Nathan “Nearest” Green: The Enslaved Man Behind Tennessee Whiskey
Nestled in the hills and surrounded by the scenic beauty of Lynchburg, Tennessee, lies Jack Daniels Distillery, who many would say is Tennesse’s national treasure. Jack Daniels has produced bottled whiskey that has been renowned around the globe for the last century. But many people don't know the story of the enslaved man who lent his expertise to the distillery where the famous Tennessee whiskey is produced.
His name was Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved man who went on to become a master distiller.
Life as an Enslaved Man
Nathan “Nearest” Green was born in 1842 and was purchased at the age of eight by Daniel H. Call. During his enslavement years, Green worked at his distiller. This led to Green creating his famous moonshine recipe and selling it out of the back of the Old Store, a country store that Call owned. Green established a reputation for his whiskey-making skills, leading everyone to start calling him ‘Uncle Nearest’.
In 1842, Daniel H. Call's brother, Joseph Call died and Daniel adopted his 7-year-old nephew, Dan Call. Eleven years later, in 1853, Daniel died, however, Call didn’t leave any instructions in his will on what to do with his slaves. During the 1800s, some slave masters would declare in their wills to set their slaves free after death. At this time his nephew had become a minister as well as a distiller, which he inherited in his uncle’s will.
The question of whether Green was considered a free man even though it wasn’t explicitly written in his owner’s will, is a complex one. According to Green great-great grandson, Marcus Butler, a software developer for a healthcare foundation in Indianapolis, Indiana. Green’s reputation for his whiskey played a significant role in having some freedom after Daniel H. Call’s passing even though Green did not have his papers.
“You got Nathan Green living in County Line there at Uncle Dan Call’s property with the store,” Butler said. “Nephew Call had property down at Louse Creek…So the uncle dies in 1853 and Nathan Green is back there at the store making whiskey. Rev. Dan Call, he’s there in another county so for lack of better words, he's just down there chilling. At this period of time to say that he was a free man and he had his paperwork and was free was not idea at that time, he had no paperwork to back up that information that he was set free. However, because the whiskey was good I guess you can say yes.”
Green was technically a free man and he kept making his famous moonshine whiskey while he also worked at Dan Call Distillery in District 6. Despite being legally free, Green’s employment at the distillery was a result of an informal arrangement with his former owner. This led to the beginning of his business venture broadening.
“The slaves tended to the farm down there on Louse rd...making the whiskey, “ Butler said. “He didn’t have the issues a lot with slavery as others because… he was the best whiskey maker. So the white man…was like hey we’ll buy your whiskey and sell your whiskey and put our label and say it ours.”
Green was starting to save up money from his small business for a while. However, because Green did not have his papers according to the 1860 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule, Green was captured by a patrolman who was a part of the Lincoln Country negro patrols. The patrolman named was T.P. Green, who operated a tannery, was a farmer, and ran a lucrative slave trade business.
“ Even if Nathan Green did not have his papers and he was just caught by a patroller, he was still what they called manumitted man and was considered to be free,” Butler said. “ So this patrolman caught Nathan and basically lended him out; this was common back then. And looking at the 1860 census, Nathan was on that list. So when I was doing research and reading articles on what other people wrote, the timeline didn’t make sense. Because it all said that he retired on Dan Call land and had no mention of a T.P Green.”
According to the 1860 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule, Green was enslaved by a firm known as Landis & Green, who “leased out” him for a fee to a local preacher, the Rev. Dan Call, and to other farmers and distillers. A year later, the Civil War broke out. Amidst the backdrop of the Civil War, Green met and married his wife, Harriet L. Flack, and in 1861, they had their first child, Lewis. The following year, in 1863, they welcomed their second son, George, into the world.
The Civil War ended in 1865 with the surrender of the Confederate forces, marking a new era of newfound hope for the once-enslaved people. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln declared that all enslaved people were to be set free including Nathan “Nearest” Green. Since Nathen was set free from enslavement under T.P. Green. Nathan’s last name, Green, was bestowed upon him through tradition by his master. The last remnants of his enslavement.
