Researchers and historians are discovering more about African Americans’ role in running distilleries since our country’s inception; however, documentation of these workers’ contributions to early whiskey production remains sparse, as few enslavers saw fit to give credit to such achievements.
For instance, although more than 150 years went by without confirming America’s first known African American master distiller Nearest Green, what is clear today is that it was Green who taught Jack Daniel the art of whiskey distillation — perhaps being among those responsible for Jack Daniel’s success as one of the most the popular brands in the world.