- Uncle Nearest, a 159-year-old whiskey brand honoring Nearest Green, faces receivership and possible Chapter 11 after defaulting on over $108 million in loans.
- Mismanagement and overstated barrel valuations inflated collateral by $24 million, prompting lender intervention, layoffs, and asset sell-offs like vineyards and a Cognac château.
- Receiver believes the core whiskey business can be reorganized; Farm Credit provided $2.5M to stabilize while exploring a sale or restructuring.
In a story that blends American history with the harsh realities of today’s economy, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey—the 159-year-old brand honoring the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the formerly enslaved master distiller who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey—is staring down a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The Tennessee-based company, which launched in 2017 to reclaim Green’s overlooked contributions to the iconic Jack Daniel’s recipe, has been placed under court-ordered receivership after defaulting on more than $108 million in loans.
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But even as it sells off non-core assets like French vineyards and a Cognac château, those steering the ship see a path forward for the core whiskey operation.
The saga began in the 1850s, when a young Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel learned the art of distillation from Green, who had honed his skills on a Tennessee farm before emancipation.
After gaining his freedom, Green became Jack Daniel’s first head stiller, a role that helped build one of the world’s most famous whiskey empires.
Fast-forward to 2017: Fawn Weaver, a former financial executive turned entrepreneur, dove into years of research to document Green’s story and that of his descendants.
What started as a passion project exploded into the fastest-growing independent American whiskey brand, with Uncle Nearest hitting shelves and earning accolades for its smooth, high-rye expressions.
What Has Led to The Financial Mess
But rapid growth came with pitfalls. Poor recordkeeping and mismanagement by a former executive led to cash flow nightmares, including overstated barrel valuations that inflated collateral by $24 million.
Farm Credit Mid-America, the company’s senior lender, sued in late July, alleging breaches of financial covenants and reporting failures.
A federal judge in Tennessee sided with the lender, appointing Phillip G. Young Jr. as receiver and stripping control from founders Fawn and Keith Weaver.
The move prompted layoffs of 12 employees and the abrupt abandonment of a nascent cognac line, which lacked the funds for a proper market launch.
Young, in a detailed October 1 filing to U.S. District Court, painted a picture of a company battered but not broken.
“The company has significant value and can be reorganized, as a going concern,” he wrote, emphasizing that shipments are resuming and interest from potential buyers is picking up.
He added, “While cash flow was ‘a major challenge’ in the first weeks… the receiver does not believe that a fire sale liquidation of the company (be that as part of this receivership or as part of a bankruptcy proceeding) is necessary or in the best interest of this company.”
To keep the lights on, Farm Credit agreed to inject $2.5 million for overdue bills and fees, with a 13-week budget showing revenues covering ops.
A formal Chapter 11 filing—aimed at reorganization, not liquidation—remains on the table as Young works to offload those peripheral assets.
The Weavers’ attorney had floated the idea earlier, but the receivership shifted gears.
For now, the focus is stabilization: repairing ties with lenders, bringing in turnaround experts, and eyeing a sale process that preserves Uncle Nearest’s whiskey heart.
The Industry is Also Facing Headwinds
The brand’s ties to Jack Daniel’s, including a 2020 diversity initiative called Nearest & Jack Advancement, underscore its cultural weight—no ownership overlap with Brown-Forman, but a shared nod to industry’s Black pioneers.
Uncle Nearest isn’t navigating these waters alone.
The U.S. spirits sector, once a pandemic-era bright spot, is reeling from inflation, shifting tastes, and a post-Covid pullback in drinking.
NielsenIQ data shows a 2.8% sales dip and 3.2% volume drop in the first half of 2025 alone.
Supplier sales fell 1.1% to $37.2 billion in 2024, per the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States’ February briefing.
“While the spirits industry has proven to be resilient during tough times, it is certainly not immune to disruptive economic forces and marketplace challenges, and that was definitely the case in 2024,” council CEO Chris Swonger noted.
The fallout? A string of Chapter 11 filings that’s left craft distillers scrambling.
Boston Harbor Distillery, the Dorchester, Mass., outfit co-founded by Boston Beer Company’s Rhonda Kallman in 2012, sought protection on March 31 after overexpanding into whiskey, rum, gin, and more just as demand softened.
CEO Thomas Mooney blamed a contracting market for the strain.
House Spirits Distillery LLC, maker of the acclaimed Westward American single malt, followed suit on April 6, citing liquidity woes and overcapacity in a statement to The Spirits Business.
“This Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was designed to allow small businesses to restructure for success in the future,” Mooney said, vowing changes to ax burdensome contracts.
Texas’ Devil’s River Distillery, a 2017 upstart slinging bourbon and rye to 36 states and cruise lines, filed May 1 with liabilities between $1 million and $10 million, opting for Subchapter V to streamline restructuring.
Sacramento’s JJ Pfister Distilling Co. shuttered its tasting room in November 2024 before filing in May 2025, while Tacoma’s McCallum & Sons Whisky Co., a boutique Scotch and cognac shop, announced a permanent close on April 30 without a formal filing, liquidating inventory amid the crunch.
Even upstream players are hurting: On October 17, Minnesota’s Staggemeyer Stave—a 50-year oak barrel supplier key to whiskey aging—filed Chapter 11 after a creditor pushed for liquidation, facing millions in liabilities.
Kentucky’s Luca Mariano Distillery joined the list in July with $25 million in debt, as Jack Daniel’s parent Brown-Forman cut 12% of its workforce and closed a Louisville barrel plant in January.
Health trends and price sensitivity are biting hard. Wild Turkey sales dropped 8% in the U.S. first half, Jack Daniel’s 6%, per industry trackers.
Canada’s retaliatory trade snub—yanking U.S. whisky from shelves over tariffs—adds insult.
“This has been an extremely difficult time for distillers across the country who are dealing with increased production costs, a slowdown in spirits sales in the U.S.,” one industry insider told the Daily Mail.
For Uncle Nearest, the stakes feel personal.
Weaver’s quest wasn’t just business; it was restitution for a man erased from history books.
As Young pushes for a turnaround, the hope is that Nearest Green’s legacy endures beyond the ledgers. In spirits, as in storytelling, some chapters close—but the good ones rewrite themselves.
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