Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey: Fawn Weaver (2021)

How I Built This · 4 Mar 2024 · 1h 12m

What this episode covers

Fawn Weaver, founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, explains how she pivoted from writing books to building a whiskey brand after discovering that Nearest Green, a formerly enslaved man, taught Jack Daniel how to distill. Weaver details the challenges of entering a market dominated by five multinational corporations, including securing distribution by leveraging the brand's unique story and sweeping major spirit competitions. She also discusses the operational hurdles of sourcing aged whiskey, managing a three-tier distribution system, and raising over $60 million to build a new distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Mentioned

Companies
Brown-Forman, Diageo, Sazerac, LVMH, Pernod Ricard
Products
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, Jack Daniel, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, Nearest Green Distillery

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