cocktail no.2 | untold narrative
Untold Narrative featuring Uncle Nearest Whiskey
Our current narratives fail to tell all of our stories. Some of us are missing; some of us are always the villains; some of us are only victims or sidekicks, never the hero. These incomplete narratives impact how we see the world and interact with one another.
What the fuck does this have to do with cocktails? Every – fucking – thing. Pardon my “French,” but if you are truly doing the work of unpacking racism, hate and anti-Blackness and its unrelenting stranglehold on all of our lives – you see it everywhere and all the time and it is heavy.
Who we know (and don’t know) in our booze history is shaped by the privilege of the masters and storytellers. One of those people I didn’t know about until recently – seriously, like weeks ago - was Nathan "Nearest" Green. Who is Nearest Green? Affectionately known as Uncle Nearest, he was the first known Black master distiller. He also shares a history with Jack Daniel. He was the enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel how to distill. You’ve heard of Jack Daniel, yes?
Anyway, why do I know about him now? Joshua thankfully listens to way too many podcasts. About a month or so ago, he was listening to Business Insider while doing stuff around the condo. I think I maybe (probably) interrupted him to ask about something super non-important. Then, to be polite, I asked what he was listening to. Normally, I only sort of/kind of listen to the answer because he’s not always listening to anything I care about (sorry to break it to you, folks, sometimes, I’m a crappy wife), but I heard a few things that caught my attention: whiskey . . . black master distiller . . . hidden narratives. What clinched it: black female author opens distillery to honor a legacy. Um, what?! Are you freaking kidding me? I was sold. Honestly, even if I didn’t like it, we were going to buy a crap ton of Uncle Nearest (thank goodness, I really like it!!).
Okay, I’m not going to go on for days, especially since you all have the same access to Google as I do, but here’s a little about the brand:
Uncle Nearest is the fastest growing independent American Whiskey brand in U.S. history. We launched in July of 2017 — we're actually going to celebrate our three-year anniversary on July 19. And within the first two years, we were in all 50 states and in 10 countries outside of the United States. That's literally never happened. And so, it is very different, it's very unique. [source]
Folks, before we dive into this month’s cocktail, meet Fawn Weaver. I want to hang out with her, maybe be her friend? Is that possible? Oh well, in the meantime, let’s enjoy this month’s cocktail, the Untold Narrative:
Ingredients
2 ounces Uncle Nearest 1856 Tennessee Whiskey
1 ounce Cynar artichoke liqueur
1/2 ounce Tattersall grapefruit crema
1/8 ounce cocktail brine (10% saline solution)*
Steps
Put a cocktail or coupe glass in the freezer to chill
Pour grapefruit crema into a mixing glass over ice (lean in and breathe deeply; smells delightful)
Add the other ingredients to the mixing glass
Stir until well chilled, approximately 30 seconds
Take the chilled glass out of the freezer
Strain the cocktail from the mixing glass into the chilled glass
Garnish with a grapefruit twist
*Don’t even get me started on this. Saline solution?! I love my husband, but what? Anyway, I was like, you’re going to have to explain this to people and here’s what he texted:
More like “approximately 10%.” I’m doing this by volume, not by weight. So, 1 ounce salt (we use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, thanks to Nadege having read “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat”) and 9 ounces cold, filtered water. Stir together in a sauce pan, bring to boil, then simmer to mix (stir occasionally). When the water is clear, turn off the heat and let it cool.