{Editor’s Note: Since we are the unofficial whiskey capital of the South. Each #WhiskeyWednesday we bring you headlines from not only Jack Daniel’s Distillery but also other distilleries in both southern, middle Tennessee and around the state. Cheers!}

A rising star whiskey brand with deep Lynchburg roots plans to celebrate Juneteenth with a live, virtual tasting featuring Victoria Eady Butler. As of last November, she’s now the first-known African-American woman to serve as master blender in the modern spirits industry. The tasting is a collaboration with DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago.

For those who may not have learned about the date in high school history, Juneteenth is an American holiday celebrated every June 19 to commemorate the date that Union General Gordon Granger read federal orders aloud in Galveston, Texas that all enslaved people were free. This happened on June 19, 1865 despite the fact that the Emancipation Proclamation officially freed Black citizens two years earlier.

At first, Juneteenth was mostly celebrated regionally in Texas but slowly spread throughout the South and then the United States. Today, most major U.S. cities celebrate it in one form or another. It is recognized as a holiday in 47 of our 50 states including Tennessee, which adopted it as a holiday in 2007.

The virtual tasting is a fitting celebration of a brand that centers on the Black slave who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. Born in 1820, Nathan “Nearest” Green would have been around 45 years old and likely teaching young Jasper “Jack” Daniel how to distill whiskey in a hollow in Lois around 1865.

On Friday at 7 p.m. (CST), Nearest’s great-great granddaughter Victoria Eady Butler and historian Dr. Kim Dulaney will host the virtual tasting and explore the legacy of Nearest Green. Visit their Facebook page to download a tasting mat or for more information. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}