In 2017 Fawn Weaver began bottling Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey as a passion project to honor Nearest Green, the formerly enslaved distiller who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. Four years later, her bourbon has sold nearly 1.5 million bottles, according to a recent report in the Spirits Business.
Uncle Nearest is now the nation’s fastest-growing whiskey brand, according to the drinks-market analysis firm IWSR. It’s a testament not just to the quality, but also to the power of an inclusive brand with a compelling story.
On Tuesday, Weaver, the company’s founder and CEO, went a step further toward diversifying an industry long dominated by white men, as the company announced the creation of a $50 million investment fund aimed at helping minority-owned spirits businesses grow. The announcement was timed to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, in which a prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla., was destroyed and hundreds of residents were killed by a white mob.
“I am looking for the brands that have the ability to be the next Uncle Nearest,” she said during a recent video conference call with her staff. “What that means to me is, they are not building to flip, they’re not building to sell. They’re building to create generational wealth.”
Weaver said she expected to close the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund to investors by the end of June, with at least 50% of the capital coming from Black investors. Uncle Nearest, which is privately owned, will also invest.
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