Studio 2 Extra: Fawn Weaver on whiskey, legacy, and defying the odds

Fawn Weaver never planned to launch a whiskey company, but in just seven years, she built Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey into America’s most successful Black-owned liquor brand. Now, she’s telling the full story in her best-selling book, Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest. Weaver sat down with Studio 2 co-host Cherri Gregg to discuss her groundbreaking work, the untold history behind Tennessee whiskey, and how she’s rewriting the rules of the spirits industry.

Weaver’s journey began with a 2016 New York Times headline: “Jack Daniel’s Embraces a Hidden Ingredient: Help from a Slave.” The accompanying photo caught her attention. Jack Daniel—typically the focal point—was off-center, while Nearest Green’s son, George, was positioned in the middle.

“I looked at that photo and said, ‘Jack isn’t trying to hide this man. He’s making sure America can’t erase him,’” Weaver recalls.

Determined to uncover the full truth, she traveled to Lynchburg, Tennessee, where she tracked down historical records, met with the Green and Daniel families, and unearthed a story far richer than the one Black Twitter had assumed—one not of erasure, but of honor.

“In Jack Daniel’s official biography, Nearest and his sons were mentioned more times than Jack’s own family,” Weaver says. “Jack was an ally.”

But telling the story of Daniel and Green’s friendship wasn’t enough. She believed that Nearest Green’s name should be on a bottle of whisky. But instead of collaborating with Jack Daniel’s parent company, Weaver took an audacious leap—she and her husband, Keith, purchased the original Jack Daniel Distillery and launched Uncle Nearest Whisky bran.

“Jack’s story is Jack Daniel’s responsibility,” she explains. “This one is mine.”

Breaking into the whiskey industry wasn’t easy.

“You come into this industry, you’ve got two choices: You fail, or you sell,” Weaver says. “I chose option C.”

That determination has made Uncle Nearest the most awarded American whiskey brand in the past six years and positioned Nearest Green’s great-great-granddaughter, Victoria Eady Butler, as a four-time Master Blender of the Year.

Now, Weaver is setting her sights on an even bigger stage—becoming the largest vineyard owner in Cognac, France.

“When that story comes out, y’all are going to see how serendipitous this has been,” she says. “I don’t just think in decades—I think in centuries.”

Her advice for anyone chasing a bold vision? Keep moving forward.

“No matter what, don’t slow down. If everything around you is burning, trust that you’ll put those fires out. Just keep going.”

Fawn Weaver will be in Philadelphia on March 19 at 7 PM at the Free Library of Philadelphia to discuss “Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest.”