Want to hear one of the craziest stories I'm aware of in the Whiskey World that ends in an amazing product? Hold on to your butts. There was once a man named Charles Nelson. He was born on America's Birthday, July 4th, 1835, in North Germany. At 15 his father, John Nelson decided to move the family to America. After John sold his soap and candle factory, converted all his assets to physical gold, made special clothing to hide (smuggle) that gold, they set sail for the US.
Unfortunately for Charles and his family, John was one of the 180 poor souls that went overboard November 19, 1850, after a storm rocked the ship, sending him and his gold stuffed clothes to Davy Jones's locker, leaving Charles and family, luckily alive, with what they were wearing and not much else. Through working and gaining experience in several trades, Charles and his brother learned here and there the secrets to distilling spirits, specifically whiskey. Charles eventually moved to Nashville and opened a grocery store, eventually renowned locally for his coffee, meat, and whiskey. When demand for his whiskey outweighed his ability to meet it, Charles sold the grocery store to focus on whiskey full time. And, by the by, the legend thereafter was his coffee blend was brought to the Maxwell House Hotel where patrons who drank it said "it is good to the last drop". Interesting yet? Why is all this relative to this whiskey I'm reviewing? Well I've had several of their products now, and this one far and away illustrates American success stories, confounding and surprising turns, and whether fate or luck, something in the ether just coming together almost inexplicably. But bear with me, I think every great whiskey has a story. And this is a great whiskey. Charles Nelson bought a distillery and grabbed a patent for improved distillation in Green Brier, Tennessee. By 1885, Charles had sold roughly 2 million bottles. But two million bottles of what? Why, Nelson's Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey, that's what. But wait, if this dude was making this way back, and selling 2 million of something, especially WHISKEY in 1885, and you're obviously a whiskey kind of person, AAAAAND you know Jack, Jim, and Maker's are big enough to have been this well known even then….so why haven't you heard of Nelson's? That's coming. Isn't it, just. Charles Nelson became a household name in his distillation and whiskey making days. Through a struggled life, and triumphant chances, he became a famous whiskey maker with demand coming from almost every area of our beautiful country. Another novel thing, when Charles died in December of 1891, his beloved wife, Louisa, assumed control of the business, becoming one of the only women of her time to run a distillery. *Another fun fact, Miss Louisa has her own liqueur dedicated to her memory, which I've had. It is beyond delicious, available almost everywhere Nelson's Green Brier products are, and I will be doing a review. Seriously, try it out. Anyway, so what now, Charles Nelson is passed away, along with his misses, and you've yet to understand why you, a whiskey person, hasn't heard of this whiskey, or why it's fascinating. That's partly my fault in trying to illustrate and articulate the great tribulations that Charles and Miss Louisa went through to even get to that household status, but that is only to compound how crazy chance can be. Enter, the dark days. Prohibition. 1909, Louisa is forced to sell the distillery. The property fell into a state of disrepair with only a few building left standing. The Greenbrier Distillery is listed on The National Register of Historic Places. The end? A father and two sons, Bill, Andy and Charlie, respectively are on their way to a butcher shop. They were talking about old family stories, like how there used to be a family member so-and-so who had a whiskey business in a small town near here...by the way, their last name is Nelson. When the guys arrived at the butcher and asked questions relative to their conversation in the car, the butcher, a man by the name of Chuck, couldn't contain his excitement saying "Look across the street. Your granddaddy built that warehouse!" They walked over to the property, tasted the spring water their ancestor used to make some of the most popular whiskey in Tennessee, and then decided to go to the Greenbrier Historical Society. This would be the first decision that led to what Nelson's Green Brier and Belle-Meade is today. The curator upon hearing from the Nelson's what brought them there, produced two preserved bottles of the original Nelson's Whiskey. The two brothers are said to have looked at each other and believed destiny was knocking. Three years later, with a lot of work, trial and error, Charlie and Andy resurrected a 100 year bygone whiskey business, and are living proof of the American Dream made real. How insane is that? For every variable of that story to come together at just the right and perfect times for the details to be cohesive? It's one of my favorite stories in any whiskey or distillery I've heard of and there is a plethora of amazing stories on that particular bookshelf. So to the whiskey itself. I've tried several of their offerings and haven't had an even remotely bad one yet. I've got reviews coming for their special finish releases including their Cognac, Madeira Red Wine, and their Sherry cask finished bourbons (which are all insanely good) but this one is dedicated to the OG Nelson's Greenbrier Tennessee Whiskey. The revived and original mash that Granddaddy Nelson himself made. The short answer (for the first time in this post), it's fantastic. This is the first bottling of this original recipe since the distillery was closed in 1909, and is, beyond that, even more interesting to me because it's my very first, and to my knowledge as of this writing (July, 3rd, 2020) the only wheated Tennessee Whiskey. Related: wheated whiskey of any kind is my usual favorite. And this is already my favorite TN Whiskey. The caramel, vanilla, and lighter cinnamon with hints of cashew on the nose is wonderful, perfectly complemented by the brown sugar, chocolate, and pastry taste. On top of that, it has a finish that goes on and on, lingering like a good memory. I taste notes of cherries and peach, mixed with more cocoa and brown sugar, and while that finish is going on, having another smell just rounds everything off for an insanely pleasant experience. I hope there are more wheated TN Whiskies out there that I don't know about or at least more to come, but this wonderful whiskey has set a bar for me that will be fairly hard to meet or exceed. I can't wait to see what else these guys come up with. Hand Crafted Sour Mash Wheated Tennesee Whiskey 45.5% Alc. Please Drink Responsibly. https://greenbrierdistillery.com/ Image Credit: CaskCartel.com
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