MIDDLE TENNESSEE WHISKEY FOUNDERS
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Below is a list and links to Whiskey Founders that have made huge contributions to the growth of the Tennessee Whiskey Industry. These may have been historical figures that lived long ago before prohibition or may be living leaders that have advanced the cause of the industry as a whole. Tennessee Whiskey has been its own whiskey category for years but the requirements of a Tennessee Whiskey weren’t defined by statute until May of 2013.
1
Darek Bell
Corsair
Nashville native Darek Bell is the founder and owner of Corsair Distillery. Darek was trained at the Siebel Brewing Institute and is a graduate of the Bruichladdich Distilling Academy in Islay, Scotland. His focus is on new recipes for spirits using alternative grains, unconventional smoked grains, and unusual botanicals. His first book, ‘Alt Whiskeys’ has been called a “milestone in the lit of American Distilling,”
2
Paul Bissett
Leiper’s Fork
Paul Bissett, recently retired, contacted distilleries throughout the Southeastern U.S. looking for a part-time distillery position, and received more than 30 offers. One encounter settled the matter. In 2022, he met Lee Kennedy, founder and master distiller of Leiper's Fork Distillery just outside Franklin, Tennessee.
3
Carey Bringle
Peg Leg Porker
With Peg Leg Porker Spirits, Carey Bringle became the first pit-master in the United States to also create a bourbon brand. The core idea was to pair his love of barbecue with whiskey. He sourced aged Tennessee whiskey and then dripped the spirit through hickory charcoal from his BBQ smokers, imparting an unsubtle, unique, smoky note.
4
Victoria Eady Butler
Uncle Nearest
Victoria Eady Butler’s story is one of heritage, passion, and unparalleled achievement. Raised in the close-knit community of Lynchburg, Tennessee, she grew up deeply connected to her roots as the great-great-granddaughter of Nathan “Nearest” Green. Under her leadership, Uncle Nearest has soared to international acclaim, with Victoria earning prestigious accolades
5
Domenico Canale
Old Dominick
Domenico Canale was born January 16, 1843, in San Pietro di Rovereto, Italy, a community near Genoa, to parents Giovanni Canale and Antoinette Vaccaro Canale. When Domenico was a year old, three of his mother’s brothers, led by Abraham Vaccaro, migrated to Memphis, TN, USA. Abraham Vaccaro established a produce, liquor, and wine distributorship.
6
Alex Castle
Old Dominick
Born and raised in the greater Florence, Kentucky area, Castle wanted from an early age to be a marine biologist. In high school, she took her first biology class but was dismayed to find that she despised life science. Castle shifted her focus toward calculus, chemistry, and physics and ended up a chemical engineering major.
7
Matt Cunningham
Old Glory
Old Glory is now the epitome of a family-run business. Cunningham’s dad, who is in construction, helped erect the ever-expanding distillery. Matt himself spends most of his time in production. His wife, with a two-year-old in tow, oversees the Old Glory brand and designed the recently completed and highly praised onsite restaurant. “We wanted the restaurant to sort of create a home place for the brand”, expresses Cunningham.
8
Colonel Craig Duncan
Whiskey University Founder
Colonel Craig Duncan is lifelong whiskey aficionado with a passion for history. He blends these two interests over an elusive glass of single barrel to form a truly unique and informative bourbon experience that you will never forget.
Duncan now resides in Columbia, Tennessee which is in Maury County. He is happily married to his wife of over 33 years, Melissa Page Duncan and they have two adult children.
9
Nathan “Nearest” Green
Nearest Green
“Uncle Nearest” was the first known African-American master distiller. Born in Maryland around 1820, Nearest was known as a skilled distiller who specialized in the process of sugar maple charcoal filtering – now known as the Lincoln County Process. This gave Green’s whiskey a unique smoothness. In 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified, and Nearest Green agreed to be Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller as a free man.
10
Billy Kaufman
Short Mountain
Kaufman established the Short Mountain Distillery in 2010 with his brothers on his 400-acre farm just outside Woodbury, Tennessee. The distillery became one of the first four distilleries to open in the state of Tennessee after Prohibition ended (excluding Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel). Short Mountain Distillery is located on the same property that houses an infamous limestone-filtered cave spring.
11
Lee Kennedy
Leiper’s Fork
Born in Alabama, but a proud Tennessee resident, with family roots in Williamson County dating back to 1805, Kennedy graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy before earning a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Auburn University. Lee and his wife, Lynlee, are deeply committed to their community's history and success
12
Bill Lee
Gate 11
The cacophony of the colossal locomotives that rumbled passengers and cargo through Gate 11 at Chattanooga’s Terminal Station died an inglorious death due to disrepair and disuse. But in the early 1990s, the Station was resurrected into a beaux-arts style hotel and the site is now known as the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
13
Charles Nelson
Nelson’s Greenbrier
Charles would produce a flagship brand of Whiskey by using the Lincoln County Process to identify its Tennessee Whiskey distinction. However, a major distinction between that of Charles and his competitors was the use of wheat instead of rye. The mash bill was composed of corn, wheat, and barley
14
Charlie & Andy Nelson
Nelson Brothers
Stopping for gas in 2006, youngest brother Charlie noticed a historical marker stating “Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery…” They asked a few questions and immediately began to learn the rich history of a whiskey empire that their great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, Charles and wife Louisa Nelson, operated before Tennessee Prohibition in 1909.
15
Jeff Pennington
Big Machine
In December 2024, Jeff was asked to join Big Machine Distillery’s leadership. For Pennington, the Big Machine partnership was more than new employment; it was a distilling home in quaint, nearby Lynnville, Tennessee, and Nashville, with an inviting, already visible nationwide whiskey footprint.
16
Phil Prichard
Prichard’s
The CEO and Master Distiller of Prichard’s, Phil Prichard, opened the distillery in 1997 in search of creating the first American rum in over 250 years, but Phil credits his fifth-generation grandfather, Benjamin Prichard, with being an early pioneer in distilling whiskey in Tennessee’s Davidson County in the late 1700s.
17
Fawn Weaver
Uncle Nearest
The CEO and Master Distiller of Prichard’s, Phil Prichard, opened the distillery in 1997 in search of creating the first American rum in over 250 years, but Phil credits his fifth-generation grandfather, Benjamin Prichard, with being an early pioneer in distilling whiskey in Tennessee’s Davidson County in the late 1700s.
18
Logan Welk
Blue Note
Logan Welk is no longer simply “the numbers guy” brought in to steady a young operation. He is Blue Note’s President and Chief Operating Officer, as well as a co-owner and Master Blender, roles that sit at the intersection of finance, production strategy, and the sensory decisions that ultimately land in the glass.
19
Mike Williams
Tennessee Distillling Group
Mike Williams is the founder of Tennessee Distilling Group. A former Tennessee State Legislator from Franklin, Tennessee, Williams helped pass new legislation that revised Tennessee’s Prohibition-era liquor laws. The law that Williams was instrumental in getting passed was the catalyst to the Tennessee distilled spirits’ rebirth.