Jeffrey Wright Wants the World to Know Uncle Nearest's Contribution to American Whiskey
Nathan Green almost disappeared into history. Green was a slave of a preacher and distiller named Dan Call-a man who, for many years, widely enjoyed credit for teaching a young Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. At least, that was the official story. Whiskey people, especially those in the orbit of Jack Daniel's distillery, knew the truth: It was Green, "Nearest" as he was nicknamed, who taught young Jack how to make what would become one of the world's best-selling whiskeys.
When the New York Times reported on the story in 2016, Green was still relatively unknown. He's now credited as Jack Daniel's first master distiller-Daniel is listed as its second-and has a whiskey brand of his own, Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey, which debuted in 2017. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Green's namesake spirit is launching its first national campaign. It starts with the above ad, featuring and narrated by Westworld star Jeffrey Wright. After learning about Green, Wright was so inspired that he reached out to the brand himself to help tell the world about Uncle Nearest.
"As a fan of an occasional taste of whiskey and of those American stories that are more interesting, nuanced, complex than the history we're generally fed, I was immediately hooked on Nearest Green," Wright told me by email. "If you love American whiskey, Uncle Nearest's story must be known. Can you really love jazz and not know Louis Armstrong?"
Yes, the world will know Nathan Green's name.
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