Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey Review [In Depth]

Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey

by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer

Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey Details

Distillery: Uncle Nearest

Type & Region: Tennessee Whiskey, Tennesesee, USA

Alcohol: 42%

Composition: Not stated

Aged: Unknown

Color: 1.0/2.0 on the color scale (deep copper)

Price: $30

From the company website:

Discover the exceptional craftsmanship that has crowned Uncle Nearest the most-awarded bourbon globally for six consecutive years through Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey, celebrating the godfather of Tennessee whiskey at a more approachable proof. Each bottle crafted by 4-time Master Blender of the Year and 5th-generation Green descendant, Victoria Eady Butler, this 84-proof Tennessee whiskey is perfect for sipping neat or mixing into your favorite cocktails.

“Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey captures the spirit of my great-great-grandfather, Nearest Green, while still upholding our pillars of excellence and unmatched quality,” said Victoria Eady Butler. “With this new brand, we’re not just expanding our offerings—we’re expanding the Uncle Nearest family, reaching new consumers who may not consider spending more than $50 on a bottle. Our goal is simple: To make Nearest Green a household name, bringing people together to honor our past while embracing the future of Tennessee Whiskey.”

Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey overview

Uncle Nearest is back at it with a new release, Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey, at a more affordable $30 price. It’s interesting that Uncle Nearest has come out and clearly stated that price is important and that they recognize that not everyone is going to spend $50+ on booze. At $30, they are trying to make the brand more accessible.

As much as I may not be that type of customer, I also recognize that $50 for a single bottle of whiskey is a stretch for many. It’s a luxury, a splurge.

Quick background, Uncle Nearest is the very populated and well-known whiskey brand founded by Fawn Weaver and Victoria Eady Butler. It commemorates and expands on the legacy of Nearest Green, who was Jack Daniel’s mentor…yeah that Jack Daniels. Honestly, you probably know all of that already.

Discover some of the best bourbons under $30

Back to the whiskey at hand. I’m sure that someone looked at whiskey sales at various price bands and saw that whiskey under $50 makes up a bulk of whiskey sales. So to leverage Uncle Nearest’s incredible brand recognition and growing stocks of aging whiskey, they decided to release something more affordable (and inevitably younger), and Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey was crafted. I get it. I do business stuff and I would probably come up with the same decision. Businesses run on money and aging whiskey takes a lot of time.

With added context, filling in the pricing gap makes sense.

Uncle Nearest 1884 is $40-50
Uncle Nearest 1856 is $60
Uncle Nearest Single Barrel is $80-100
Limited releases are $120-150.

Uncle Nearest is already killing it in the $40-60 range, and at some point going more expensive isn’t that impactful. So, the somewhat obvious next step is to go more affordable, meaning less than $40. And that’s how we have Nearest Green Whiskey, meant to work well as a cocktail mixer and neat / rocks sipper. We’ll see about that last part, because that’s my job to find out.

Let’s find out if the more affordable option still provides a compelling experience in this Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey review.

This sample was provided to me with no strings attached. All opinions are still my own.

As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.

Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey smell

The scents have honey, slightly creamy vanilla, lightly toasted grain, red apple, lemon peel, toasted oak, clove, and a little bit of grassiness and floral + herbal fennel. Nearest Green smells nice enough. There’s pleasant sweetness, fruitiness, and toastiness, although none of it is particularly bold, expressive, or unique.

It definitely smells on the younger side, BUT it doesn’t have any weird funk, earthiness, grassiness, or oakiness, all of which are telltale signs of bad whiskey. This is decent so far.

Learn more about Uncle Nearest Single Barrel Whiskey

After swirling and rest, there’s honey, red apple, toasted oak and just a little toasted grain, lemon peel, herbal, licorice, and a little clove and tropical grapefruit. Nearest Green offers more of the same: a decently varied and fragrant experience that at the same time doesn’t have much richness, depth, or complexity. It is what it is for this release.

At the end of the day, Nearest Green is a straightforward, approachable, and pleasant-enough whiskey that won’t wow or impress.

Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey taste and aftertaste

I initially taste honey, red apple, toasted oak, cinnamon, clove, candied lemon peel, and some herbal fennel and toasted grain. Nearest Green is honey and apple forward, with supporting oak and herbalness.

I don’t have the best track record with Uncle Nearest, but Nearest Green tastes decent. There are pleasant flavors, with nice honey and apple notes + well controlled oak and spice, and there’s nothing off / weird about it. It even avoids the overbearing oak that I’ve tasted in other releases.

On the flip side so far, there’s not much in the way of richness, maturity, pop, or uniqueness yet.

With vigorous “chewing”, I taste honey, red apple, vanilla, lemon peel, toasted oak, cinnamon, clove, and a little more toasty oak char. “Chewing” brings out a nicer creaminess and a little more density to the flavors, although it’s nothing noteworthy.

Learn more about Uncle Nearest 1856 Whiskey

There’s a narrow range of sweet, fruity, toasty, and herbal flavors that are tasty enough, but the lack of complexity, fullness, and pop again reinforce that this is young. It doesn’t have any of the telltale signs of bad whiskey (and they are very obvious to me at least), so that’s a plus to the experience.

The aftertaste leaves honey, toasted oak, lemon peel, fennel, and cinnamon – a lightly sweet, toasty, and herbal aftertaste.

Nearest Green is a very approachable and flavorful-enough, but not particularly unique, impressive, or interesting whiskey. I think that was Uncle Nearest’s goal, so I guess it is what it is.

I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too. Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.

Consider supporting The Whiskey Shelf and Warehouse H by buying the book via this affiliate link.

Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey Rating

Nearest Green is a decent bourbon (yeah, Tennessee whiskey is bourbon) that delivers a decent experience. Why do I keep repeating “decent”? Because that’s what keeps coming to mind. It’s not bad, unpleasant, or offensive, but it’s also not that interesting, complex, or impressive.

It serves the purpose of being a decent cocktail mixer and acceptable neat. So the question for you is would you rather spend $30 on something else? Is it one of the more compelling whiskeys for under $30? I personally don’t think so. I have a whole list of bourbons (because Tennessee whiskey is bourbon) that I prefer for $30 or less, and I don’t plan on adding this one to that list.

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You know what though, Nearest Green delivers on its intended goal to provide an approachable bourbon at a more affordable price. It makes total business sense to sell younger bourbon at a lower price to keep the cash flowing in, but the end result makes me feel indifferent to it.

It’s not my thing, but they still accomplished their goal.

Discover some of the best bourbons under $50

Meet the Author: Alex

I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.

There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.

Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.

BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)