Uncle Nearest, Inc. — Local services in Shelbyville

Oh my gosh!! If you've done a distillery tour before, be prepared for an elevated experience! We arrived a little earlier than our check-in time (suggested 15 minutes before the tour), so took a look around. From the moment you step in the welcome center, you feel like family. While very professional, everyone is smiling and welcoming. You can tell the difference between the fake photo smiles and the genuine-these were genuine.

Check-in was simple and quick, so we (my wife, MIL, and I) walked around to browse the merchandise. I spent 10 minutes speaking with an employee about the antique truck they have on display and restoring old vehicles-what a blast! I made my way to the section where the various whiskeys were displayed and was reading about one of them. I asked the young man behind the counter a question, and he pulled out a tasting cup and poured me some-that was unexpected! During my impromptu tasting, I struck up a conversation with the folks standing next to me-they were visiting from South Carolina and picked up a dozen bottles of what I was tasting, which happened to be a very limited edition release. I went home with three bottles...go figure.

As it turns out, our tour guide was the same young man who gave me a sample tasting-Terrell. What a well-spoken, informative young man he turned out to be! We were the only three signed up for the 10:30 tour, so it was very special to us, as we talked his ear off (when he wasn't giving us all the rich history) and learned so much! Terrell was very personable and, as I mentioned, well-versed in the history of Nearest Green and the distillery. From it's unique beginning to future plans, Terrell had the information and answers to our questions.

After our tour (which ended up being almost 2 hours-that's spoiled right there!), we had lunch at the Humble Baron restaurant on site. Once again we struck it rich, as the smoked brisket had just finished cooking and was being prepared. I thought I ordered a sandwich-this thing was like a double-decker, and I finished every bite! I highly recommend it!

Sadly, I can't remember the name of the young lady who helped us but, I know she is a 41 year-old home-school mom, and was an absolute delight! She possesses that southern sweet and, was very knowledgeable as well as a blast to interact with!

This is fast becoming a destination, not a tour. By the way, my MIL, who does not drink whiskey, found two that she liked! There is nothing like Tennessee Whiskey and, if you want to learn how it started, take a trip-you certainly won't be...

I want to start off by saying that our tour guides Tyler and Jason as well as the rest of the staff were great. We went to the Uncle Nearest Distillery hoping to get more of a history lesson on Nathan Nearest Green after having our interests sparked by the nearby Jack Daniel's Distillery. Unfortunately we left learning nothing new. I know one gentleman asked if he had any siblings and the staff didn't have an answer. Often times these things get lost to history, that may be the case here, perhaps there just isn't much known about Uncle Nearest. You do however learn a lot about the founders of the distillery, Fawn and Keith Weaver. From reading other reviews, this seems to upset some people, but not me. I enjoyed learning about them and think it's admirable that they are dedicated to preserving the memory of a man that otherwise might be forgotten. I think for me, the biggest let downs were that they don't actually do any distilling on the property. Instead they purchase bulk spirits that are produced by a 3rd party distillery and largely bottled off site. Don't get me wrong, I worked at bulk spirits distillery for years and though many people from the outside look at it as a shameful practice, more distilleries do this than most are aware of. I think in this instance it's more upsetting since the namesake of the company is a master distiller. They supposedly have a still on site, but you don't get to see it. Also anytime the mash bill came up in conversation they made it sound like it was a safely guarded secret. The guides mentioned that they aspire to distill on the property, but that's likely 5 years down the road. They seem to be more invested in building out the property than they are spending money on what makes a distillery a distillery. In a nutshell, I don't think the tour was worth $35. You don't get to see any of the processes associated with a distillery and the history lesson (which is what I was paying for) was a little disappointing. The property is beautiful and you can tell a lot of thought went into it. And the spirits, although purchased in bulk and not created by them, ...

We went to Uncle Nearest Distillery expecting much of the same you see at every other whiskey tour. We were treated to much more. We were very impressed with the way they wove you into the history of Tennessee Whiskey, The Lincoln County Process, Prohibition, and Women's Sufferage. They didn’t just tell you a story, but walked you into the time and brought the history to life. The way that the company has embraced the history of the name is fantastic.

We also wondered how the company was going to treat the historical ties of its namesake to that of the Jack Daniel Distillery down the road. They never pushed away from it and spoke very favorably of the man and the company that is best known for Tennessee Whiskey. They were very careful to explain that the Nearest family is still very much a part of Jack Daniel’s, even having 6th and 7th generation family members currently employed by them.

I think the two things that impressed us the most were the depths of investment the young company and its owners, the Vaughn family, have made in Shelbyville. To say they are all in is missing the mark. They are booming as a business and you can see the aspirations for future growth everywhere you look on the farm. The second thing that really stood out was the dedication and commitment to excellence by the employees. Mr. Terrell Johnson, who was the first tour guide for the company, was our host and guide. He was obviously totally committed to the company and very knowledgeable in the history of the Nearest family and the Uncle Nearest company.

This was a great tour, they have great Whiskey, the farm is fantastic, and we enjoyed every minute. I highly recommend making the Uncle Nearest Distillery a primary stop on your next Tennessee Whiskey Traul tour. Don't just make it a quick stop on the way to the big guy...