Slave Taught Jack Daniel How To Make Whiskey
- 8 years ago
The man behind the eponymous whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s learned his craft from a slave. For its 150th anniversary this year, the company is revealing some insights into its complex history.
The man behind the eponymous whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s learned his craft from a slave.
The New York Times is reporting that, for its 150th anniversary this year, the company is revealing some insights into its complex history.
The public has long been told that Jasper Newton 'Jack' Daniel was just 15-years old when he learned the trade from a preacher named Dan Call.
The New York Times piece states, “the prevailing history of American whiskey has been framed as a lily-white affair.”
However, the company is now more openly admitting that it was actually Nearis Green, a slave belonging to Call, who taught Daniel the proper technique.
Call is quoted in a 1967 biography of Jack Daniel as saying, “Uncle Nearest is the best whiskey maker that I know of.”
A Jack Daniel’s executive, Phil Epps, has said that he didn’t think Green’s omission from the distillery’s history was “ever a conscious decision.”
But with the onset of the anniversary milestone, he admits, “We realized it was something that we could be proud of.”
The man behind the eponymous whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s learned his craft from a slave.
The New York Times is reporting that, for its 150th anniversary this year, the company is revealing some insights into its complex history.
The public has long been told that Jasper Newton 'Jack' Daniel was just 15-years old when he learned the trade from a preacher named Dan Call.
The New York Times piece states, “the prevailing history of American whiskey has been framed as a lily-white affair.”
However, the company is now more openly admitting that it was actually Nearis Green, a slave belonging to Call, who taught Daniel the proper technique.
Call is quoted in a 1967 biography of Jack Daniel as saying, “Uncle Nearest is the best whiskey maker that I know of.”
A Jack Daniel’s executive, Phil Epps, has said that he didn’t think Green’s omission from the distillery’s history was “ever a conscious decision.”
But with the onset of the anniversary milestone, he admits, “We realized it was something that we could be proud of.”