Uncle Nearest hit with £100 million lawsuit
Tennessee whiskey brand Uncle Nearest has fought back on social media, claiming it is “built for this moment”, after loan company sues it for allegedly failing to meet payments, and instead using the borrowed cash to buy a property in Martha’s Vineyard.
Uncle Nearest founders Fawn and Keith Weaver are being sued in federal court for allegedly defaulting on multiple loans and failing to pay “principle and interest payments”, according to documents filed on 28 July.
The lawsuit is being brought by loan company Farm Credit Mid-America, which is seeking a repayment of accrued interest on loans totalling US$108,245,828.22. Uncle Nearest’s parent company Nearest Green Distillery, the lender claims, has been “in default under the Loans since as early as January 2, 2024, and has continued to incur further defaults over the last eighteen months.”
Farm Credit further accuses the Weavers of using the loan to purchase a US$2 million house on Massachusetts island Martha’s Vineyard, while mortgaging the property to another lender.
Fighting back
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Taking to social media, Fawn Weaver posted a rousing video on Instagram claiming that “Uncle Nearest is stronger than ever” before urging followers to go out and buy every bottle of Uncle Nearest they can find.
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“Operation Clear The Shelves is in full effect! Let our distributors and partners know: Uncle Nearest is stronger than ever. And PLEASE post on social media,” Weaver said.
“This team and this family was built for this exact moment… Go clear out the shelves. Go to your local store and literally buy every bottle of Uncle Nearest and Nearest Green. And when that store restocks, do it again. Let them know that any hurdles we face, we’ll be jumping over them together. And no 48-hour news cycle is going to change that.”
“Never waste a good crisis”
“The first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines, Proverbs 18:17,” Weaver says in the video, apparently referring to the lawsuit. “Well, my response has been filed and I trust that the truth will now get just as much attention on social media and in the press as the intentional misleadings and hit pieces. Y’all, I had hit pieces…that is kind of cool.”
“Since so many eyes are on me right now, I’ll take a page from Winston Churchill and Warren Buffett; never waste a good crisis. Uncle Nearest is the only independent whisky brand in the top 50 and one of the few spirits brands period seeing double digit growth and revenue volume and velocity.”
Weaver goes on to state that “in a backdrop of industry decline and disarray Uncle Nearest is the shining star, rolling against impossible odds.”
She queries: “Is the reason that so many were willing to take the bait and jump to negative conclusions before asking for the truth because of our success? Who knows?” before claiming that Uncle Nearest is “having its strongest year in the market ever” and is “building the next big American brand.”
At the time of writing the post has racked up more than 9,000 likes.
Uncle Nearest was founded in 2017, with the brand named after Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first known African-American master distiller, who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey.
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