The Tennessee Whiskey Brand That Changed History Faces An Uncertain Future

Uncle Nearest, the first African-American master whiskey distiller, is now facing financial issues and selling off assets to avoid bankruptcy. In August 2025, the company was named in a $100 million lawsuit filed by creditor Farm Credit Mid-America and was placed in a court-ordered receivership. It now must sell off non-crucial business assets in hopes the company won't have to declare bankruptcy.

A Black-owned company, Uncle Nearest was founded by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Fawn and Keith Weaver less than 10 years ago. The company exploded onto the elite whiskey scene with resounding success. By 2019, it had opened its own distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee and in 2022 reported selling more than $100 million in whiskey. Unfortunately, it is now facing an uncertain future as it pushes back against efforts to seize assets to satisfy mounting debts.

Uncle Nearest, which markets itself as "the best whiskey maker the world never knew," has been producing distilled Tennessee whiskey, rye, and bourbon since 2017, but the legacy of the brand's name dates back to the 1800s. It pays homage to a formerly enslaved man named Uncle Nearest (or Nearis depending on some sources) Green. Green was the person who taught legendary distiller Jack Daniel how to make whiskey, but the contributions he made, which were allegedly responsible for the incredible success of the Jack Daniel's company, were swept under the rug until 2016 when the company acknowledged this part of its history. Fawn Weaver says Uncle Nearest is the second-best selling Tennessee whiskey in the country, and is fighting back against the sale of the property and the terms of the receivership.

Fawn Weaver is fighting back against the receivership and speaking out against the negative press that the company has been receiving. She attended the Inc. 5000 Conference on October 24, 2025, just 12 weeks after media outlets first broke the news of the company's woes. Inc. reported that in a seminar called, "Reclaiming Your Company in Turbulent Times," Fawn said that the Martha's Vineyard property the company may have to sell off as part of the receivership, which it purchased in 2023, is "a smear campaign tactic" and attempt to "taint the judge, who's going to be white in eastern Tennessee."

According to Weaver, the company filed a motion in opposition to the receivership in August 2025, claiming that the terms ignore the context necessary to understand the property's importance to the distillery, and that Farm Credit Mid-America did not act in accordance with the law when attempting to lay claim to the property as collateral for Uncle Nearest's loan. At the Inc. conference, Weaver said, "[Farm Credit] didn't have security over any of our collateral."

Fawn went on to say that the company has evidence that proves her statements and while it hasn't filed anything further, it does plan to. However, the court-appointed receiver did file his first report in which he claimed he did not find any evidence of theft or misappropriation by the founder, management team, or employees of Uncle Nearest. The Lexington Herald Leader reports that the receiver told the court the case "is progressing smoothly and that the opportunity for the company's successful emergence from receivership is very good. While challenges lie ahead, the outlook is positive."