Nathan “Nearest” Green, affectionately nicknamed Uncle Nearest by his friends and family in Lynchburg, Tennessee, is the first African-American master distiller on record in the U.S. Nearest is credited with helping perfect the globally recognized Lincoln County Process, which is the only thing that distinguishes Kentucky Bourbon from Tennessee Whiskey (other than geography). This unique filtering of bourbon through sugar maple charcoal was named after the county where Nearest lived and made whiskey. The Nearest Green Distillery, a 270-acre Tennessee Walking Horse farm purchased in 2017 by Uncle Nearest, Inc., opened its doors for tours in September 2019.
