Telling the Full Story of American Whiskey
Uncle Nearest is a seven-year-old brand with a 160-year-old story–-and is now a $1billion dollar brand that is the fastest growing American whisky brand in history. The brand honors a formerly enslaved man and the first African-American master distiller on record, Nearest Green.
As the AOR for Uncle Nearest since its national launch in 2018 and creative partner for the brand’s distillery, The Brand Guild put Uncle Nearest on the map, building and executing a comprehensive PR and Thought Leadership plan that positioned the brand as a cultural movement and the brand’s CEO, Fawn Weaver, as the founder with a mission to keep Nearest Green’s legacy alive.
The Challenge
Uncle Nearest’s launch as a brand was a veritable David vs Goliath story; it was a whiskey breaking into a category that has historically been dominated by a few major players. The Brand Guild needed to balance introducing a disruptive brand into the market while simultaneously focusing on the quality of the whiskey itself–all while centering the story around the pioneering man whose name adorns the bottle.
Press Highlights
- Spearheaded a comprehensive awards program making it the most awarded whiskey in the country
- Cover stories including Ebony, Forbes, American Whiskey and Bourbon Plus, and major features including The New York Times, The Today Show, NPR’s How I Built This, and Bloomberg
- Editorial accolades including Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and Ebony Power 100
- 8 major brand launches, including the opening of the Nearest Green Distillery, securing major coverage in lifestyle and trade including Esquire, Men’s Journal, Whisky Advocate and Forbes
- Increased coverage by 50% year over year, with 43,264,475,873 impressions in 2024 alone
- Supported the launch of two DEI focused initiatives: Uncle Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative and the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund.
Creative Highlights
- Spearheaded label designs for their LTO offerings (7 in 2024)
- Development and execution of all creative for the distillery’s ongoing campaigns
Our Strategy
For the brand, we focused on elevating the story of Nearest Green himself, and his great-great-granddaughter Victoria Eady Butler who is Uncle Nearest’s Master Blender. These efforts resulted in national pieces in hundreds of national print, online, and broadcast outlets such as The Today Show, CNBC, Inc., Essence, and Bon Appetit.
For founder and CEO Fawn Weaver, we positioned her as a visionary leader—both as an entrepreneur and as a storyteller—committed to shining a light on history and building up the role of underrepresented groups in the spirits industry. As her profile increased across the industry landscape, we utilized her cultural capital to create a halo effect around her and the brand through thought leadership opportunities across print, online, and broadcast.
Uncle Nearest: Telling the Full Story of American Whiskey
Telling the Full Story of American Whiskey
