Latest news with #JackDaniel
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elevating Your Excellence: Fawn Weaver's Entrepreneurial Vision Forges A Legacy Beyond Whiskey
Fawn Weaver, a name now synonymous with groundbreaking enterprise and profound historical tribute, presides over Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. This venture has burgeoned into the fastest-growing whiskey brand in American history. Her Tennessee-based company stands as a living testament to Nearest Green, the formerly enslaved master distiller whose unparalleled expertise laid the very foundation for Jack Daniel's whiskey. Weaver's narrative, chronicled in her book Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest (2024), intertwines personal passion with a mission of historical rectification. Since 2017, Weaver, alongside her husband, Keith, has become one of Tennessee's most substantial Black landowners, commanding a vast expanse exceeding 800 acres [Source: Company Information, Uncle Nearest Official Site]. Her strategic financial philosophy deliberately eschews large-scale venture capital and private equity infusions, favoring instead a mosaic of smaller investments. This calculated approach ensures her unwavering control over the burgeoning enterprise, a distinct anomaly in the spirits industry, which colossal conglomerates often dominate. 'The only 'big guy' behind this brand is my 6'4' husband, Keith,' Weaver frequently quips, underscoring the brand's independent spirit. Before her monumental foray into whiskey, Weaver cultivated a formidable reputation as a shrewd real estate investor and achieved widespread acclaim as a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author. Her literary contributions include Happy Wives Club: One Woman's Worldwide Search for the Secrets of a Great Marriage (2014) and The Argument-Free Marriage: 28 Days to Creating the Marriage You've Always Wanted with the Spouse You Already Have (2015). Her multifaceted entrepreneurial journey spans over a quarter-century, commencing with the founding of a public relations and special events firm in 1996. Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey's ascent has been meteoric, expanding from a single state to all 50 states and 12 countries within its initial two years. It stands as the most awarded American whiskey of 2019, 2020, and 2021, earning 'World's Best' by Whisky Magazine for two consecutive years and the coveted Double Gold by San Francisco World Spirits Competition, culminating in Wine Enthusiast's Spirit Brand of the Year for 2020. This unparalleled success has positioned Uncle Nearest as the best-selling African American-founded spirit brand of all time. Beyond commercial triumph, Weaver's vision extends to profound philanthropic endeavors. She established the Nearest Green Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing full scholarships to every descendant of Nearest Green. During the tumultuous period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation's 'Operation Brother's Keeper' initiative supplied over 300,000 N95 and cloth masks to frontline workers and disadvantaged communities. In a significant stride for racial equity within the industry, the Foundation forged an alliance with Jack Daniel's Distillery in 2020 to create the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative, a concerted effort to elevate people of color within the American whiskey industry and foster greater diversity across the entire spirits sector. Weaver's influence also extends to corporate governance, as evidenced by her appointment in March 2021 to the Endeavor Group Holdings board of directors, alongside figures such as Elon Musk, where she serves on its audit committee. She is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a global consortium of leading young CEOs. Weaver's professional trajectory includes a six-year hiatus from entrepreneurial pursuits, during which she immersed herself in various roles within the hospitality sector, serving as head of special events and catering for Viceroy Hotels and as a General Manager for Dimension Development Co., overseeing numerous Marriott and Hilton brand hotels. This period reshaped her investment and management philosophy, instilling a 'team-first' organizational ethos where she often prioritizes her role as Chief Encouragement Officer. The self-proclaimed 'People's CEO' announced June 30 on Instagram that she launched Nightcap With Fawn. 'Y'all found this page before I even announced it! I love the energy building around @nightcapwithfawn— y'all are amazing. Episode 6 drops tomorrow night, and I'm making a bold claim: This Nightcap is the breakdown so many of you need to unlock happiness this year — no matter the chaos — and stay locked in on the success that's still yours to claim. So many are already giving up on 2025. You won't be one of them.' Born in Pasadena, California, Weaver left home at the age of 15 and dropped out of high school at 16. However, her commitment to education led her to return and complete her degree 25 years after her initial pursuit, earning a summa cum laude bachelor's degree through UA Online's New College LifeTrack program, partly influenced by the University of Alabama's football team's success. Her journey exemplifies a relentless dedication to completing endeavors once commenced. The lady boss's career is a compelling narrative of entrepreneurial brilliance interwoven with a deep-seated commitment to historical acknowledgment and community upliftment. Weaver's work with Uncle Nearest is not merely about crafting exceptional whiskey; it is about rectifying historical oversights, building generational wealth, and inspiring a new paradigm of leadership in both commerce and social justice. RELATED CONTENT:
