Does the name Nathan "Nearest" Green ring any crystal clear bells? Unless you are a historian probably not. If you are a fine connoisseur of the world's best selling, and popular, whiskey perhaps you have at least encountered this name somewhere along the line.

My state of Tennessee is well known for several reasons. We house the home of Country music, and the Grand Ole Opry, about a thirty minute or so drive down Briley Parkway from my front door. Graceland, and the Blues on Beale Street, are featured over in Memphis. And, about 70 miles southwest of Nashville, you will find the one street light town of Lynchburg in Moore County. Uniquely, the county is dry, though whiskey sampling is permitted in the villa's main attraction.

Did you realize the first African-American master distiller in the United States was a slave named Nathan "Nearest" Green? The Landis-Green firm owned Nathan Green and leant him to a farmer, Lutheran minister, general store owner, and whiskey still operator named Daniel Call.

Jasper Newton Daniel knew him well. C'mon, you know who he is. Nathan Green taught the young brewer the fine art of whiskey distilleration. Ever hear of Black Label? However, for about 150 years, Nathan Green's contributions went unrecognized, even by the Jack Daniel's Distillery itself.

Born in Maryland somewhere around 1820, official records do not indicate if Nathan Green was born a slave or later became one. Around the middle of the 1800s, Green began working for Daniel Call. Known as sugar maple charcoal filtering, Green's distilling skills gave his whiskey a distinct smoothness. Possibly derived from West African slaves who used charcoal for filtering their water, and to purify their food, Nathan Green's undertaking is called the Lincoln County Process.

Ten-year-old Jasper Daniel began working for Daniel Call. The youngster milked cows, slopped pigs, fetched water from the springhouse, and performed other required chores. Curious about the smoke he observed several times coming through the hollow on Call's 338-acre property, but forbidden to go there, Jasper Daniel watched men and mules come and go.

Eventually, Call took Jasper to the still and introduced him to the coal black Nathan Green. Call called him "Uncle Nearest," and stated "he is the best whiskey maker he knew of." Call instructed Nathan Green to teach Jasper how to make whiskey, and the procedure that seperates Tennessee whiskey from bourbon.

Jasper Daniel grew a little older and began selling the whiskey to Rebel soldiers, a skill he became adept at. The whiskey gained the reputation as the best in the area. At 15 years old, Jasper lost his father, making him an orphan. He made the whiskey business Nathan Green taught him his life's labor.

Jasper became Call's partner in the distillery, then purchased Call's share from him when Call's congregation made him choose between remaining a Lutheran minister or a whiskey maker. This made Jasper the sole owner. The business was referred to as Distillery Number 7, District Number 4. Later, it became Distillery Number 16, District Number 5.

At that point, Jasper Daniel hired Nathan Green, now freed from slavery after the conclusion of the Civil War, as his master distiller. Jasper also relocated the distillery to Cave Spring Hollow. This remains the only source of water for Jack Daniel's whiskey.

The 1967 book entitled Jack Daniel's Legacy, by Tennessee newspaperman and author Ben A. Green, was the first to reveal Nathan Green as the huge factor he was in teaching distilling to Jack Daniel.

The Tennessee Historical Quarterly-Spring 1972 was the first to list Nathan Green as the original master distiller for Jack Daniel's.

Seven generations of Nathan Green's descendants have worked at the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

In 2016, Brown-Forman, who has owned Jack Daniel's Distillery since 1956, changed its tours of the facility to honor Nathan Green's legacy with the company. More than 10,000 documents exist to verify Green's importance to Jack Daniels. He is also listed on the company's website as its firt master distiller.

In 2016, Fawn Weaver set out to research Nathan Green's story. In 2019, she created the Uncle Nearest Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee and hired Nathan Green's descendant Victoria Eady-Butler as her master distiller. According to the International Wines and Spirits Record (IWSR), the leading supplier of data and market intelligence on the global alcoholic drinks market, this brand is becoming the fastest selling blend of whiskey in the United States. So, Nathan Green's legacy continues to this day.

Thus begins my novella on Jack Daniel's whiskey. Enjoy!

(TO BE CONTINUED:)