January 27, 2024 • 19 mins
For this classic happy hour, we're enjoying Uncle Nearest whiskey and talking women and whiskey.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm welcome to Steff. I never told you a production
of iHeartRadio, and I wanted to bring back a classic
we did. This was one of our third happy hour
we ever did, Samantha. Oh, uncle nearest whiskey. Yes, yes,
(00:28):
I mentioned this. I cannot remember for the life of
me in what episode, but I mentioned it recently in
an episode I believe we were talking about how after
the audiobook experience, we had such a great team and
we gifted the audio engineer with some uncle nearest whiskey,
and I mentioned that they are now the largest Grand
(00:54):
Champagne vineyard owner in Cognac, France.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Ool.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
So yes, that's a bit of an update, very exciting.
I can't wait to see what comes of it. We'll
have to do revisit.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
We need to get a bottle obviously.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, we need to get a bottle. But there were
a lot of news stories about it.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And it was really cool because I was like, oh,
I know them, like I know who you're talking about.
So that's always fun. But yes, I wanted to bring
back this classic episode in spirit of that, no pun intended,
so please enjoy it.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Hey, this is Sandy and Samantha.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I'm welcome to Stefan Never told You Production ByHeart Radio.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Okay, Happy Thursday, Happy wind down. To everyone who is
joining us for our Happy Hour segment. Yes, and to you,
my friend.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
And to you, we're happy to have you.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I can't help it.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Every time I do this, I had that like I
have to ease my voice and get really calm. For
some reason, I guess that's what I associate with happy Hour.
I don't know if this is your first time joining us,
Go grab your favorite beverage, whether it's a cocktail, a
sparkling water, or coffee, and let's cheers to the almost
end of the week. And I know a lot of
(02:24):
people's work schedule does not operate like that. And if
your job is never ending, like parenting, we know this
might be a small break to the continued hard work
you're putting in.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
But hopefully you can take a break with us.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Or perhaps you're like me and don't even freaking realize
what day of the week it is, So there's that.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Well.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Also, we're not necessarily recording this on Thursday.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Peep behind the curtains, so.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Don't tell people we're pretending. Obviously, you already know. We've
talked many times how we do record ahead of time
just for all intent and purposes. But a quick reminder,
these are not sponsored and I picked them because it
is female focused and often created and owned and controlled
by women and just non binary folks and are doing
some amazing things. So I just wanted to highlight their
(03:09):
amazing work. And today I'm gonna go ahead and take
a real quick seap, y'all. Don't beat me.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Out of my Last of Us two cup that I
gave you.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yes, yes, it's true, you gave me a nice little
whiskey glass. Today we wanted to walk down the history
and history making of a delightful distillery from Lynchburg, Texas,
Uncle Nearest whiskey, And yes, I am right now currently
sipping out of the wonderful class that you bought for
me for Christmas, because we have all bonded over the
Last of Us too. Even if I don't play video games,
(03:42):
we've definitely bonded. It's an emotional situation, it really was.
But we are sipping on Uncle Nearest at eighteen eighty
four small batch whiskey, and I will tell you it
is a delight And though there are specific cocktails you
can make from their site, and they look like really
great recipes.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
You go check it out.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I'm lying just the easy burning caramel goodness with a
single ice cube.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Me too. I was gonna say that a big square cube.
You do?
Speaker 4 (04:09):
You go?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Oh, you got the fancy ones? We ran out, so
we have the baby ones.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
So but the smell of it is the life while
it really is just buttery, caramel, fresh and honestly, it
took me a long time to really appreciate and like whiskey,
but this one was easy to get into. I don't
know if I was prepared for it or something, but
it definitely has made a claim and I could taste it.
