought be what he had, the archivist for the Moore County Archives helped me nearly every day, and the list goes on.
According to my knowledge, the company's Master Blender is Victoria Eady Butler, Nathan 'Uncle' Nearest's great-great-granddaughter. Was this a coincidence, or did you knowingly give members of the Green family opportunities within the business to improve your ability to promote the brand via storytelling?
First, I should clarify why we do not use Nearest Green’s given name and refer to him as either Nearest Green or Uncle Nearest. Regarding the use of "Uncle": "In the town of Lynchburg, Tenn, the term Uncle was a sign of respect and not tied to race. The three most respected men in this town were: Uncle Nearest (Green), Uncle Jack (Daniel), and Uncle Felix (Waggoner). The latter two both being white. Jack Daniel’s, prior to prohibition (when Jack was still alive), and immediately following prohibition, also had a bottle called Uncle Jack.
The reason is that is how Jack was most known and that is how the town of Lynchburg showed their respect to him. To this day, it remains the only label that not only has Jack’s name on it but also his face. That notwithstanding, the term “Uncle” when used on “Uncle Ben” or “Aunt” with “Aunt Jemima” perpetuated a negative connotation with Blacks in days of “Mammies” and “Good negro slaves," so we understand why that could be confusing.
Fawn Weaver - Photo Credit - EricRyanAnderson - UncleNearest
However, that was not the case in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and the story of Uncle Nearest is authentic thus we must be authentic in its naming. Nearest Green's children and grandchildren all used "Nearest" versus his legal name in legal documents. That was actually common post-slavery, as many of the formerly enslaved people chose to shed themselves of the names given to them.
The largest slave owner in Middle Tennessee, Nathan Bedford Forest, who traded more than 1,000 slaves annually, shared the same legal name as Nearest...so we are not surprised he nor his children opted not to use it.
“In England, we allowed one bourbon barrel a year to go under the name Nathan Green, and that was to ensure we maintained the trademarks. We will continue to do that, but the U.K. will be the only place that ever has that bottle, to ensure no one else tries to use it.”
Now, as it relates to Victoria Eady Butler, she is a dream of a Master Blender. When I asked her to do the first blend of 1884, I had no idea she would become as enormously qualified for that role as we now know her to be. The original idea was for every Green family member to do their own blend of 1884, alongside our team. But I watched Victoria do her first tasting, and it became clear to all of us very quickly, that whiskey is in her blood. She was pulling on her ancestors as she began this journey, and that’s the only way we can explain her blends becoming the most awarded Bourbon or American whiskies in the world, with 66 best in class to date and 364 Gold, Double Gold or higher awards.
When she was named Master Blender for the second year in a row by Whisky Magazine, it was the first time in their history that the same person received that honor back to back. She has now won this award four times and is currently shortlisted for The Spirits Business to win a record 5 Master Blender of the Year titles.
I always wanted Nearest Green’s family to be who was responsible for the whiskey coming out of our distillery. I still hold out hope that one of the young people in the family we are putting through college, will one day come back to take on the role of Master Distiller. In ten years or so, after we’ve continued to grow to become a dominant player in the spirit market, I suspect many more of them will join the ranks and help us cement the legacy of their ancestor.
Fawn Weaver (Left) & Uncle Nearest Master Blender Victoria Eady Butler (Right)
You're known for pushing the boundaries and exploring the unknown. Is this how you normally like to work, or do you thrive well under pressure?
It is both how I normally like to work, and I thrive under pressure. I was wired to be able to execute at the highest of levels under the most intense challenges. I consider it a great honor that God made me this way as I don’t know of many others like me.
“You are hard-pressed to knock me off my game. I just take the hits and keep on punching.”
Can you outline some of the approaches you use to distinguish yourself as a premium whiskey brand, and some of the challenges you face when doing this?
The approach we have used to distinguish Uncle Nearest as a premium whiskey brand is to make sure our whiskey always goes head to head in competitions around the world, with the best Bourbons, Tennessee Whiskies, and American whiskies on the market.
We are so confident we will maintain that title for 2022, that we’ve already started updating all of our billboards in airports and around Tennessee and Georgia. When we came into the market, we were told by seasoned experts that no one pays attention to medals in the whiskey business. We were told that is more of a wine industry thing. Well, my gut told me otherwise. My gut told me that one Gold Medal may not move the needle…but winning EVERY Gold Medal could not be denied. We’ve had no problems distinguishing ourselves as we are the first whiskey brand in American history, to NOT be founded by or named after a white male. In our country, only 30 percent of the population are white male. But until Uncle Nearest, that was full domination of the whiskey industry. We have expanded that to not only include them but the other 70 percent of women and BIPOC consumers that make up the full 100 percent.
Fawn Weaver 2021 - Photo Credit - Eric Ryan Anderson
“It is no secret that we’re the most awarded American whiskey (which includes Bourbon) of 2019, 2020, and 2021. ”
How do you plan for the company's future, whether it's seeking financing for infrastructure growth and expansion or launching new bottles and marketing initiatives? Could you outline some of the measures you take and the challenges you face while making such decisions?
