Just Released! Book Review of Love & Whiskey by Fawn Weaver, Owner of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

Behind the Pour

Fawn Weaver is the founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and one of the most significant figures in American spirits in the last decade. Her book Love and Whiskey, released June 19, 2024 — Juneteenth — is the story of the research, the relationships, and the mission behind Uncle Nearest: recovering and honoring the legacy of Nearest Green, the African American distilling genius who taught Jack Daniel his craft. Crystal and Roger review the book on TLC's 26-minute episode — treating a spirits book with the same rigor they bring to a bottle.

What You'll Discover

• Who Nearest Green was: Nearest Green was an enslaved man who was the master distiller for the whiskey that became Jack Daniel's. Historical evidence — including documentation Jack Daniel himself preserved — shows that Green taught Daniel the Lincoln County Process and was the central figure in the early production of what is now one of the world's most recognized whiskey brands. His name was not on the bottle.
• How Fawn Weaver found the story: Love and Whiskey follows Weaver's own investigation — the research, the interviews, the archival documents, and the personal discoveries that led from a news article to a national spirits brand and a New York Times bestseller.
• What the bond between Nearest Green and Jack Daniel actually looked like: Weaver's research reveals a relationship that was more complex and more human than the historical omission suggested. Daniel's documented efforts to honor Green and his descendants during his lifetime is one of the book's most significant revelations.
• The founding of Uncle Nearest: How the research became a mission to ensure Green's legacy was commercially and culturally recognized — and how that mission produced a brand that has set records in the American spirits industry.
• Why this book matters beyond spirits: Love and Whiskey is a story about credit, legacy, and the specific American history of who gets remembered and who gets erased. Crystal and Roger treat it as the serious work of cultural history it is.

A Moment of Pourspective

Nearest Green made the whiskey. His name belongs on the history. Fawn Weaver's work is the proof that recovery is possible — that erased stories can be found, documented, and honored if someone cares enough to look.

Explore the Conversation

The Love and Whiskey episode is one of TLC's most culturally significant. Crystal brings her full depth as a host who has built a show specifically for the community that Fawn Weaver's work is most directly for. The June 19th publication date is not a coincidence. Weaver chose Juneteenth for both the book release and the founding of Uncle Nearest's historical recognition effort. Crystal connects that explicitly to the TLC community's context. The book review format is unusual for TLC — this is not a tasting episode. But Crystal and Roger bring the same analytical framework to the book that they apply to spirits: what is the product, what does it claim, does it deliver on what it promises, and does it matter?

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Love and Whiskey? Love and Whiskey is a New York Times bestselling book by Fawn Weaver, founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. It follows her research into the life and legacy of Nearest Green, the African American distiller who taught Jack Daniel his craft.
• Who is Nearest Green? Nearest Green was an enslaved man who is documented as the master distiller behind the whiskey that became Jack Daniel's. He taught Jack Daniel the Lincoln County Process. Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey was founded in his honor.
• Who is Fawn Weaver? Fawn Weaver is the founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which she launched based on her research into Nearest Green's story. unclenearestwhisky.com
• When was the book published? Love and Whiskey was published on June 19, 2024 — Juneteenth.

Episode at a Glance

• Book reviewed: Love and Whiskey by Fawn Weaver
• Hosts: Crystal and Roger
• Runtime: 26 minutes, 40 seconds
• Category: Whiskey
• Published: June 19, 2024 (Juneteenth)