How did black slave make sour-mash Jack Daniel whiskey for which US is known today?

He was a black slave born in the US while his ancestors were from Africa and sold to white masters. After slavery was abolished, Nathan Nearest Green was hired by Jack Daniel's Distillery as its first master distiller in 1866. Its sour-mash whiskey is still the top-selling whiskey and most globally recognized spirit made in the US. Green's descendants have been working at the distillery for more than 150 years. The whiskey is unique in its taste and texture and some experts believe that it is so due to the technique known in western Africa. Charles K. Cowdery, author of the book "Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey," has described in detail the journey from a slave boy to the maker of one of the finest whiskey in the country.

Life of Nathan Nearest Green

The book traces the history of the distillery and joins dots to make the picture of the master distiller complete. Born in 1820 in Maryland, Nathan Nearest Green married Harriet and became the father of nine children. Cowdery said that Green was given the duty of operating the farmhouse distillery and it was a natural job for enslaved laborers.

People took more interest in Green after Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee, got critical acclaim for its products and devotion to whiskey history since opening in 2017.

Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel

According to Cowdrey, Green soon mentored a poor little boy Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel, who was born in Lynchburg around 1848. His mother died soon after his birth and his father was killed serving in the Confederate army, died of pneumonia in 1863. So he became orphaned when he was a teenager and worked as a chore boy for the preacher. He used to milk cows, feed slop to the pigs, get water from the springhouse, and do other menial jobs.

Daniel began working with Green, who gave him a master class on the intricacies of a spirit made only in America. It was sour-mash, charred-oak barrel-aged, charcoal-filtered corn whiskey.

FAQs:

Who was Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel?
Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel, was born in Lynchburg around 1848. His mother died soon after his birth and his father was killed serving in the Confederate army, died of pneumonia in 1863. So he became orphaned when he was a teenager and worked as a chore boy for the preacher.

Who was Nathan Nearest Green?
Nathan Nearest Green was a black slave born in the US while his ancestors were from Africa and sold to white masters. He developed sour-mash whiskey which is still the top-selling whiskey and most globally recognized spirit made in the US. Green's descendants have been working at the distillery for more than 150 years.