In 2016, the New York Times published a story about the distiller’s hidden ingredient—help from a slave. In the article, the brand officially acknowledged that an enslaved man, Nearest Green, taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. Since then, scholars, researchers, and journalists have descended upon Lynchburg, Tennessee, hoping to learn more about a man who had appeared as a mere appendage in the story of the country’s most popular whiskey brand.
Stefanie Benjamin, an assistant professor in Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management tells the story and legacy of Nearest Green for The Conversation.