Nathan "Nearest" Green facts for kids

Historic image of Jack Daniel seated next to George Green, the son of Nathan "Nearest" Green.

19th-century Jack Daniel bottle jug stencil found 9" beneath ground surface where Nearest Green distilled whiskey in the mid-to-late 1800s.

Nathan "Nearest" Green (born around 1820) was a very skilled distiller. He was often called a "master distiller." He was born into slavery but became free after the American Civil War. He taught his special distilling methods to Jack Daniel, who later started the famous Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey company. Green was the very first master distiller for the Jack Daniel Distillery. He is also the first African-American master distiller known in the United States.

The Story of Nearest Green

Sometime in the 1850s, a young boy named Jack Daniel started working for a man named Dan Call. Call was a preacher, a grocer, and also made whiskey. The story goes that Call was very busy. He saw how smart young Jack was and decided to teach him how to make whiskey.

However, in 2016, a newspaper called The New York Times shared a different story. They said that Nearest Green, who was one of Call's enslaved workers, was actually Jack Daniel's true teacher. People who study history and local folks had known this story for many years. It's a story passed down through families, and it might not have lots of old papers to prove every part. But in 2017, another newspaper, USA Today, confirmed that Jack Daniel himself said his teacher's name was Nathan "Nearest" Green.

Nearest Green was owned by a company called Landis & Green. They likely allowed him to work for Dan Call for a fee. After the Emancipation Proclamation made many enslaved people free, Green chose to stay and work with Call. When Dan Call introduced Green to an 8-year-old Jack Daniel, he reportedly said, "Uncle Nearest is the best whiskey maker that I know of." He also told Green, "I want [Jack] to become the world's best whiskey distiller – if he wants to be. You help me teach him."

Green became the master distiller. He was only a few years older than Jack. He taught Jack everything about how to make whiskey.

Nearest Green's Family and Legacy

Nearest Green was also known as "Uncle Nearest." He loved to play the fiddle and was a lively person who enjoyed entertaining others. His family says that his son, Jesse Green, also had this fun-loving trait.

Slavery officially ended in the United States in 1865. Jack Daniel opened his own distillery a year later, in 1866. He immediately hired two of Nearest Green's sons, George and Eli Green. In total, at least three of Nearest's sons worked for the Jack Daniel Distillery: George Green, Edde Green, and Eli Green. At least four of Nearest's grandchildren also joined the team: Ott, Charlie, Otis, and Jesse Green. This shows how important the Green family was to the distillery. Seven generations of Nearest Green's family have worked for Jack Daniel Distillery, and some still work there today.

Nathan "Nearest" Green was married to Harriet Green. They had 11 children together, including nine sons and two daughters.

Honoring Nearest Green

A writer named Fawn Weaver started the Nearest Green Foundation to remember and honor Nearest Green. This foundation has created a new museum and a memorial park about his life. They have also written a book about him. The foundation also gives college scholarships to Nearest Green's descendants, helping them continue their education.

In 2017, a company called Uncle Nearest, Inc., created a special whiskey to honor Nearest Green. It was called "Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey." This whiskey was made by working with other distilleries in Tennessee, but not the Jack Daniel Distillery.

Later in 2017, the company that owns Jack Daniel's, Brown-Forman Corporation, officially recognized Nearest Green. They named him their first head stiller, which is now called a master distiller. They also added his story to their company website. In October 2017, they included his legacy in their official tours and put up a large display at the Jack Daniel's Visitors Center.

The Nearest Green Foundation announced its first group of students receiving full scholarships for college and graduate school in September 2017. These scholarships help Nearest Green's family members continue his legacy of excellence. The foundation gets money from the sales of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and from the sales of Jack Daniel's official biography, Jack Daniel's Legacy.