I can taste how thoughtful the process went in to
(04:34):
creating this drink.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
But first I was gonna ask you if you if
you're a whiskey person, because, as we've talked about in
some episodes and some of these happy hours, there is
kind of a gendered aspect to a lot of alcohol,
to everything in general, but alcohol. And I remember when
I first started drinking liquor in college, I thought whiskey
(04:57):
was the coolest thing, of course to.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Drink, and I liked it.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I always liked it, but I do think one of
the reasons I chose it was because I thought it
was cool and like put hair on your chest, manly
man drinks, and if I ordered it then men would
be like, oh, she can hold her liquor, and or
you'd get really weird assumptions that you're like easy to
sleep with.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
It was strange.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Oh that's interesting. So for me, whiskey was not a
go too. I am definitely a cocktail person and or
a straight beer person, like or I love red wine,
so those were kind of my go tos, and it's
easier for me. I grew to appreciate whiskey and the
barrel aging process. Still not a huge fan of scotch,
doesn't mean we're not going to try it, but this one,
(05:40):
I think they're definitely you can tell what's quality.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
And what is EH, and the EH is like, uh,
I'm good without it. I'll put that with some diet coke.
I'm good.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
But for this level, yeah, I definitely appreciate it and
definitely enjoy it and need batches and batches and batches
of it.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I'm okay.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, it's interesting too because my grandparents love scotch, so
I have like a family history with Scotch.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
But also when I was writing this story, one of
my main.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Characters she was an alcoholic, and I was like, I
don't want her to drink whiskey because that's the go
to thing, but it does seem to be the thing
that you see in entertainment where you know they're drinking
something hard than it's whiskey. I went with Gin because
her name is jin and I thought it was funny.
But anyway, we did want to talk about some history here,
(06:32):
so of Uncle Nearest, not of what all we've.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Been talking about.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Von Weaver is the CEO and founder of the Uncle
Nearest Distillery, and what began is just the research writing
project for her newest book turned into creating a business
and a unique model within the alcohol industry. Her research
not only took her to Lynchburg to interview descendants and
do a deep dive in the local libraries, but also
(06:57):
brought her to the place where the original whiskey was created.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
And by the way, she is actually a best selling
author and is known as that in the historian. So
she definitely took all of her gifts and made and
created such a great brand. Yeah, and after coming across
an article mentioning Nathan Neares Green, a former and slaved individual,
she learned that he had a bigger part in the
whiskey world the history gave him credit for at that time.
Weaver took it upon herself to dig deeper and piece
(07:23):
together the truth and uncover the legend of Nearest Green.
Green had been working under a distiller, Reverend Call, on
the dan Call farm as a master distiller, and apparently
the story goes that Reverend Call had been creating these
whiskeys and then kind of was called out for being
a part of this industry when he was, you know,
a servant of the Lord, and so he kind of
(07:45):
gave over the main job, or a master distiller job,
to Nearess Green. And there is also told that during
that time Jack Daniels, who was a child, came to
that area in that farm and watched and was taught
the tricks of the trade by Nearest Green and helped
him create what is now known as Jack Daniels Whiskey.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
According to Weaver's statements when reading the book, Jack Daniel's legacy,
Green and his family are mentioned throughout the story, giving
him credit and helping to create his own whiskey. From there,
she not only bought the farm that the original distillery
was on, but she, after discussing the best way to
honor Nearest Green with his descendants, started the Uncle Nearest
(08:25):
Premium Whiskey brand, making it the first spirit to commemorate
an African American, specifically the first known African American master
distiller on record.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Right, and they have many a first including the first
African American blender of Victoria, Edie Butler, who happens to
be the great great granddaughter of Nearess Green and creator
of the award winning eighteen eighty four small batch We
Are Slipping On Now and has continued to win many
awards with her other blends, apparently when asked about it,
(08:55):
because this was not her job, it just came natural
to her. She just put together the flavors that she
light and created these amazing blends. And she is the
master blender and maybe one of the first and possibly
only African American woman to earn this role. And Butler
isn't the only woman on staff at this distillery. Sherry Moore,
(09:16):
who used to work at Jack Daniels, came out of
retirement to be the director of Whiskey Productions. Kate Jerkins
is a senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing
and US also of note the company has an all
minority executive board, which is also a first, and then
when asked about how her staffing, she stated, quote, I
didn't set out to hire an all female executive team.
(09:36):
I just set out to hire people who were the best.
