Nearest Green, Jack Daniel and Lynchburg Whiskey

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Nearest Green, Jack Daniel and Lynchburg Whiskey is a Tennessee story with a documented core at Lynchburg (Jack Daniel Distillery), Moore County. The sources are named below.

TraditionKind of story
6Named sources
Southern Middle TennesseeRegion
Oct 30Checked, 2026

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Nearest Green, Jack Daniel and Lynchburg Whiskey

People say that a young Jack Daniel learned to make whiskey from Nathan "Nearest" Green, a skilled distiller who had been enslaved. They say Green worked with a local preacher named Dan Call, and that after the Civil War he became the first master distiller at Jack Daniel's, making him the first known African American master distiller in the country. People also say the two men were friends and that members of the Green family kept working at the distillery for generations. Today the story is told both in Lynchburg and at a distillery that honors Green in Shelbyville.

What The Sources Record

What the named sources document: the Tennessee Encyclopedia (Jack Daniel Distillery; Historic Distilleries) says the distillery was established in 1866 by Jasper "Jack" Daniel in Lynchburg, Moore County, and that Daniel, born in 1848, began working at a local distillery at age twelve and later bought the interest of its owner, Dan Call, in 1866. Neither Tennessee Encyclopedia entry we read mentions Nearest Green. Jack Daniel's own press release of June 11, 2020 says the distillery was officially registered by the U.S. Government in 1866, and quotes Fawn Weaver, CEO of Uncle Nearest, as saying "Nearest Green taught Jack Daniel how to make Tennessee whiskey"; the same release quotes Brown-Forman's CEO speaking of "the extraordinary friendship of Nearest and Jack." House Joint Resolution 364 of the Tennessee 111th General Assembly (a legislative tribute, not a history study) says Green's role was first revealed in the 1967 biography Jack Daniel's Legacy, which mentions Green and his descendants some fifty times, and that he is "thought to have helped perfect" the Lincoln County Process; it also says Green was the first master distiller for the Jack Daniel Distillery. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development describes him as the world's first-known African American master distiller who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey, and the Uncle Nearest site (a whiskey brand) calls him the first known African American master distiller. So the teaching and the title "first master distiller" rest on a 1967 book, family and brand accounts, and Jack Daniel's own telling; we did not find an independent archive record or museum page that settles dates or details, and accounts differ on how and when Daniel came to the Call still. Please treat the friendship and the exact roles as told, and the 1866 registration and Daniel's link to Dan Call as documented.

Sources

A Note

The account here rests on a 2020 company press release, a 1967 state resolution and the Tennessee Encyclopedia, each labelled.

Its home: Jack Daniel Distillery tours, Lynchburg. Official page.

On this site: Tennessee History Timeline, Southern Middle Tennessee Events.

Looked for and Not Found

A Tennessee Encyclopedia entry on Nearest Green (the two entries we read do not mention him)
Any Library of Congress or National Park Service page on Nearest Green
An independent archive record or museum page that confirms the dates of his work for Dan Call or Jack Daniel

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the story of Nearest Green, Jack Daniel and Lynchburg Whiskey true?

Is this a legend?

It is a story with a documented core. The facts are listed on this page with their sources.

Where do these facts come from?

From the named sources listed on this page: Jack Daniel Distillery (Tennessee Encyclopedia); Historic Distilleries (Tennessee Encyclopedia); Uncle Nearest and Jack Daniel's join forces to launch the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, June 11, 2020 (Jack Daniel's press room).

Sources

Read on October 30, 2026. Stories are for fun; the facts come from these sources. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? tell us.

Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “Nearest Green, Jack Daniel and Lynchburg Whiskey”, itstennessee.com/legends/nearest-green-jack-daniel-lynchburg/ (updated 2026-11-01). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.

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