Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review.
Fawn Weaver is a female African-American entrepreneur and New-York Times best selling author. I had the pleasure of meeting Fawn several times while working at the Multnomah Whiskey Library in Portland, Oregon, and can honestly say she is one of the most charismatic people I have ever met. Fawn founded Uncle Nearest in 2017. In 2022 Uncle Nearest released a single barrel rye whiskey, the bottle I am reviewing today.
Founder and editor of The Whiskey Wash, Nino Kilgore-Marchetti, interviewed Fawn Weaver back in 2020. Her goal with founding Uncle Nearest was to honor and tell the story of Nearest Green while making his name as common as Jack Daniel, something I think she has done a remarkably great job with. She also is driven to use her company and position to bring more African-Americans into the whiskey industry through actions like starting the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative in collaboration with Brown-Forman.
For anyone hearing about Nearest Green for the first time I suggest watching Uncle Nearest’s video about his legacy. The basics are that he is credited with having created Tennessee whiskey’s characteristic flavor profile by utilizing charcoal filtration, now referred to as the Lincoln County process. This is thought to have come from a water filtration technique used in Africa. It was Nearest Green that taught Jack Daniel how to distill and he was even the first master distiller for Jack Daniel.
What started as a brand with sourced whiskey has moved into a proper distillery with its flagship bottle now being 100% distilled in house. The distillery opened in 2019 and opened its expanded facilities in 2021. Operations are overseen by master blender and great-great-granddaughter of Nearest Green, Victoria Eady Butler. She is the first female African-American master distiller in the country and is vital to the quality of spirit that has come out under the Uncle Nearest label. The team that Fawn Weaver and Victoria Eady Butler have assembled have helped make Uncle Nearest the fastest growing whiskey brand in the U.S.A.
As they now look to expand into the market of rye whiskey they once again look to sourced whiskey. Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Rye is sourced from an undisclosed location in New York with distillate that originated at a distillery in Canada. A statement that leads those familiar with premium rye brands to draw some conclusions on where this is coming from. While this does not carry an age statement they do mention it was aged for four years in New York before coming to them in Tennessee.
Tasting Notes: Uncle Nearest Rye Single Barrel Whiskey Barrel #001
Vital Stats: 60.5% ABV, aged in new American oak and finished in used Uncle Nearest barrels. Made with 100% rye. This is a distillery exclusive priced at $89 for a 750ml bottle.
Appearance: This is coppery yellow in color.
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Nose: Rich caramel and vanilla on the nose with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Little bit of dried oak underlying the other scents.
Palate: Overall this is a very leathery rye. Up front it has a roasted nut quality. Mid palate transitions to some notes of vanilla and toffee while staying quite dry. The finish is quite smooth, I get a bit of heat on the sides of my tongue but no burn at the back of the throat whatsoever.
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