One thing you will find about me is I don’t acknowledge challenges. They come and they go. But I choose to focus solely on what I want to see grow, and challenges are not that, so those don’t really make it into my vocabulary.
“The future of Uncle Nearest is quite simple. We are here to cement the legacy of Nearest Green for every future generation.”
We will do that by growing this business and brand so large that the next generation can’t screw it up (a la Jack Daniel’s, Johnnie Walker, and Jim Beam).
We have incredible financial partners that are right by our side the moment we are building a new project on our distillery. We are quite fortunate. Our company has performed extraordinarily well, despite a global pandemic and global supply shortage, so through that fortitude, we have developed great financial partners who we’ve proven that we can do anything…and that they can count on us to keep pounding the rock every day and knocking our forecasts out of the park.
This year, we will round out our full portfolio of whiskeys. In total, we will have 7 bottles as a part of our core offering, two of those bottles are only available at the distillery. The Uncle Nearest 1856 and 1884 will continue to be our flagships in the marketplace and the Master Blend Edition (both the Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey and the Uncut/Unfiltered Rye) will continue to be our flagships at the distillery.
By the time this article comes out, we would have given the timing of our Straight Rye 100-Proof Whiskey, Single Barrel Black label, and Single Barrel Rye whiskey that will round out our permanent portfolio. Our Uncle Nearest 1820 will not release into the market again until 2028…and even then, it will be very limited in supply, so that will continue to be the unicorn of our family of brands.
Many individuals are debating sexism and outdated ideologies, particularly those directed towards women in the whiskey profession. - Where do you stand on this debate, and how do you implement and encourage inclusion for all sexes?
“I don’t get involved in the debate at all. My take on it is, Tell me what I can’t do. But make sure you hold my whiskey while I do it.”
Fawn Weaver 2021 Photo Credit - Eric Ryan Anderson
I don’t believe there is a single thing in this industry I cannot do, and I do it with an all-female leadership team and have done that from day one.
“Every man in my company reports into a woman. And they’ll tell you it’s the most refreshing structure they’ve ever been a part of, and they love it.”
We are incredibly fortunate that we don’t have to talk about it…as we’re simply showing what diversity in the workplace looks like.
What is the next big thing you want to achieve with the brand?
The next thing and every next thing after that, all lead back to the exact same road: Build this brand so big the next generation can’t screw it up. We remind ourselves daily that that is our mission. And we know we’ve not even scratched the surface yet. So, every next big thing, until the day I day, will be this same next big thing.
Can you describe Uncle Nearest to someone who has never had it?
I do it every day. This is what I usually say: Uncle Nearest is the most awarded American Whiskey (including Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey) of 2019, 2020, 2021, and about to be 2022. We got toe-to-toe with the best whiskies in the world, and take the gold, double gold or best in class nearly every time.
“Our triple filtration ensures our whiskies don’t have a bite and they are all some of the smoothest in the world.”
We are proudly premium Tennessee Whiskey, proudly Straight Bourbon whiskey, and proudly one of the best damn whiskies in the market…period.
What can visitors expect when they visit the distillery in Tennessee?
I always tell people if they are going on multiple distillery tours, to make sure they come to ours last, as we screw it up for everyone else. Our team is phenomenal. Our tours are literally a masterclass in storytelling and the level of detail we have put into every square inch of our property is astounding. People come back three and four times just to make sure they soaked in all the history we are sharing. We want people to leave our distillery in love with the Uncle Nearest brand, Tennessee Walking Horses, Tennessee Music, and with the state of Tennessee overall.
It's my belief, that among all the big names in the spirits industry, you'd be hard pressed to find someone as dedicated to the job as Fawn Weaver, who told me during our interview that she "LOVES to work!" even during her spare time, and that "WORK is literally my favourite thing, next to hanging out with my husband, Keith."
If that isn't pure passion and commitment, I'm not sure what is! But when you work as hard as she has, building the brand in the manner that she has; to what it is today, then obviously you need time to relax, centre yourself and enjoy the spoils of life. Elaborating more on the time spent with her husband Keith,"He and I both observe the Sabbath every Sunday. We do absolutely nothing but eat, drink and be merry. A lot of Uncle Nearest flows at our house on Sundays." She adds.
Weaver's philosophy on sharing the story of Uncle Nearest goes beyond the spirit which she explains "Much of it isn’t even about whiskey"; The history plays a much MUCH bigger role via her none spirit ventures. In addition to being the Founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, she is also the founder of a Non-Profit Organisation titled The Nearest Green Foundation The organization offers full scholarships to every descendant of Nearest Green, the world's first known African-American master distiller. The foundation which she founded is a testament to the hard work and total dedication she has, in spreading the word and sharing the story of Uncle Nearest.