Moonshiner Meets Orphan Boy
After gaining his freedom, Nathan returned to work at the Call’s distiller and the “Old Store” to continue making his famous moonshine for profit. After the Civil War, 18-year-old Jack Daniels, who had been orphaned was looking for opportunities to make money. Daniels had met Rev. Dan Call and it was decided he would be a chore boy.
During this time Green and Daniels met and grew close. Green helped teach Jack how to make charcoal-filtered whiskey but kept his special recipe a secret. This led Green to teach Daniel to develop a new recipe for whiskey, marking the beginning of Daniel’s journey into the world of whiskey-making.
The Legacy of Uncle Nearest
In 1870, at the age of 28, Green saved up enough money and purchased a piece of land in Lincoln County District 1 for $450. Nathan and his wife Harriet had six more children, Mariah, Booker, Annie, Albert Eli, Parthenia, Carter, and Martha. Greeen’s sons, Lewis, Eli, and George all continued the tradition of making the best whiskey in the area and later on went to work at Jack Daniels distillery. Green’s grandsons, Charlie and Ott also went to work for the distillery.
Lem Motlow, who took over the distillery operation from Jack Daniel in 1907, was known to be particularly close to the Greens, especially with Helena Bulter, Marcus Bulter’s mother, and the great-granddaughter of Nathan “Nearest” Green.
“George's children always said that the Motlows were so good to the Greens because they had the recipe of the whiskey,” Butler said. Yeah, it was like that underlay information that he wasn’t just friends with us just because. In those times, this was Jim Crow times people looked at that as a bizarre relationship but he was trying to get the recipe from our family.”
The Greens ultimately lost their land as a result of dealings with the Moltows. The loss incurred significant hardships for the family.
“There is another story that we basically lost the land because of the Moltows,” Butler said. “At the end, we lost a lot because of the Motlows. But they turned around, I guess they felt bad about it, you know they wanted to make up for it. And that’s how the college scholarships started from the Motlow family. So the way it's been sold is that all of a sudden a new author came along and all of a sudden the proceeds coming from the Nearest Foundation came from them and their proceeds, that’s not true. It came from the Motlow family. They showed up at the opening of the Nearest Foundation. They just felt bad, they didn’t want to give us reputations so they turned around and gave us scholarships.”
However, Green's name did not die off. Fawn Weaver, the CEO of Grant Sidney Inc. and the founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. She created Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey after embarking on a mission to uncover the story of Nathan Green.
As the head of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, established in 2016, Weaver propelled the brand to remarkable success. Notably, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey has become the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history and the best-selling African-American-founded spirit brand of all time.
Furthermore, it garnered numerous awards and has been recognized as the most award-winning American whiskey bourbon in 2019 and 2020, earning the prestigious title of World’s Best by Whisky Magazine for two consecutive years. Additionally, Weaver is the driving force behind the Nearest Green Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides full scholarships to every descendant of Nearest Green, marking a significant contribution to honoring his legacy as the world’s first known African-American master distiller.
Victoria Eady Bulter, the great-great-granddaughter of Nathan “Nearest” Green and a master blender at Uncle Nearest, works at Uncle Nearest. Butler had recently retired from her job as the head of a team of Department of Justice criminal intelligence analysts at the Regional Organized Crime Information Center in Nashville when she met Fawn Weaver.
Butler had demonstrated her exceptional leadership and expertise in blending whiskey. Her remarkable achievements were further highlighted when Whisky Magazine honored her as the Master Blender of 2021. On Liquor.com she says,
“I became a student of the craft—and I still am, and I hope I will always be,” Butler said. “The awards are wonderful, but you can’t become complacent. I want to continue to grow and learn. I think Fawn was impressed with that, especially given my age. I’m not a kid. She unleashed a passion. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.”
Jack Daniels acknowledges Uncle Nearest
In recent years, Jack Daniel has taken steps to acknowledge and honor the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green. In 2016, the company's 150th anniversary the company publicly recognized Green’s contribution to the brand’s history and legacy. The acknowledgment came in the form of a statement released by the company, which highlighted Green’s role as an influential figure in the early days of Jack Daniel’s whiskey production.