Black History

Jack Daniels Whiskey Owes a Debt to Former Slave

OAKLAND POST — Nathan “Nearest” Green, born into slavery in 1820, was an African-American head stiller (commonly referred to as a master distiller). Emancipated after the Civil War, Nathan became a master distiller, teaching his techniques to Jack Daniel, founder of the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey distillery.

Published

6 years ago

April 29, 2019

Oakland Post

By Tamara Shiloh

“There’s no part of America’s history that Black folks weren’t a part of in some form or fashion.” I say this all the time, then I learned about Jack Daniel’s. The truth in this statement never ceases to amaze me.

Tamara Shiloh

Nathan “Nearest” Green, born into slavery in 1820, was an African-American head stiller (commonly referred to as a master distiller). Emancipated after the Civil War, Nathan became a master distiller, teaching his techniques to Jack Daniel, founder of the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey distillery.

It is written that when Jack Daniel was a boy, he went to work for Dan Call: a preacher, grocer, and distiller. This is where he learned to operate a whiskey still.

Nearest Green was owned by Landis & Green Company, who hired him out to work for Dan Call, the distiller. Green was one of a few enslaved people who continued to work for Call after slavery ended.

Jack Daniel’s and Nearest Green’s lives would cross when Call introduced Jack Daniel to Green saying: “Uncle Nearest is the best whiskey maker that I know of.”

Call then said to Green, “I want Jack to become the world’s best whiskey distiller—if he wants to be. You help me teach him.”

The rest is Black history.

Green served as master distiller. Only a few years older than Jack, Green taught him all about the still. He also played the fiddle and was a lively entertainer, a trait that was passed down to his son, Jesse Green.

In 1866, a year after slavery ended with ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Daniel opened his distillery and immediately employed two of Green’s sons, George and Eli. Seven straight generations of Nearest Green’s descendants have worked for Jack Daniel’s Distillery, with three direct descendants continuing to work there as of November 2017.

In July 2017, Uncle Nearest, Inc. created a whiskey honoring the legacy of Nearest Green. Debuting as Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey, it was created by working with two Tennessee distilleries, but not Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

In August 2017, the Brown-Forman Corporation, which owns the Jack Daniel’s Distillery and brand, officially recognized Green as its first head stiller—now called a master distiller—and added him to the company’s website. In October 2017, Brown-Forman added his legacy to its official tours.

This article originally appeared in the Oakland Post.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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1 day ago

June 7, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

7 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.