Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey announced recently it closed a $2.1 million deal to allow the purchase of 53.12 acres of land in Tennessee for its Nearest Green Distillery. The additional land will bring the distillery’s total acreage to 323.12.
The distillery plans to dedicate 100 acres of property to plant and grow non-GMO, organic corn that will be used solely to create whiskeys for the brand’s portfolio.
“When we broke ground, we made history as the first distillery in America to be named after a Black person. Every day our brand continues to make history and we are finding more and more people wanting to celebrate this history with us at record numbers,” CEO and founder of Uncle Nearest Fawn Weaver said in a prepared statement. “Expanding our distillery allows us to increase our production capabilities, as well as to continue to enhance the guest experience, so every person who visits has a reason to return again and again.”
Nearest Distillery was named after the first known African American distiller, Nearest Green, and reopened its doors in June after more than a year-long pandemic-related closure. Shortly after, it unveiled its Phase Two editions, including a welcome center; the world’s first non-alcoholic speakeasy, Philo + Franks; the first single barrel rickhouse; and Family Tasting Room.
Uncle Nearest has won over 150 awards and accolades for its premium whiskey, including “World’s Best” by World Whiskies Awards two years in a row, “Top 5 Whiskies in the World,” by Cigar & Spirits Magazine, “Chairman’s Trophy, Platinum and Double Gold” by SIP Awards and “Best American Whiskey,” as well as “Double Gold” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
“Every weekend, when Nearest Green Distillery opens its doors, we welcome guests from all over the company. At any given time, we have guests from more than 20 states represented, who have all come to Tennessee to experience the cementing of the legacy of Nearest Green,” Weaver stated.