Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How a formerly enslaved man helped create Jack Daniel's

Season 2024 Episode 216 | 8m 57s

Jack Daniel's is a famous whiskey brand, but Daniel didn’t create the method for distilling Tennessee whiskey. He learned it from a formerly enslaved man named Nearest Green. Fawn Weaver created Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey to honor and preserve Green’s legacy and it's now the most successful Black-owned liquor empire. Geoff Bennett sat down with Weaver to discuss her book, “Love and Whiskey."

Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by Consumer Cellular and Cunard Cruise Line. For a complete list of funders for the PBS NewsHour and PBS NewsHour weekend, click here.
Extras
October 15, 2026 - PBS News Hour full episode
Pennsylvania doctor urges vaccination as measles outbreak grows
News Wrap: Trump says Fort Hood shooter's execution will not be livestreamed
An accounting of Trump's promised payouts and questions they raise
Why small colleges are closing and the toll on students and communities
David Byrne explores the art of rediscovery in 'Sleeping Beauties'
Ukraine less reliant on U.S. as Trump-Zelenskyy rift deepens, former ambassador says
Inside Georgia’s Senate race and Collins's uphill battle against Ossoff
Ukraine resumes strikes on energy targets, saying Russia never stopped its attacks
How Starlink disruptions affected Ukraine’s battlefield operations