LOVE & WHISKEY

I finished this book in under a week and it is phenomenal. It is such an amazing and fascinating story. I was sad when I was done with the book, although I know the story is not over.I am a whiskey/bourbon lover so that’s what initially had drawn me to the book. But this book is so much more than that.It’s part memoir, part entrepreneur, part whiskey making, and much about black history and the uncovering of the story of Nearest Green who was Jack Daniel’s first master distiller. It’s amazing research, wonderful storytelling, a story of disruption in a dominant white male industry, and a testament of tenacity, perseverance, kindness, transparency, grace, and giving back. “…I will remain steadfast. This mission will remain unchanged, and I will complete the work I set out to do” - Fawn WeaverI enjoyed the story and learned so much! I am in awe of the work thatFawn Weaver and her mighty team accomplished and in a short amount of time! Fawn rewrote an integral part of American history.

This book isn't just about the love and respect of two individuals that translated to the success of a business but it's a book of determination, admiration, inspiration and motivation. Took me three days to read because it's a real page turner as you're thrust into the story of the past, present and wanting to know what's next for the future. So good, it's a good business strategy book as well! Buy and pay it forward by gifting to others.

This is a fascinating read by a fascinating Black woman who took on a past injustice to create a company that that serves to highlight that injustice and create something positive. I learned a lot and the Love in the title clearly shines through.

I actually finished this book in 4 days. There were just many days I didn’t get to read inbetween!Here’s how good this book is, I had to finish it tonight in the middle of a power cut, reading by my iPhone flashlight!!What a story. You wonder how this could not be more widely known, and then you find out Fawn spent EIGHT years uncovering the full story and the family tree - the back of the book is filled with accredited references if you want to dig in deeper.It’s a history that deserves to be told and to be remembered.The story keeps you wanting more as you follow along as Fawn uncovers layer after layer of snippets of history here, remembrances there and pieces together the family tree.There are some funny elements too:“Chuck was ambitious; he'd told us that first night-back when we were afraid he was going to kill us in the woods—that he wanted to expand his business.” !<Wait What?!!! you’ll need to read the book to find out more on this tale!>This could have easily turned out to be a dry genealogy story but for Fawn’s turn of phrase, her ability to make you feel like you were there with her, and the suspense of how she and her husband Keith went about setting up a competing whiskey company in Jack Daniel’s (Brown-Forman’s) back yard.Fawn mentions a couple of times in the book how she chose to handle annoyances and antagonists with “grace”, and I think that sums up the style and poise of the narrative here in the book: it’s told with “grace”.Makes you want to be a better person!An amazing story you need to read.

This book captured my attention as an enlightening and powerful tribute to an important true story of love, friendship and support that doesn’t fit the traditional stories of relationships between whites and blacks in the south in the1800’s. Fawn Weaver’s well-documented story of Nearest Green, Jack Daniel, their families and Lynchburg is told with care and reverence. Her commitment to raising up their story in a way that honors much more than whiskey is captivating. The winding path to the creation and meteoric rise of Uncle Nearest Distillery in such a short period of time is mind boggling and a great study in how to achieve the seemingly impossible by deciding you cannot fail and working tirelessly to meet each challenge as it arises.You will not forget this story once you’ve read it, and you will wish you could have been part of its creation in one form or another!