Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey Wins Big At 2019 SIP Awards

The Super Premium Whiskey from Tennessee Racked Up Five Awards at the Prestigious International Competition, Including "Best in Class"

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Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

May 30, 2019, 10:17 ET

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn., May 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey has been awarded an astounding five honors at the 2019 SIP Awards, the only internationally recognized consumer judging spirits competition, including Best of Class – Platinum for its Nearest Green™ 1820 Single Barrel Edition Whiskey ($119 SRP) and Double Gold for its core offering, Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey ($59.99 SRP). With these accolades, the super premium whiskey brand has earned a total of 34 awards since its debut in mid-2017, making it one of the most awarded emerging whiskey brands in history.

Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey and Nearest Green™ 1820 Single Barrel Edition

This year alone, Uncle Nearest 1856 was one of two brands to win the reputable "World's Best" award at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards and was awarded "Best American Whiskey" at the 2019 New Orleans Bourbon Festival. Further, Nearest Green™ 1820 Single Barrel Edition earned a Gold Medal at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Chairman's Trophy with a high score of 95 at the 2019 Ultimate Spirits Challenge. Last year, Cigar & Spirits Magazine named Uncle Nearest 1856 one of the "Top 5 Whiskies in the World."

"To be alive to see a spotlight shined on our ancestor, more than a century after his passing, brings me an enormous amount of pride and joy," said Victoria Eady-Butler, descendant of the whiskey's namesake, Nearest Green, and Director of Administration for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. "He would be so proud -- I'm certain of it -- and so would my grandmother, Annie Bell Green, who made sure all of her children and grandchildren knew the significance of her grandfather's achievements."

"This is truly astounding," added Fawn Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. "We set out to honor Nearest Green with his own bottle, and to do it with excellence. Our goal was to build a brand that outlives us and to ensure the world knows his name in our lifetime."

Seemingly 160 years in the making, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brings forth the story of Tennessee distilling legend Nearest Green, or as his family and friends called him, Uncle Nearest, and is the first spirit brand in history to honor an African-American. Weaver and a team of 20 historians, archivists, archaeologists, genealogists and conservators teamed up for an undertaking unparalleled in the industry, uncovering thousands of original documents and artifacts in six states about Green, and bringing them back to the home on the Uncle Nearest bottle in Metro Lynchburg, Tennessee. The brand's first-ever short film, The Story of Nearest Green, starring Emmy Award-winning Westworld and 007 actor Jeffrey Wright, debuted some of that research when it premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Center.

The second half of 2019 is already shaping up to be the company's busiest months yet. This summer, they will debut their newest expression, Uncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch Whiskey. Certain to add more awards to the rapidly growing brand's roster, each barrel bottled was hand-selected by the company's founders and curated by descendants of Nearest Green, and features the signature of the descendant who selected each batch on the back. Then, this fall, the company will open phase one of its 270-acre "Disneyland of Distilleries," as Weaver refers to the distillery experience, which was created with welcoming entire families in mind. "We are bringing together the three pillars of Tennessee -- country music, Tennessee Whiskey and Walking Horses," said Sherrie Moore, 33-year Tennessee Whiskey industry veteran and Director of Whiskey and Distillery Operations for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. "What could be better than that?"

For more information on Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, visit www.unclenearest.com, and follow @unclenearest on Instagram and Facebook.

About Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is inspired by the best whiskey-maker the world never knew, the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States, Nathan "Nearest" Green. The Uncle Nearest brand, wholly owned by Uncle Nearest, Inc., encompasses a premium aged and an 11-year-old single barrel product, both distilled, aged, bottled and hand-labeled in Tennessee.

Uncle Nearest is an award-winning spirit, garnering 34 awards since its July 2017 debut, including being one of two brands named "World's Best" at Whisky Magazine's 2019 World Whiskies Awards, and earning a Best of Class - Platinum and Double Gold Medal at the 2019 SIP Awards, a Chairman's Trophy at the 2019 Ultimate Beverage Challenge, a Double Gold Medal at the 2018 China Wine & Spirits Awards, Gold Medals at the 2019 and 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and 2018 New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, as well as two Gold Medals at the 2018 Los Angeles International Spirits Competition. Cigar & Spirits Magazine has also named Uncle Nearest one of the "Top 5 Whiskies in the World." For more information please visit the Uncle Nearest website, and follow on Instagram and Facebook.

SOURCE Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey