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
Jeff Arnett
Arnett was a quality control engineer at the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg.. He began that position, which, very importantly, took him throughout the campus to be a part of each aspect of the distillery. So, when Jimmy Bedford stepped down as Master Distiller in 2008, Arnett became the 7th Master Distiller at Jack Daniels. Arnett has since departed JD and founded Company Distilling in 2020, which currently has three locations in Tennessee, including one in Lynchburg.
2
Joe Baker
In 2009, when the State of Tennessee legalized moonshine, Baker decided to take one of his family traditions (and moonshine recipes) to rest of the world. That decision took Ole Smoky Moonshine LLC from a family tradition to a company that now controls 40% of the moonshine market.“For anybody on the outside looking in, it looks easy. It’s easy to see this as just a wildly successful business that anybody can do, but I think the more realistic assessment would be: Damn, that’s hard,” says Baker.
3
Darek Bell
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” by spirits writer Matthew Rowley, and he just finished his second book, ‘Firewater’. .
4
Victoria Eady Butler
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
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
Rob Cassell
in 2014, Rob Cassell took a bold step: he left Philadelphia Distilling to found New Liberty Distillery in Philadelphia’s Kensington district, where his passion for whiskey found full expression. He designed his own 240‑gallon copper pot still and began experimenting with local grains and malts to blaze new trails in small-batch whiskey production.
7
Matt Cunningham
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
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
Greg Eidam
Sevier County’s decision to allow distilling opened the door of opportunity for Greg and his reunited business partner, Ned Vickers (and others), to work through the many layers of Federal, State, county, and municipal government bureaucracy. Their goal was to get permission to establish a new distillery on land that they had acquired in Gatlinburg. The name of Eidam’s distillery is Sugarlands.
10
Nathan “Nearest” Green
“Uncle Nearest”, as the folks in his hometown of Lynchburg, Tennessee, called him, 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.
11
Billy Kaufman
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 the historic limestone-filtered cave spring, which once supplied water for the still of infamous moonshiner Cooper Melton.
12
Lee Kennedy
A proud Tennessee resident for 34 years 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, and they continue to raise their children in Williamson County.
13
Andy & Charlie Nelson
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.
14
Bill Lee
The cacophony of the colossal locomotives that rumbled passengers and cargo through Gate 11 at Chattanooga’s Terminal Station died an inglorious death in 1970 due to the building’s disrepair and disuse. But in the early 1990s, the Station was resurrected into a beaux-arts style hotel, restaurant, museum, and gardens, and the site is now known as the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
15
Charles Nelson
Charles would produce a flagship brand of Whiskey by using the Lincoln County Process to identify its Tennessee Whiskey distinction – much the same as both Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel. 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 – with two of their most popular brands being Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey and Belle Meade.
17
Louisa Nelson
When husband Charles died in 1891, Louisa assumed the role and duties of distillery president, leading the Nashville, Tennessee-based Greenbrier Distillery for eighteen prosperous years before statewide Prohibition shut its doors in 1909. Louisa became a pioneer in the whiskey industry and excelled at many things during a time when women were denied many basic rights. That she was successful in running a distillery in her era is remarkable and demands acknowledgement.
16
Kent Merritt
In 2013, Kent teamed with friend Sid Blalock to realize a shared dream: founding a distillery that produced premium Tennessee bourbon using local ingredients: heirloom corn, rye, barley, and mountain spring water. Their venture began in 2014 under the name Thunder Road Distillery, later rebranding to Old Tennessee Distilling Company. in 2019 to honor not only their vision, but also the region’s broader people and history
18
Jeff Pennington
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.
21
Fawn Weaver
Author, CEO, and historian Fawn Weaver is why many people know the name and story behind Jack Daniel's original Master Distiller, Nathan "Uncle Nearest" Green. Born in 1976, Fawn Evette Wilson was one of four daughters of Frank and Philomina "Bunny" Wilson. Her father, a former Motown songwriter, singer, and record producer, was chosen by Berry Gordy to open the Los Angeles division of Motown. Later, he became a Christian minister and author.
20
Phil Prichard
The CEO and Master Distiller of Pritchard’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.
19
Tim Piersant
Born in July 1981, Piersant is the son of an entrepreneur who spent much of his career in ministry. After graduating from Auburn University, Tim worked for 7 years with his father. Amazed to find Chattanooga dry yet once a prospering hub for distilling, he launched a Facebook campaign with close friend and co-partner Joe Ledbetter, posing a question for residents on the then rapidly-growing social media platform Facebook, asking "Would you drink Chattanooga Whiskey?"
22
Stanton Webster
Passion for discovery, pursuit of the new, love for the city of Knoxville, and desire to be different have made Post Modern Spirits what it has become today. Stanton and Master Distiller Ron (the “Brains of the Operation,” according to Stanton) tried many different combinations. They wanted to “Create flavors and spirits that represented Knoxville without sourcing, to truly be an original, much like Knoxville itself”.
23
Logan Welk
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
24
Mike Williams
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.