And I put together a team that was determined to
buck every rule this industry has ever given us.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And that's who I ended up with. And I love that.
I love the conversations like it.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I just got the bust and they just happen to
be women, and we celebrate that absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
And Weaver is going beyond just one history making distillery,
but pushing change and bringing diversity and change within the
entire industry. She teamed up with the Jack Daniels Distillery
to create a three pronged initiative to increase diversity within
the whiskey industry. Through the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative,
they will be creating the Nearest Screen School of Distilling
(10:21):
at Motlow State Community College, which is a waiting approval
from the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Yeah, it'd be possibly up and running in twenty twenty one,
so this year sometime and looking at that even broader
scope to bring about a larger and faster impact. They
will be quote developing a pipeline of women and people
of color in the distilling business, creating programs that help
African American startups and Spirit's business succeed so much more
can follow, and helping put more African Americans than people
(10:48):
of color into leadership roles. And I think it's so
amazing as I was reading this, and there's so much
to be said, because actually they're talking about it becoming
a movie bigger than a book, Like there's a whole
whole lot of conversation about what this story meant. And
I know when I first heard about them, I was like, Okay,
I had to find this whiskey first of all, because
(11:08):
it's a big thing that the conversation was what happened?
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Why weren't they credited? Who took it? Did they steal it?
Speaker 4 (11:14):
But according to her when she was reading this book,
it credits Nearest Green more so than his own family.
Talks about how I kind of took him under his
wing and taught him these ways and he learned the
finer points of distillery and whiskey making. And I love
that this woman who was not even in that field
found something that made her passionate and pushed forward and
(11:37):
created this brand that is a phenomenal brand and really
freaking good whiskey. Like it's hard enough to create a
whole new career path, but to do it in a
way that you are flourishing and almost outstripping others, that's
a goal. And she did it so quickly, like it
went from I believe twenty seventeen to now and how
(11:59):
it's created, and they're looking at beyond and already looking
at how to impact the industry and make change, especially
when it comes to the diversity within the industry.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And it's beautiful. It is so beautiful.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's a really great story.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And I can totally see why they're honestly why they're
talking like movies and things like that, and yeah, there
are so many people and marginalized people and women who
have been left out of these stories in the whiskey
world and alcohol at large. And you know, we did
a history of whiskey and Scotch over on Saber and
(12:36):
we talked about some of them, but yeah, there's so
many to uncover there, and it's yeah, this is amazing
how quickly.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
I love that it was just sort of a history
project and then it game. It's just right right.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I love that they went back to the origins. And
she even talked about the fact that during this time
when she was researching, of course, it was during the
Trump administration and coming to Lynch, pro Tennessee, which we
know that's a lot a lot of history there and
a lot of divide in that area. She came in
wanting to know the story and even collaborating with descendants
of Jack Daniels, and it was a really interesting thing
(13:10):
as she was delving and interviewing and getting more of
the records and being able to sit down with the
descendants and being able to have this conversation about what
did this look like, who was this person, and how
can we keep talking about the story so it's not
a race.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
And their website is really cool.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
They have some pictures of Nearest Green and there as
a part of the distillery and then the old distillery and.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
What it looked like.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
I also loved the origin of the fact that it started,
of course with a religious man making damn fine whiskey, you.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Know what I mean. And it was known far and wide.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
When I say far and wide, I believe like South Carolina, Mississippi,
you know, So I mean for that.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Point in time, it's wonderful.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And then of course there's also a deeper history in
which how Nearest Green got there and to the fact
that that necessarily not everyone were slave owners and had
enslaved people on their property, but they are leased out
to them, which is kind of gross in itself, but
of course, just the bigger story of being able to
be a part of it and being the master distiller
(14:10):
and being respected as a crafter that that's a phenomenal story.
Of course, hopefully we're not romanticizing it, but it is
an accomplishment and a feat that we should be talking
about as well as the fact that's celebrating.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Man, this is a really good whiskey.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
It is it is.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Oh yeah, speaking of which, we did kind of want
to talk about some of the tasting notes and the
all of that. The appearance of it is light amber
and color, and it is very light, very golden. I
would say, it's really beautiful. The smell and their aroma.
