Uncle Nearest Is Challenging Drinkers Across the Country to Blind-Taste Its New $30 Whiskey Against Their Favorite Bourbons
On Tuesday, Tennessee whiskey brand Uncle Nearest announced the release of a new expression: Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey.
Nearest Green clocks in at lower price ($29.99) and proof (84) points than Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, making it a more affordable and perhaps accessible pour.
“Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey captures the spirit of my great-great-grandfather, Nearest Green, while still upholding our pillars of excellence and unmatched quality,” Uncle Nearest Master Blender Victoria Eady Butler said in a news release. “With this new brand, we’re not just expanding our offerings — we’re expanding the Uncle Nearest family, reaching new consumers who may not consider spending more than $50 on a bottle. Our goal is simple: To make Nearest Green a household name, bringing people together to honor our past while embracing the future of Tennessee Whiskey.”
Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey will be made available to order via Uncle Nearest’s website or from ReserveBar. Starting Saturday, it will also release at the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and will start heading to stores, bars and restaurants “shortly after,” beginning with Tennessee.
According to Uncle Nearest, this new release was designed with cocktail makers in mind. The brand recommends using it in your Manhattan, Whiskey Smash, Hot Toddy or a whiskey-oriented riff on the Sidecar, which Uncle Nearest says is Eady Butler’s recommendation.
Uncle Nearest’s New Marketing Campaign Is a Challenge
As the new expression rolls out across the U.S. this fall, Uncle Nearest will launch a new marketing campaign, titled “Nearest vs. Everybody Part II.”
As part of the campaign, the brand will host taste tests in bars across the country, challenging patrons to blind-taste Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey next to the bar’s go-to well bourbon — with the exception of Jack Daniel’s.
“As it was in their lifetimes, Nearest and Jack won’t compete today,” Uncle Nearest wrote in the news release.
According to the brand, the challenge is inspired by Jack Daniel, whom Nearest Green taught to make whiskey. According to Uncle Nearest, Daniel would walk into bars and offer a silver dollar to anyone willing to taste his whiskey side by side with their favorite, confident his would win.
Nearest Green was an enslaved whiskey distiller who became the first master distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery.
“The ‘Nearest vs. Everybody Part II’ challenge is our way of inviting people to experience firsthand the legacy and craftsmanship of Nearest Green,” Uncle Nearest founder and CEO Fawn Weaver said. “By going bottle to bottle blindly with the best in the market, we’re confident that Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey will shine through, just as Nearest himself did over a century ago. This is a celebration of excellence and an open invitation for everyone to taste history in the making.”
Through 11:59 p.m. ET, Oct. 30, customers who order Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey can email [email protected] to enter a raffle for a chance to win one of 50 signed copies of “Love & Whiskey,” Weaver’s book, and “exclusive swag.”
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