The Billion-Dollar Whiskey Story

From the Ground Up

It’s a young company, but its legacy spans generations. And thanks to Fawn Weaver, the story and legacy of her whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest, is becoming ever more expansive.

Its most recent chapter: The company reached a $1.1 billion valuation in 2024. However, none of this would have been possible without Weaver, Uncle Nearest’s founder and CEO, who envisions herself as not just an executive and leader, but also as the company’s chief historian. She’s made it her mission to build a brand honest to the legacy of a man named Nearest Green, or Uncle Nearest, the formerly enslaved laborer who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey.

Weaver has spent much of the past decade researching and piecing together the story of Nearest Green. Her book Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest was released in June.

Inc. editor-at-large Christine Lagorio-Chafkin sat down with Weaver recently to discuss her legacy as well: This year she became one of the first-ever African American women to run a company valued at more than $1 billion.

Additional research and information:

Christine interviewed Fawn Weaver in this 2021 episode of the What I Know podcast

Read Fawn Weaver’s advice on Creating a Winning Team on Inc.com

Visit: Uncle Nearest

For more on Fawn Weaver

Visit: Fawn Weaver’s Instagram

For more on Love & Whiskey

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