They write ads ripe with toasted wood and honey, and
I definitely can get that, like it almost feels like
it's toasted bread with a little bit of honey on it,
(14:51):
like I could, and butter because there's a buttery aspect
to it. And then the flavored taste palate is a
lighter bodied spirit with vanilla and brown butter notes and
a light burn at the back palate. And I said
that I think this is one of the things the
first thing I said when I drank some of those,
I was like, oh my god, it's burning, but in
a good way, and I like it.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
That's a great review.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
It's so like refreshing.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
The burn is refreshing because it ends with that like sweet,
almost toasted vanilla almond taste to me, I think, and
I love that. And then it says the finish is
crisp and lightly dry, which, yeah, it definitely adds a
little bit of the dryness to it at the end,
but then you kind of keep.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Reaching for more. Drink responsibly.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
At the top, we should add a note.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
I'm hopefully well, who knows how far they get into it,
but yes, drink responsibily. But yeah, and by the way,
this brand is available in all fifty states, and you
should be on the lookout for new releases.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
So, yeah, what do you taste? How do you about this?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I agree with pretty much everything you said.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
I think I really taste the vanilla, and something about
it reminds me of honeysuckle, which I've actually just been
thinking about honeysuckle lately, so maybe that's why. But because
I feel like, normally whiskey is sort of a cold
night drink, but that makes me feel spring.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Oh yeah, wellkee.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
They used to go on with my mom and we
would get honeysuckle from divines. And that's one of my
favorite things about drinks and food in general, is that
we do have these like connective memories that come back
to as when we try things.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So that's what it's making me think of.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah, I could definitely see that. I love those memories.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
But yeah, So they have three different whiskeys on their website,
which is the eighteen twenty single Barrel Edition, eighteen fifty
six Premium Age whiskey, and what we have, the eighteen
eighty four small Badge, And yeah, they've won many awards
and gold medals for their whiskey, definitely earned and on
the back of the bottle. If you actually get the bottle,
you'll see the signature of the master blender, and for
(16:59):
this one, it is Victoria Edie Butler, and it's pretty
awesome to see her signature on that back and.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Just her story alone.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I love that weave were brought in his family and
made sure they were a focal point in the story
in this distillery.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
And I think that's.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Also very on par with her following through with saying
I want this to be about who he was and
honoring him, and there's nothing better than to honor him
but through his family. And it's even better that she
is that good at her job. Yeah, Apparently the initial
project was like they were going to have different family
(17:36):
members create their own but Butler were so good at it,
they were just like, all right, you're the master distillery,
You're the blender.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
You're amazing, you know. Like So I love all of that, and.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
I love that the story as getting bigger, and yeah,
that they are a part of an initiative to bring
up others as it should be.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yes, very much needed. I'm glad that it is happening.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
To that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Cheers to that, Cheers to the brand as well.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
As weaver for all of the good things that they
are doing, and I'm excited to see all the brands
and all of the new products that come from it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yes, and cheers to you listeners and to all the
people doing amazing things to uplift others.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
We always love hearing those stories from you.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
So if there's a story you want to highlight in these,
let us know. If there's a beverage you want us
to highlight, if there's a cocktail, just whatever you're sipping on,
even if you just want to share it, we would
love to know.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
We hope that you've enjoyed taking a relaxing moment with us.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
Thank you for sitting with us, Yes, and we will
What are you doing? Yeah, whatever you're doing, and well,
we'll catch you in the next halfy hour. If you
would like to email us, you can. Our email is
Stuff Media, Momstuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can also
find us on Instagram at stuff I've Never Told You
are on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast. Thanks as always
to our super producer Christina, and thanks to you for listening.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Steffand Never Told you the production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
For more podcasts on iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm welcome to Steff. I never told you a production
of iHeartRadio, and I wanted to bring back a classic
we did. This was one of our third happy hour
we ever did, Samantha. Oh, uncle nearest whiskey. Yes, yes,
(00:28):
I mentioned this. I cannot remember for the life of
me in what episode, but I mentioned it recently in
an episode I believe we were talking about how after
the audiobook experience, we had such a great team and
we gifted the audio engineer with some uncle nearest whiskey,
and I mentioned that they are now the largest Grand
(00:54):
Champagne vineyard owner in Cognac, France.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Ool.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
So yes, that's a bit of an update, very exciting.
