GEOFF BENNETT: Jack Daniel's is a famous American# whiskey brand recognized all over the world.

But## Jack Daniel didn't create the particular method# for distilling Tennessee whiskey.

He learned it## from a formerly enslaved man named Nearest Green,# the first known African American master distiller.

Back in 2016, Fawn Weaver was traveling abroad# with her husband when she read a New York Times## article about Nearest Green.

That article set# Fawn on a mission to learn more about him.

She## would go on to create Uncle Nearest Premium# Whiskey to honor and preserve Green's legacy.

Seven years after launching, Fawn Weaver now owns# the most successful Black-owned liquor empire,## worth more than $1 billion, led by an all-women# executive team.

Fawn Weaver shares Nearest Green's## story and her own journey in her new book, "Love &# Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel,## His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and# the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest."

I recently sat down with her.

Fawn Weaver, welcome to the "News Hour."

FAWN WEAVER, Author: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: The story of Nathan Nearest# Green, Uncle Nearest to his family and frien.. is one of the most remarkable and until# recently little-known American stories.

How did you first encounter it and why# did it resonate so deeply with you?

FAWN WEAVER: It was on the cover of The New York# Times international edition.

You have this photo## that is on the cover of Jack Daniel.

I didn't# drink Jack Daniel, but I knew what he looked## like.

I think we all know what he looked like.# And there was a Black man seated to his right.

And the headline was: "Jack Daniel's embraces# a hidden ingredient, help from a slave."

Well,## I think every Black person in# this country was fascinated by## that because we have known that we have# been at the beginning of so many brands,## trademarks we couldn't trademark,# patents we couldn't patent.

And I think we're still, as a group# of people, very curious about, well,## what were the things that we were# involved in the beginning, that we## had at least some type of assist with?# Or what did we invent and we didn't know?

And so I think that that's important# that we're just all learning that.

GEOFF BENNETT: And that picture,# which is on the cover of the book,## this Black man is not Uncle Nearest.

FAWN WEAVER: No.

GEOFF BENNETT: It's his son, George.

FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: B.. FAWN WEAVER: It did.

GEOFF BENNETT: A.. FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: And it became part.. FAWN WEAVER: And cleaning that up.

The amount of time that I and my team spent# litera.. hey, you got this story wrong.

Can# you take that down?

We will give## you the true story.

And the reason# I thought that was important is, is,## you have this man, this white man, that by# all accounts may have been our first ally.

And he was absolutely being torn apart in the# press.

And he was one of the people who actually## stood up for us.

And I said, no, no, no, no, we# can't allow this to happen, that finally we have a## story that comes forward.

And it's a good American# story, and both people involved, black and white,## were incredible people.

I can't allow one of# them to be torn down just because of his race.

GEOFF BENNETT: Because Uncle Nearest# was actually a mentor to Jack Daniel.

FAWN WEAVER: Absolutely, he was.

GEOFF BENNETT: There are so many inflection points# in your story, Fawn.

But.. with me, that struck me deeply was, you and your# husband were living in Los Angeles at the time.

And you took this trip to Lynchburg, Tennessee.# You planned to be there for four days to continue## doing your research.

But along the way, you# find this farm, and you decide to buy it.

FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: And.. that is when all of the doors started opening.

FAWN WEAVER: Absolutely.

And let me be clear, we didn't.. his now eldest living descendant, who said to me:## "You know, that farm that you read about in the# book," and she was referring to his biography,## Jack Daniel's legacy.

Most of# that takes place on this farm.

It's where we now know the original# Jack Daniel distillery was birthed.## It is where -- Jack Daniel distillery number# seven.

That's where it was, and it's where## Jack grew up and all the rest of that stuff.# And she said: "You realize it's for sale?"

I mean, this is all happening in a matter# of hours of us showing up in Lynchburg,## Tennessee.

And so that's where it# all began.

And then, obviously,## when we decided we were going to buy this# 313-acre farm, and now we have this task## of restoring the home where Jack grew up and# restoring where the original stream area was## that led into the distillery and all the# rest of stuff, and excavating the grounds## to find all the historical elements, and# then putting it on the historical registry.

So, at that point, that four# days turned into a lifetime.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, fast-forward.

With# the support of Green's descendants... FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: ..... it now has a billion-dollar# valuation.

It's the bestselling## Black-owned spirits brand in the world, led# by an all-female executive team.

Huge success.

But in the beginning, how did the parent# company of Jack Daniel's respond to this## research that you were doing and this plan# to launch a company around Uncle Nearest?

FAWN WEAVER: In the beginning, it was very# interesting with their company, in part## because you had people who saw immediately, OK, we# have a problem, which is everyone now thinks that## our namesake was a slave owner, that he stole the# recipe, hid the slave, and we can't clean this up.

And so this woman has now done all of# this research.

She's gathered thousands## of documents from six different# states, done over 100 interviews,## and she can actually clean this up.

So,# on one side, you had probably half of the## company that was like, listen, just let her# do what she's doing because it benefits us.

Then you had the other half of the company that# could not get out of their way, because they## couldn't wrap their head around the fact that# they were allowing a -- what they considered a## competitor to emerge, and that was tied so closely# to their brand.

And this went on for years.

GEOFF BENNETT: Wow.

I know you get asked all the time how you as a#.. the spirits industry dominated by white men.# But I want to flip that question its head.

FAWN WEAVER: Please do.

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNETT: But how do you, being the# exception, use that different perspective,## the different entry point,# the different point of view,## the different approach to benefit your business?

FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

Yes.

So, I love that you switched ... that would have just been my answer.

GEOFF BENNETT: OK. FAWN WEAVER: And.. now for seven years.

I have seen more white# males fail than any other race or gender.

And so I looked at me coming in# as a person of color, as a woman,## as a Black woman, I looked at that as# an advantage.

It's the same advantage,## I believe, just being an American.

When# I walk into a room full of billionaires,## just because it's a room full of# billionaires, it's majority white male.

Well, who do you think they remember at the# end of that time in that room?

And so I have## always seen being a Black woman in America# as an advantage.

I think it's all a matter## of mind-set.

How do you look at it?

How do# you position it?

When you walk into a room,## are you uncomfortable to be in that# room because no one looks like you?

For me, I have always looked at it and said,## if I walk into a room and no one looks like# me, then that means everybody's looking at me.

FAWN WEAVER: So I have the# greatest advantage in that room.

GEOFF BENNETT: That there is this ubiquitous# American brand known all around the world,## that there is this Black man, Nearest# Green, at the very beginning of it... FAWN WEAVER: Yes.

Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... a.. FAWN WEAVER: I don't want to call it# a wait or a burden, because it is such## a blessing and it's such an honor.

But# it comes with enormous responsibility.

I'm in the middle of my book tour.# And every place that we have gone to,## sold-out events and the lines are super long.# And I can tell you, I can't even count the## number of people who come up to me with tears in# their eyes because of what I represent to them.

If I could do this in the whiskey industry and# the bourbon industry, where, before me, there## was no one that wasn't a white male, if I could# do that in that industry, then they can do it in## tech.

They can do it in investment.

They can do it# in banking.

They can now see themselves doing it.

That is a huge responsibility, because my success## gives them belief and gives them# hope that they can do it as well.

GEOFF BENNETT: Fawn Weaver, co-founder# of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and## the author of "Love & Whiskey," thanks so# much for speaking with us.

I appreciate it.

FAWN WEAVER: Thank you for having me.