Uncle Nearest Has Found a Buyer Amid $100 Million Loan Dispute

(Photo: Uncle Nearest)

Uncle Nearest, the American whiskey brand accused of defaulting on over $100 million in loans, has signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell its assets following months of debate with its owners.

According to a filing made on June 1st, Uncle Nearest’s court-ordered receiver has found a buyer for the whiskey brand and its Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Omitted from the deal is a residential property bought for commercial purposes in Martha’s Vineyard and the brand’s 100-acre Domaine Saint Martin estate in Cognac, France.

The buyer has asked to remain confidential until the purchase is finalized, which the filing states is expected to take place within the next 45 days. Details on the buyer are slim, though not nonexistent. It’s described as an investment firm with an African-American ownership and leadership structure. The firm reportedly plans to maintain the brand’s existing workforce, enhance sales and forge strategic partnerships, all while honoring the legacy of Uncle “Nearest” Green, widely recognized as the first African-American distiller on record in the United States.

Uncle Nearest was placed under a receivership (temporary court-ordered financial control by a third party) in August, shortly after Farm Credit Mid-America accused the brand and its owners of defaulting on over $100 million in loans.

The ensuing months have battered the whiskey maker in a whirlwind of accusations, headlines and social media posts. FCMA claims that the brand failed to pay principal and interest payments multiple times and used proceeds from a loan to purchase its $2 million property in Martha’s Vineyard. Uncle Nearest was later accused of hiding a $20 million loan received from MarcyPen, the venture capital firm founded by Jay-Z.

In March, Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver filed a lawsuit against FCMA in the New York Supreme Court, accusing the lender of leading a “smear campaign […] contradicted by the very records already in the accuser’s possession.” Weaver later submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy request that, if successful, could have theoretically removed the brand from its court-ordered receivership. The filing was swiftly blocked by a federal judge.