I can't wait to see what comes of it. We'll
have to do revisit.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
We need to get a bottle obviously.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, we need to get a bottle. But there were
a lot of news stories about it.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And it was really cool because I was like, oh,
I know them, like I know who you're talking about.
So that's always fun. But yes, I wanted to bring
back this classic episode in spirit of that, no pun intended,
so please enjoy it.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Hey, this is Sandy and Samantha.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I'm welcome to Stefan Never told You Production ByHeart Radio.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Okay, Happy Thursday, Happy wind down. To everyone who is
joining us for our Happy Hour segment. Yes, and to you,
my friend.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
And to you, we're happy to have you.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I can't help it.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Every time I do this, I had that like I
have to ease my voice and get really calm. For
some reason, I guess that's what I associate with happy Hour.
I don't know if this is your first time joining us,
Go grab your favorite beverage, whether it's a cocktail, a
sparkling water, or coffee, and let's cheers to the almost
end of the week. And I know a lot of
(02:24):
people's work schedule does not operate like that. And if
your job is never ending, like parenting, we know this
might be a small break to the continued hard work
you're putting in.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
But hopefully you can take a break with us.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Or perhaps you're like me and don't even freaking realize
what day of the week it is, So there's that.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Well.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Also, we're not necessarily recording this on Thursday.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Peep behind the curtains, so.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Don't tell people we're pretending. Obviously, you already know. We've
talked many times how we do record ahead of time
just for all intent and purposes. But a quick reminder,
these are not sponsored and I picked them because it
is female focused and often created and owned and controlled
by women and just non binary folks and are doing
some amazing things. So I just wanted to highlight their
(03:09):
amazing work. And today I'm gonna go ahead and take
a real quick seap, y'all. Don't beat me.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Out of my Last of Us two cup that I
gave you.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yes, yes, it's true, you gave me a nice little
whiskey glass. Today we wanted to walk down the history
and history making of a delightful distillery from Lynchburg, Texas,
Uncle Nearest whiskey, And yes, I am right now currently
sipping out of the wonderful class that you bought for
me for Christmas, because we have all bonded over the
Last of Us too. Even if I don't play video games,
(03:42):
we've definitely bonded. It's an emotional situation, it really was.
But we are sipping on Uncle Nearest at eighteen eighty
four small batch whiskey, and I will tell you it
is a delight And though there are specific cocktails you
can make from their site, and they look like really
great recipes.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
You go check it out.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I'm lying just the easy burning caramel goodness with a
single ice cube.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Me too. I was gonna say that a big square cube.
You do?
Speaker 4 (04:09):
You go?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Oh, you got the fancy ones? We ran out, so
we have the baby ones.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
So but the smell of it is the life while
it really is just buttery, caramel, fresh and honestly, it
took me a long time to really appreciate and like whiskey,
but this one was easy to get into. I don't
know if I was prepared for it or something, but
it definitely has made a claim and I could taste it.
I can taste how thoughtful the process went in to
(04:34):
creating this drink.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
But first I was gonna ask you if you if
you're a whiskey person, because, as we've talked about in
some episodes and some of these happy hours, there is
kind of a gendered aspect to a lot of alcohol,
to everything in general, but alcohol. And I remember when
I first started drinking liquor in college, I thought whiskey
(04:57):
was the coolest thing, of course to.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Drink, and I liked it.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I always liked it, but I do think one of
the reasons I chose it was because I thought it
was cool and like put hair on your chest, manly
man drinks, and if I ordered it then men would
be like, oh, she can hold her liquor, and or
you'd get really weird assumptions that you're like easy to
sleep with.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
It was strange.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Oh that's interesting. So for me, whiskey was not a
go too. I am definitely a cocktail person and or
a straight beer person, like or I love red wine,
so those were kind of my go tos, and it's
easier for me. I grew to appreciate whiskey and the
barrel aging process. Still not a huge fan of scotch,
doesn't mean we're not going to try it, but this one,
(05:40):
I think they're definitely you can tell what's quality.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
And what is EH, and the EH is like, uh,
I'm good without it. I'll put that with some diet coke.
