Nathan “Nearest” Green was a slave in Tennessee during the Civil War. In the 1850’s he was, as horrible as it is to say, owned by a firm that leased him out to a preacher, grocer, and distiller named Dan Call. Now, back in those days to say someone was a distiller often meant that their slaves were distillers. And Nearest was one of the best. In fact, he was so good that when a young Jack Daniel’s came to work for the preacher, Call took him to Nearest reportedly saying that, “Nearest is the best whiskey maker that I know.” Only a few years older than Jack, Nearest is the one that taught him how to distill. This is the open secret of Uncle Nearest which has been championed by Fawn Weaver and her team. Not only is it an amazing story but it is some of the most award winning American Whiskey of the past five years. It's a story larger than an Instagram post. So here's your reminder that bottledinbondla.com is where the deeper, nerdier conversations happen.