Uncle Nearest Debuts Best Commercial Of Super Bowl Sunday

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, one of two brands named "World's Best" at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards last week in New York, premiered its first-ever television campaign. One of only a few spirit brands to air a commercial during or around Super Bowl LIII, the company debuted "The Why," an emotive spot introducing the "best whiskey maker the world never knew" to the most sought-after television audience of the year. The 60-second spot aired in 24 major media markets during "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Post-Super Bowl Special" and is narrated by Emmy award-winning Westworld actor Jeffrey Wright, from the home featured on the Uncle Nearest label.

"Many don't realize the home on our bottle is a real place," said Fawn Weaver, co-founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc. "That home sits on a farm, in the hills above Lynchburg, Tennessee, and looks today just as it did when Uncle Nearest distilled his premium whiskey there more than 160 years ago." Following two years of restoration, whiskey historians and connoisseurs will finally get its first glance at the property where Tennessee whiskey, as we know it today, was birthed.  

The commercial follows the lives of Uncle Nearest team members as they crisscross the country, reviving the story of the first known African-American master distiller, in bars, restaurants and on streets nationwide. The unscripted commercial is groundbreaking and utterly original, yet risky in an advertising world that often chooses formula over heart. Weaver reached out to Nashville-based director David Poag, and Lamar Brothers lead producer Steve Lamar to create the campaign.

"On our very first meeting with Fawn, she was absolutely certain about one thing," said Poag. "She did not want to do anything inauthentic. She believed the extraordinary growth of the brand was due to the passion and hard work of the Uncle Nearest team and wanted that featured," Poag continued. "Even though we knew it would be challenging from a logistical and production standpoint, the moment we arrived in Lynchburg and met the Uncle Nearest team in person, and experienced their determination for resurrecting the legacy of this previously unknown trailblazer, we knew this was something special, and have been working at warp speed ever since." 

The end result is something the spirits world has never before seen and is revolutionary in a spirits advertising campaign.

"The Why" will continue to air during the Late Show on CBS, as well as Late Late Show with James Corden. Shows like Chicago PD, Law & Order: SVU, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live and Nightline will begin airing a 30-second version, while NBC's hit show Manifest, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and a host of other popular network shows will air both the 60-second and 30-second spots. The commercial is the prelude to a 7-minute short film, starring Jeffrey Wright, that will debut digitally later this month.

ABOUT UNCLE NEAREST PREMIUM WHISKEY

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is inspired by the best whiskey-maker the world never knew, the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States, Nathan "Nearest" Green. The Uncle Nearest brand, wholly owned by Uncle Nearest, Inc., encompasses Premium Aged and Tennessee Silver products, distilled, aged, bottled and hand-labeled in Tennessee using locally sourced grains. Uncle Nearest is an award-winning spirit, garnering 13 medals in 13 months, including a Double Gold Medal at the China Wine and Spirits Awards, a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, New York World Wine and Spirits Competition, two Gold Medals at the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition. Cigar & Spirits Magazine also named it one of the Top 5 Whiskies in the World and was one of two brands to take home the top prize of "World's Best" at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards produced by Whisky Magazine. For more information, please visit the Uncle Nearest website, and follow on Instagram and Facebook.

ABOUT NEAREST GREEN FOUNDATION

The Nearest Green Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and honoring the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States. Nathan "Nearest" Green's triumph over his original circumstances was remarkable, and his journey from slavery to one of the wealthiest and best-known African-Americans in the area was as much about his spirit of forgiveness and grace as it was about his legacy of excellence. It is that legacy the Nearest Green Foundation works with his descendants to uphold and share with the world. Somehow, Nearest Green's legacy was once forgotten. Now, we look at it as our responsibility to make sure that never happens again. Currently, ten of Nearest Green's descendants have full undergraduate and graduate scholarships from NGF at universities across the country, from the University of Tennessee to Texas A&M to Auburn University. Funding is provided by sales of Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey. For more information, visit www.nearestgreen.org.

ABOUT NATHAN "NEAREST" GREEN

Nathan "Nearest" Green, known by those in his hometown of Lynchburg, Tenn., as Uncle Nearest, was the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States. He was also the first head stiller, now commonly referred to as master distiller, for Jack Daniel Distillery. He is now recognized by the distillery as having taught a young Jack Daniel how to make Tennessee Whiskey. Green is also thought to have helped perfect the Lincoln County Process, a special sugar maple charcoal filtering method required to be considered Tennessee Whiskey, named after the county in which he lived and made whiskey.

DRINK HONORABLY™

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is wholly and independently owned by Uncle Nearest, Inc. UNCLE NEAREST, THE BEST WHISKEY MAKER THE WORLD NEVER KNEW, NEAREST GREEN and NATHAN GREEN are trademarks of Uncle Nearest, Inc. © 2019 Uncle Nearest Whiskey | Alcohol 50% Volume (100 proof)

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