Love and Whiskey

By Fawn Weaver

A detailed account of the author’s exhaustive investigation of the Nearest Green story and her monumental and admirable efforts to establish the new brand of Whiskey, as well as a foundation to provide scholarships for descendants of Green.   However, other than statements and assertions from various folks, there are no concrete descriptions of episodes which illustrate the mutual respect and love between Nearest Green and Jack Daniels.

Four stars out of five stars

My banker friend, who is aware that I am fond of reading and writing book reviews, recently gave me a copy of “Love and Whiskey” by Fawn Weaver.  Apparently, his bank has a list of recommended books every now and then and has free copies for their favorite customers.

Left to my own initiative, it is doubtful that a book with whiskey in the title would be on my reading list.  However, I feel obliged to read "Love and Whiskey", as it is given by a friend, especially when he said “Let me know what you think of it” when he handed me the book.

Fawn Weaver is an African American businesswoman with experience in start-ups.  While not related by blood to Nearest Green, she is related by marriage.  Nearest Green was the African American master distiller who worked with Jack Daniel of Lynchburg, Tennessee.  Jack Daniel was founder of the famous whisky brand which bears his name.  While Daniel’s name and story have been well known, the contributions of Nearest Green have not been recognized.  This was when, on seeing an article with a photo of Green on the cover of the New York Times International Edition in June,2016, Weaver decided to right the wrong of history by telling Green’s story. Her effort was multi-faceted, from establishing the Uncle Nearest whiskey brand, writing and publishing this book,as well as building the Nearest Green Foundation which offers scholarships to descendants of Green.

Part 1 of the book, about 200 pages, is a thorough account of the exhaustive investigation of the life and work of Nearest Green. This involved tireless efforts of searching and uncovering records and documents, both official and private, that still exist in Lynchburg, Tennessee,   They included finding, connecting and interviewing the descendants of both the Green and the Daniel families, as well as dealing with Brown-Forman corporation, which owns the Jack Daniel distiller and sells the Jack Daniel brand of whiskey.  The interactions with Brown-Forman were at times cordial and at times tense.

Part 2 of the book, about 120 pages, narrates the author’s monumental effort in creating a new brand of whiskey honoring Nearest Green, and her admirable achievement of establishing the Nearest Green foundation which offers scholarships to descendants of Green.

While all these achievements are superhuman, including securing statements of various folks testifying to the mutual respect and love between Jack Daniels and Nearest Green, there are no concrete descriptions of episodes which illustrate such sentiments in detail.  As “love” is the central theme of the book, this leaves the reader with vague words only, not a very satisfactory way to land the central theme.

This reviewer is fond of highlighting memorable quotes in the books he reviews.  Most books have plenty of such quotes. For this one, I find just three.  One, although not explicitly pointed out by the author,  is actually by Charles Chaplin:

“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”  - The author

“I don’t know if it was the experience of being on the farm and seeing the whole cycle of life and death.  But I’ve never been shaken by death.  Especially if somebody’s sick.  I see it as they’re no longer suffering.” - Dr. Gerl, a descendent of Green.

“A man's true character comes out when he's drunk” – Charles Chaplin

There are a lot of names in the story, mostly descendants of Jack and Earnest and their acquaintances.  The who’s who list at the front pages of the book is a good reference for readers.  It is regrettable that a book index is missing, as it would greatly facilitate looking up various names and events.  To the author’s credit, the book consists of short chapters, usually five to seven pages long, which enable the reader to consume one or two chapters even during short breaks from daily routines.