An entrepreneur and bestselling author, Fawn Weaver’s lengthy resume boasts everything from CEO of an investment firm to TED speaker. Equally impressive, she founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey in 2016 — now the fastest-growing American whiskey brand. She also champions diversity and philanthropy through the Nearest Green Foundation, impacting communities on a profound level.
We caught up with Fawn to learn more about her career, the distillery’s history, and her newest book, Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Impossible Rise of Uncle Nearest. Please welcome Fawn Weaver!
Tell us about your career background and upbringing.
I’ve been investing in lifestyle brands, whether restaurants or fitness studios, for the better part of the last 25 years. Before that, I had a special events and PR firm. I became an entrepreneur when I was 18, and I’m now 48, so we’re going back 27 years. Entrepreneurship has been my life. I’ve always stayed in the realm of storytelling. I’m drawn to brands that have a good story.
What led to you co-founding Nearest Green Distillery?
I was in Singapore on my husband’s business trip when I first saw Uncle Nearest on the cover of the New York Times International Edition. The photo showed Jack Daniel surrounded by his entire team, who were all white, but in the center was a Black man, George Green, son of Nearest Green. That was how we came to know the story — a headline that said, “Jack Daniel’s Embraces a Hidden Ingredient: Help From a Slave.” I was instantly drawn into wanting to learn more.
Tell us about the Nearest Green Foundation and the scope of your work.
Before we even established the distillery, we had put the Nearest Green Foundation in place. That foundation affords any descendant of Nearest Green to go to college on a full-ride scholarship — tuition and books. A portion of the proceeds [from] Uncle Nearest Whiskey goes toward the foundation, so selling the whiskey is twofold: ensuring that Nearest’s name is cemented in history and also giving a leg up to his descendants.
As the chief historian of Uncle Nearest, what’s an intriguing piece of history that not everyone might know?
After purchasing the 313-acre Dan Call Farm in the hills above Lynchburg, TN, we realized that the original Jack Daniel Distillery No. 7 had been located there. The current owners of Jack Daniel’s didn’t have records dating back that far, so they weren’t aware that Distillery No. 7 existed. They had many potential stories about what “Old No. 7” meant, but no one had taken the time to go all the way back to learn that it was the original distillery number on the Dan Call Farm when the Jack Daniel’s Distillery began there — and that Nearest Green was the only known master distiller for Distillery No. 7.
Tell us about your book, Love & Whiskey.
Love & Whiskey is not just a story about history — it’s my story. It’s her-story in the midst of history, and you take a journey with me from childhood all the way through to where we are today. My background includes leaving home at 15, living in my third homeless shelter by the time I was 18, and trying to commit suicide twice by the time I was 20.
This is the origin of what built me. And now, 28 years later, everyone is talking about what I have built. But it’s important to know where this began and the fortitude where that was forged.
So, you have my story, but then you also have this remarkable story between Jack Daniel and Nearest Green — his mentor, his teacher, his friend — and the respect, love, and honor they shared with one another in the 19th century, all the way into the early 20th century before Jack passed away. After Jack passed away, his descendants continued this bond with Nearest’s descendants until 1978, when the story disappeared.
The entire town of Lynchburg wants to ensure this story comes back because, in essence, it’s a story of hope. It’s a story of how America gets things right and how we are to lead if we are going to bring everyone together. If I could describe the book in one four-letter word, it would be “hope.”
You were the first African-American woman to head up a major spirits brand. What challenges have you faced in such a male-dominated industry?
When you are an African American or woman who has figured out a pathway to success within an industry that has historically been reserved for white males, it becomes your responsibility to turn around and pull as you climb.
No one outside of a white male has ever succeeded in the American whiskey business. The only way we were going to level the playing field was that I’d have to be the hardest-working CEO in this industry of all time. We keep getting to milestones faster than anybody else, but that is simply because we’re working harder than anyone else.
We also asked Victoria this question, but we can’t resist: If we’re looking to try our first Uncle Nearest whiskey, what’s your go-to recommendation and your suggested way of drinking it?
Now that Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey is out, I would recommend it to anyone new to bourbon — it’s incredible and has an approachable proof. If someone is already a bourbon lover and comfortable with a higher proof, I’d suggest the Master Blend Edition or Single Barrel. But you really can’t go wrong with anything from our lineup, which is why we’ve been the most-awarded bourbon and American whiskey for the past six years in a row.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best “advice” I’ve ever received wasn’t really advice to me, specifically. It came through a book by Hal Elrod called The Miracle Morning, and it provided a recipe for me to take care of the most important things before the workday begins. It boosts mental clarity, physical strength and spiritual growth, as begins each morning with S.A.V.E.R.S. That is an acronym for Silence (prayer/meditation), Affirmations (I’m never looking for anyone to affirm me as I affirm myself daily), Visualizations (picturing what I want to achieve in my mind’s eye), Exercise (I do 60 minutes of yoga three times a week and then small exercises, like sit-ups, on the off days), Reading, and Scribing (journaling).
Outside of faith, family, and friends, what three things can’t you live without?
There is nothing outside of faith, family, and friends I can’t live without. That is my life summed up in three words.
LIGHTNING ROUND
What’s on your nightstand? My Nodpod, which is a weighted eye mask. I sleep with it every night.
Most memorable recent local Tennessee meal? Fried catfish and grits at Humble Baron. I have had a lot of fried catfish and grits in my day. My second favorite can be found at Breakfast at Barneys in Atlanta. But I don’t think there is a better one than what they serve at Humble Baron.
What is one daily self-care practice you employ or product you use? I wake up every morning and have Lemon Love by Suja, as it’s great for my skin, followed by AG1 on ice, as it’s great for my body.
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