By Robert Giles

Two distilleries that Colonial is proud to support in this Spirit Spotlight are Uncle Nearest and Delta Dirt. Both have been producing some world class spirits for years and we proudly carry their products in our store.

While it is unknown if Nathan “Nearest” Green was born into slavery or was made a slave, we do know that his specialization was a charcoal filtering process known as the Lincoln County process. In the course of his work he would teach this process to a young man who used this method to create Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. As this process spread to other distillers and Jack Daniel's became a staple of the whiskey world, Nathan Green soon became a footnote in another person's story.

Image credit unclenearest.com

In 2017, Fawn Weaver, having researched Nathan Green and been inspired by his story, founded the Nearest Green distillery and the Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand.

This became the first American spirits brand led by an African-American woman. Furthermore, she also created the Nearest Green Foundation to continue the legacy of Nathan Green and to provide scholarships to his descendants. She continues to strive for further excellence with the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund which invests in minority owned spirits companies. It all started, though, with a fantastic whiskey that grows in popularity year after year.

Arkansas' own Delta Dirt Distillery is a story of perseverance and risk that is fascinating in its own right. The Williams family has been farming their land in West Helena since the late 1800's. Starting a sharecropping operation, the land was eventually purchased from a combination of farming profits and a side business of moonshine.

Eventually, Harvey Williams Sr. inherited the land. As there was not enough land for typical row farming, he took the risk to change to vegetable farming, with a focus on sweet potatoes. That risk paid off.

Harvey Williams Jr. became intrigued with the possibilities of using the family's sweet potatoes to make vodka after talking with his brother Kennard Williams who had heard of other distilleries using the crop for that purpose. Taking the risk of a lifetime, Harvey invested his retirement savings and, with his wife, embarked on the mission to create a new family legacy. The result has been nothing short of fantastic.

Consistently winning Gold and Double Gold awards at spirits competitions around the world, Delta Dirt Distillery has become a representation of entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, and down to earth Arkansas spirit. Remaining a family business with Harvey's son Thomas as the head distiller, Delta Dirt has moved on to craft fantastic gin and continues to work on their whiskey (currently only available through the distillery itself).

Image credits: deltadirtdistillery.com

Whether it is a forgotten legacy or a desire to create a new one, both of these companies show the power of perseverance and hard work through the ages. Building on the history that came before them while forging their own path, Fawn Weaver and Harvey Williams are leaders of products with a story. That story is woven into both the history of our country and the future of the spirit industry.

We are proud to be able to support these businesses. Salud!