(Photo: Square One Organic Spirits)
Uncle Nearest, recognized as the top-selling Black-owned spirits company in the world, is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of Idaho's Square One Organic Spirits.
While Uncle Nearest's catalog features a variety of well-received Tennessee whiskeys, Square One specializes in the opposite side of the flavor spectrum. In addition to its flagship Organic Rye Vodka — reportedly the first USDA-certified organic spirit in its category — the brand makes cucumber-, botanical-, basil- and bergamot-infused alternatives. Square One also produces a lineup of RTD cocktails and mixers.
"In 2020, I expressed our vision for Uncle Nearest to not just be a brand, but to become the first spirits conglomerate in America founded by a woman or person of color," Uncle Nearest founder and CEO Fawn Weaver said in a news release. "Many saw this as wishful thinking since we were only three years into our journey at the time."
Launched in 2017, Uncle Nearest derives its name from Nathan "Nearest" Green, the world's first known African American distiller. Born in 1820 before being enslaved in Lynchburg, Tennessee, spirits historians long ignored Green's prolific contribution to whiskey as we know it today. Until recently, folklore asserted that Jack Daniel learned distillation from a local preacher, Dan Call; in truth, he'd been taught by Green, an enslaved man.
Centuries later, Uncle Nearest Whiskey strives to uplift that oft-overlooked legacy. The distiller recently organized an old-fashioned cocktail challenge that raised $1.4 million for HBCUs, later teaming up with Jack Daniel's to create a brand incubator for up-and-coming BIPOC-led spirits.
Under its new partnership with Square One, Allison Evanow will continue to play a "pivotal role" in the vodka brand she founded in 2004. Uncle Nearest has also hinted that Square One will undergo rebranding before it expands to all 50 states this summer.
"While we have really loved being an independent brand so that we could focus on quality organic ingredients and unique flavor profiles, the intense demands of handling nearly all sales personally underscored the need for stronger backing," Evanow said. "Uncle Nearest will not only preserve our independent spirit and world class quality, but also bring the robust sales and distribution capabilities we need to reach our full potential."
