America's hottest whiskey company is growing up.
America’s hottest American whiskey is growing up. Uncle Nearest stunned the whiskey community in 2017 by quickly becoming the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history with a beautiful portfolio of products blended by Nearest Green’s great-great grandaughter, Victoria Eady Butler. Five years later, Uncle Nearest has introduced its first drops of whiskey distilled, aged, and bottled under the Nearest Green Distillery flag through a Tennessee-based partner facility. It’s first release is Uncle Nearest Master Blend, Batch 005.
Good News And Bad
Bad news first. Before you run to your local liquor store, take note these first bottles of 005 are only available at the distillery and likely sold out. The good news? There’s plenty more whiskey on the way. In addition to its current portfolio, the company plans to release Uncle Nearest Single Barrel, Nearest Rye, and Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Rye in 2022. Additional Master Blend batches will be released throughout the year and will be available exclusively at the distillery.
“Our first-generation Uncle Nearest bottles shared the history of my great-great-grandfather and his significance to the Tennessee Whiskey coming out of the hills and hollows around Lynchburg,” said Eady Butler. “Our new generation of bottles reflect the future of our brand and our Shelbyville distillery being what cements his legacy for my family and every future generation of whiskey lovers.”
"This is 160 years in the making and dammit if we didn’t figure out how to perfect it! Nearest has always deserved this."
—Victoria Eady Butler
Spirits writers, marketers and designers are among the most influential forces in the spirits industry. Their opinions, ideas and creative talents inform and influence consumer perceptions and buying decisions. The John Barleycorn Society was started by a group of spirits journalists seeking to honor excellence in all facets of the industry. The journalists spent several years creating a comprehensive competition that became the John Barleycorn Awards. An elite team of authoritative and influential spirits journalists was selected to administer the flagship component of the Awards, a blind tasting competition destined to become the preeminent arbitrator of spirits taste, quality and character.
