Whiskey Advent Calendar Tasting: Uncle Nearest 1856 Whiskey

This is part of my series on tasting notes from the 2021 Drinks By The Dram Bourbon Advent Calendar.

Whiskey for December 21st, 2021: Uncle Nearest 1856 Whiskey

The distillery

Alright, so this is a little complicated. In 2016 Fawn Weaver started Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which is held by Fawn's investment firm, Grant Sidney, Inc (GSI). Uncle Nearest is a reference to the first recorded African-American master distiller, Nathan "Nearest" Green, who is said to have taught the original Jack Daniels how to run a whiskey still. The story is a little thin on hard evidence, but it makes a nice story.

Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, TN exists, but the whiskeys that sell under the Uncle Nearest brand are at least 7 years old. So they can't have been distilled by a distillery that's less than 5 years old. So some other distillery made these before Uncle Nearest ever existed, and they're being bottled under this brand. I have no clue who actually makes this stuff.

The whiskey

Tonight's whiskey is the Uncle Nearest 1856 whiskey. This is a blend whiskeys "between 8 and 14 years old". The label suggests that it's made from tennessee whiskeys, and uses the Lincoln County Process we've talked about before. We don't get a mash bill, but their web page covers Appearance, Nose, Palate, and Finish notes. I'll not replicate them here, but hop over if you're interested.

Look

Clear and bright gold brown with gold highlights. It runs to thin legs when swirled, which appear quickly, but take their time in travel.

Nose

So I get some fruity brightness at the front, possibly peach and apricot. A little citrusy as well and moderately sweet. Right in the middle is... toasted grains? It's a little like toasted oats, maybe? The whole nose is sweet and sugary.

Taste

Whew, this is hotter and rougher than I would expect from something that's at least 8 years old. It is 100 proof, but then so is Knob Creek and it doesn't kick as hard. The taste starts sweet and fruity again, maybe with dried cherries, and then it really starts to burn, so it's hard to get a lot of other flavors in the middle. It mellows out to cinnamon and caramel in the finish.

After water

A little water and the nose is largely the same, I don't get much change here. The taste calms down a lot, but it still hits hard. I get a lot of red hots/cinnamon through the palate that hangs out through the whole tasting. It's there from just after the first sip all the way into the lingering finish. I reminds me of Booker's bourbon in that way.

This whiskey absolutely needs water though. Even after dilution it's a spicy monster. That cinnamon hits really hard throughout and takes over the job of the alcohol in stomping all over flavors.

With even more water we start cutting all that down. I get vanilla and caramel with the cinnamon. It's very desert-like, but the cinnamon stays hot the whole time. This is a bourbon for spicy cinnamon candy lovers.

Summary

You have to dilute this whiskey. It's a palate destroyer in its unaltered from and just not very good. Adding a little more water than you'd expect, and it turns into a sweet and spicy desert whiskey that I like for many of the reason I like booker's. Though I think I can taste booker better at cask strength than I can this whiskey at 100 proof. I wish I know who really made this whiskey, but it doesn't really matter. Order yourself a glass if you see this, or pick up a bottle if you like something with a serious kick of cinnamon, like I do.