Sunday, June 21, 2026

Question: Who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey?

Answer: Nathan “Nearest” Green. The distiller who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey was Nathan “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man who worked on a Tennessee farm in the 1850s. Green apprenticed a young white boy by the name of Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel. Green taught Daniel how to make Tennessee whiskey, and his teachings and techniques would become the backbone of Daniel’s business venture. Daniel began selling Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey in 1875. He asked Green to be the first master distiller of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. Green went on to work with Daniel until sometime after 1881.