I'm good.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
But for this level, yeah, I definitely appreciate it and
definitely enjoy it and need batches and batches and batches
of it.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I'm okay.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, it's interesting too because my grandparents love scotch, so
I have like a family history with Scotch.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
But also when I was writing this story, one of
my main.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Characters she was an alcoholic, and I was like, I
don't want her to drink whiskey because that's the go
to thing, but it does seem to be the thing
that you see in entertainment where you know they're drinking
something hard than it's whiskey. I went with Gin because
her name is jin and I thought it was funny.
But anyway, we did want to talk about some history here,
(06:32):
so of Uncle Nearest, not of what all we've.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Been talking about.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Von Weaver is the CEO and founder of the Uncle
Nearest Distillery, and what began is just the research writing
project for her newest book turned into creating a business
and a unique model within the alcohol industry. Her research
not only took her to Lynchburg to interview descendants and
do a deep dive in the local libraries, but also
(06:57):
brought her to the place where the original whiskey was created.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
And by the way, she is actually a best selling
author and is known as that in the historian. So
she definitely took all of her gifts and made and
created such a great brand. Yeah, and after coming across
an article mentioning Nathan Neares Green, a former and slaved individual,
she learned that he had a bigger part in the
whiskey world the history gave him credit for at that time.
Weaver took it upon herself to dig deeper and piece
(07:23):
together the truth and uncover the legend of Nearest Green.
Green had been working under a distiller, Reverend Call, on
the dan Call farm as a master distiller, and apparently
the story goes that Reverend Call had been creating these
whiskeys and then kind of was called out for being
a part of this industry when he was, you know,
a servant of the Lord, and so he kind of
(07:45):
gave over the main job, or a master distiller job,
to Nearess Green. And there is also told that during
that time Jack Daniels, who was a child, came to
that area in that farm and watched and was taught
the tricks of the trade by Nearest Green and helped
him create what is now known as Jack Daniels Whiskey.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
According to Weaver's statements when reading the book, Jack Daniel's legacy,
Green and his family are mentioned throughout the story, giving
him credit and helping to create his own whiskey. From there,
she not only bought the farm that the original distillery
was on, but she, after discussing the best way to
honor Nearest Green with his descendants, started the Uncle Nearest
(08:25):
Premium Whiskey brand, making it the first spirit to commemorate
an African American, specifically the first known African American master
distiller on record.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Right, and they have many a first including the first
African American blender of Victoria, Edie Butler, who happens to
be the great great granddaughter of Nearess Green and creator
of the award winning eighteen eighty four small batch We
Are Slipping On Now and has continued to win many
awards with her other blends, apparently when asked about it,
(08:55):
because this was not her job, it just came natural
to her. She just put together the flavors that she
light and created these amazing blends. And she is the
master blender and maybe one of the first and possibly
only African American woman to earn this role. And Butler
isn't the only woman on staff at this distillery. Sherry Moore,
(09:16):
who used to work at Jack Daniels, came out of
retirement to be the director of Whiskey Productions. Kate Jerkins
is a senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing
and US also of note the company has an all
minority executive board, which is also a first, and then
when asked about how her staffing, she stated, quote, I
didn't set out to hire an all female executive team.
(09:36):
I just set out to hire people who were the best.
And I put together a team that was determined to
buck every rule this industry has ever given us.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And that's who I ended up with. And I love that.
