'She entrusted a lot in me that day, but she was there cheering me on while I was doing it. 'Fawn Weaver was my ultimate cheerleader,' Eady Butler says. The Weavers and three team members with years of blending experience among them were standing by when Eady Butler attempted to blend her very first batch of 1884 Small Batch Whiskey. I had always enjoyed it with my family and friends, planning cocktails and things like that, but had never blended whiskey - and of course I was nervous.'īut Eady Butler was surrounded by support. 'My background was not in the spirits industry I had never even considered blending whiskey. 'The first time that I went in to blend, I went in carrying a ball of nerves,' Eady Butler says. She started as the VP of administration, but it wasn't long before Weaver approached her about the possibility of blending.Īlthough nervous, I just knew I wasn't going to fail.Įady Butler didn't have any blending experience - but she was willing to give it a shot. So, in March 2019, Eady Butler retired from the Department of Justice on a Thursday and went to work with Uncle Nearest on the following Monday. 'She and I connected and talked about what I could contribute to the team,' she recalls, 'and honestly, I just couldn't say no to the opportunity to help continue my great-great-grandfather's legacy. Those aspirations inspired her to study criminal justice at Middle Tennessee State University and launched her 31-year career with the Department of Justice, where, for more than 20 years, she led and supervised a team of criminal and forensic analysts.Įady Butler was considering retirement when Weaver approached her about joining Uncle Nearest. But she was always set on a career in law enforcement.Īs a young girl, she dreamed of becoming the police commissioner or working in hostage negotiations. Some of Eady Butler's siblings continue to work at Jack Daniel's to this day the 'beautiful relationship' between Daniel and Green continued with their families over generations, Eady Butler says. 'I just couldn't say no to the opportunity to help continue my great-great-grandfather's legacy.'ĭespite being the great-great-granddaughter of the first-known Black distiller in the U.S., Eady Butler never set out to join the whiskey business. What's more, Eady Butler became the first woman to win the Master Blender of the Year title at Whisky Magazine's American Icons of Whisky Awards in 2021 - and the first person to receive the honor for two consecutive years in 2022.Įntrepreneur sat down with Eady Butler at the distillery's Barrel House II, where former horse stalls have been converted into booths for the second location of Chuck Baker's beloved BBQ restaurant, to learn about her unexpected road to master blender, what goes into crafting the perfect blend and how it feels to carry on her family's legacy. With Eady Butler at the blending helm, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey became the most-awarded American whiskey or bourbon of 2019, 2020, 20.

Uncle nearest whiskey commercial