Burr, it’s chilly out there today but beautiful. So happy to see the first snow of the year before the end of the holiday season. I am on day 5 of my dry January and am eyeing this bottle of bourbon on the bar. I seriously feel like having a sip but I can wait and remember how much I enjoyed it after Thanksgiving this year with my cousin and another guest of the family. The two of them drank two thirds of the bottle with cider. I had mine straight and it was a real treat. For years I had stopped drinking Bourbon after a teenage experience with Wild Turkey that put me off the category for at least a couple of decades.

I started to get back into Bourbon after a class with a Master Distiller at Maker’s Mark at one of the Society of Wine Educators conferences I attended.

Uncle Nearest 1994 was a brand that interested me because of the backstory. Apparently, Uncle Nearest was the name of a man whose given name was Nathan Green. He started his life as a slave but after the Civil War was a freeman in Tennessee. He worked as a distiller for a reverend on his farm making whiskey. He is also credited with being the one to add the process of passing the whiskey through sugar maple charcoal something that makes Tennesse whiskey special.

The whiskey we had was a 93-proof whiskey that is made by a member of the 5th generation of “Nearest” Nathan Green’s family. The story is pretty amazing and his descendant named Victoria Eady Butler was twice awarded Master Blender of the Year by Whisky Magazine in 2021 and 2022, among other honors. I love that the whiskey is made by a women and by Nearest’s Descendant. While others had the bourbon with cider, I had mine straight. 

Tasting Note:

Dark Amber in color, on the nose there was a lot of orange, tobacco, spice, and oak notes while on the palate, the oak tannins were well integrated with tobacco, sweet spice, and clove. It had a long silky persistence and finish. I drank this after a big meal and it was immensely satisfying. I look forward to my next sip.