I love the conversations like it.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I just got the bust and they just happen to
be women, and we celebrate that absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
And Weaver is going beyond just one history making distillery,
but pushing change and bringing diversity and change within the
entire industry. She teamed up with the Jack Daniels Distillery
to create a three pronged initiative to increase diversity within
the whiskey industry. Through the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative,
they will be creating the Nearest Screen School of Distilling
(10:21):
at Motlow State Community College, which is a waiting approval
from the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Yeah, it'd be possibly up and running in twenty twenty one,
so this year sometime and looking at that even broader
scope to bring about a larger and faster impact. They
will be quote developing a pipeline of women and people
of color in the distilling business, creating programs that help
African American startups and Spirit's business succeed so much more
can follow, and helping put more African Americans than people
(10:48):
of color into leadership roles. And I think it's so
amazing as I was reading this, and there's so much
to be said, because actually they're talking about it becoming
a movie bigger than a book, Like there's a whole
whole lot of conversation about what this story meant. And
I know when I first heard about them, I was like, Okay,
I had to find this whiskey first of all, because
(11:08):
it's a big thing that the conversation was what happened?
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Why weren't they credited? Who took it? Did they steal it?
Speaker 4 (11:14):
But according to her when she was reading this book,
it credits Nearest Green more so than his own family.
Talks about how I kind of took him under his
wing and taught him these ways and he learned the
finer points of distillery and whiskey making. And I love
that this woman who was not even in that field
found something that made her passionate and pushed forward and
(11:37):
created this brand that is a phenomenal brand and really
freaking good whiskey. Like it's hard enough to create a
whole new career path, but to do it in a
way that you are flourishing and almost outstripping others, that's
a goal. And she did it so quickly, like it
went from I believe twenty seventeen to now and how
(11:59):
it's created, and they're looking at beyond and already looking
at how to impact the industry and make change, especially
when it comes to the diversity within the industry.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And it's beautiful. It is so beautiful.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's a really great story.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And I can totally see why they're honestly why they're
talking like movies and things like that, and yeah, there
are so many people and marginalized people and women who
have been left out of these stories in the whiskey
world and alcohol at large. And you know, we did
a history of whiskey and Scotch over on Saber and
(12:36):
we talked about some of them, but yeah, there's so
many to uncover there, and it's yeah, this is amazing
how quickly.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
I love that it was just sort of a history
project and then it game. It's just right right.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I love that they went back to the origins. And
she even talked about the fact that during this time
when she was researching, of course, it was during the
Trump administration and coming to Lynch, pro Tennessee, which we
know that's a lot a lot of history there and
a lot of divide in that area. She came in
wanting to know the story and even collaborating with descendants
of Jack Daniels, and it was a really interesting thing
(13:10):
as she was delving and interviewing and getting more of
the records and being able to sit down with the
descendants and being able to have this conversation about what
did this look like, who was this person, and how
can we keep talking about the story so it's not
a race.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
And their website is really cool.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
They have some pictures of Nearest Green and there as
a part of the distillery and then the old distillery and.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
What it looked like.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
I also loved the origin of the fact that it started,
of course with a religious man making damn fine whiskey, you.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Know what I mean. And it was known far and wide.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
When I say far and wide, I believe like South Carolina, Mississippi,
you know, So I mean for that.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Point in time, it's wonderful.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And then of course there's also a deeper history in
which how Nearest Green got there and to the fact
that that necessarily not everyone were slave owners and had
enslaved people on their property, but they are leased out
to them, which is kind of gross in itself, but
of course, just the bigger story of being able to
be a part of it and being the master distiller
(14:10):
and being respected as a crafter that that's a phenomenal story.
Of course, hopefully we're not romanticizing it, but it is
an accomplishment and a feat that we should be talking
about as well as the fact that's celebrating.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Man, this is a really good whiskey.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
It is it is.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Oh yeah, speaking of which, we did kind of want
to talk about some of the tasting notes and the
all of that. The appearance of it is light amber
and color, and it is very light, very golden. I
would say, it's really beautiful. The smell and their aroma.
They write ads ripe with toasted wood and honey, and
I definitely can get that, like it almost feels like
it's toasted bread with a little bit of honey on it,
(14:51):
like I could, and butter because there's a buttery aspect
to it. And then the flavored taste palate is a
lighter bodied spirit with vanilla and brown butter notes and
a light burn at the back palate. And I said
that I think this is one of the things the
first thing I said when I drank some of those,
I was like, oh my god, it's burning, but in
a good way, and I like it.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
That's a great review.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
It's so like refreshing.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
The burn is refreshing because it ends with that like sweet,
almost toasted vanilla almond taste to me, I think, and
I love that. And then it says the finish is
crisp and lightly dry, which, yeah, it definitely adds a
little bit of the dryness to it at the end,
but then you kind of keep.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Reaching for more. Drink responsibly.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
At the top, we should add a note.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
I'm hopefully well, who knows how far they get into it,
but yes, drink responsibily. But yeah, and by the way,
this brand is available in all fifty states, and you
should be on the lookout for new releases.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
So, yeah, what do you taste? How do you about this?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I agree with pretty much everything you said.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
I think I really taste the vanilla, and something about
it reminds me of honeysuckle, which I've actually just been
thinking about honeysuckle lately, so maybe that's why. But because
I feel like, normally whiskey is sort of a cold
night drink, but that makes me feel spring.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Oh yeah, wellkee.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
They used to go on with my mom and we
would get honeysuckle from divines. And that's one of my
favorite things about drinks and food in general, is that
we do have these like connective memories that come back
to as when we try things.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So that's what it's making me think of.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah, I could definitely see that. I love those memories.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
But yeah, So they have three different whiskeys on their website,
which is the eighteen twenty single Barrel Edition, eighteen fifty
six Premium Age whiskey, and what we have, the eighteen
eighty four small Badge, And yeah, they've won many awards
and gold medals for their whiskey, definitely earned and on
the back of the bottle. If you actually get the bottle,
you'll see the signature of the master blender, and for
(16:59):
this one, it is Victoria Edie Butler, and it's pretty
awesome to see her signature on that back and.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Just her story alone.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I love that weave were brought in his family and
made sure they were a focal point in the story
in this distillery.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
And I think that's.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Also very on par with her following through with saying
I want this to be about who he was and
honoring him, and there's nothing better than to honor him
but through his family. And it's even better that she
is that good at her job. Yeah, Apparently the initial
project was like they were going to have different family
(17:36):
members create their own but Butler were so good at it,
they were just like, all right, you're the master distillery,
You're the blender.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
You're amazing, you know. Like So I love all of that, and.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
I love that the story as getting bigger, and yeah,
that they are a part of an initiative to bring
up others as it should be.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yes, very much needed. I'm glad that it is happening.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
To that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Cheers to that, Cheers to the brand as well.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
As weaver for all of the good things that they
are doing, and I'm excited to see all the brands
and all of the new products that come from it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yes, and cheers to you listeners and to all the
people doing amazing things to uplift others.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
We always love hearing those stories from you.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
So if there's a story you want to highlight in these,
let us know. If there's a beverage you want us
to highlight, if there's a cocktail, just whatever you're sipping on,
even if you just want to share it, we would
love to know.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
We hope that you've enjoyed taking a relaxing moment with us.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
Thank you for sitting with us, Yes, and we will
What are you doing? Yeah, whatever you're doing, and well,
we'll catch you in the next halfy hour. If you
would like to email us, you can. Our email is
Stuff Media, Momstuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can also
find us on Instagram at stuff I've Never Told You
are on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast. Thanks as always
to our super producer Christina, and thanks to you for listening.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Steffand Never Told you the production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
For more podcasts on iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Stuff Mom Never Told You News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Samantha McVey
Popular Podcasts
1. The Podium
The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast. Join us for insider coverage during the intense competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the run-up to the Opening Ceremony, we’ll bring you deep into the stories and events that have you know and those you'll be hard-pressed to forget.
2. In The Village
In The Village will take you into the most exclusive areas of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to explore the daily life of athletes, complete with all the funny, mundane and unexpected things you learn off the field of play. Join Elizabeth Beisel as she sits down with Olympians each day in Paris.
3. iHeartOlympics: The Latest
Listen to the latest news from the 2024 Olympics.