Daily Mirror
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Jack Daniel's fans are just realising 'Jack' didn't create iconic whisky
Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is one of the most popular alcoholic spirits in the world, often enjoyed mixed with soft drinks, but many fans are only just discovering the brand's odd history Jack Daniel's is a name anyone with a penchant for whisky will recognise and is arguably the most recognisable brand of Tennessee whisky in the world. Founded in Lynchburg, Tennessee in 1875, the spirit uses a distilling technique known as 'sour mash', using fermented ingredients to generate a slightly sweeter and more robust flavour. Despite more than 14 million nine-litre cases of the drink being sold around the world in 2023, it seems many fans of the whisky are unaware of the history of Jack Daniel's. In fact, despite the moniker being synonymous with the alcohol industry, Jack wasn't the founder's name at all. Taking to Reddit, one booze connoisseur confessed: "Today I learned 'Jack Daniel' founder of Jack Daniel's real name was Jasper Newton Daniel." Indeed, American distiller and entrepreneur, Jasper was born in on September 5, 1849 in Lynchburg, where he died aged 62 in 1911. "Sounds better than a Jasper and Coke," explained one Reddit user in response, referencing the soft drink the whisky is most commonly enjoyed alongside. Another pointed out that contrary to popular belief, by definition Jack Daniel's isn't a bourbon whiskey. "Interesting," they said. "A lot of people also don't know that Jack Daniels is not a bourbon, but a Tennessee whiskey!" Master of Malt clarifies this online, meanwhile, stating: "The two [bourbon and Tennessee] are often confused. The short answer is, no, Jack Daniel's is a Tennessee whiskey. The slightly longer answer is yes, because Tennessee whiskey is a subtype of bourbon that meets all of the legal requirements for the spirit, but has additional requirements specific to its production in Tennessee." Elsewhere on Reddit, in a separate post, a user claimed they'd just discovered Daniel didn't come up with the whisky's recipe. "Today I learned Nathan 'Nearest' Green, a slave, taught Jack Daniel how to brew whisky," they penned. "He became Daniel's Master Distiller, and is now known as 'The Godfather of Tennessee Whiskey'. His son George also became a Master Distiller and some of his descendants STILL work for Jack Daniel's Whiskey to this day." Green is regarded as the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States. Jack Daniel's website clarifies this, revealing that a young Daniel befriended Green whilst working on Reverend Dan Call's farm in the 1850s. "It was through this relationship that Jack learned about whiskey making, the Lincoln County Process of charcoal mellowing, and developed life-long friendships with the Green family," the website states. It continues: "Eventually when Reverend Call's congregation and wife gave the preacher an ultimatum: walk away from making whiskey or walk away from his work as a minister, he made the decision to sell his business to Jack. And so Jack hired his friend and mentor, Nathan Green, who was now free as his first head distiller – or what we'd call a master distiller today." Responding to the Reddit post, one user penned: "Thank you for sharing this! I love my bourbon and this is a super cool story to tell while I drink it." A second proposed: "So Nathan Green created whiskey but the brand is called Jack Daniel... the Green family should create their own line of high end whiskey called Nathan Green."
New York Post
07-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Jack Daniel's maker reveals surprising reason why Americans are drinking less whiskey
Executives from Jack Daniel's parent company, Brown-Forman Corp., warned that the business is seeing pressure from cannabis, weight-loss drugs and lackluster demand from Generation Z. Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting told analysts on an earnings call that the 'same big three' is the reason that there has been lower demand for liquor. 'We've been saying that for 1.5 years now. And I know on the sell-side that the world seems to be a little bit split on the extent of the pressure that it's putting on our category. We'd be naive if we didn't say that there isn't some pressure coming from those,' Whiting told analysts. The economy is also playing a factor, with Whiting noting that consumers don't have as much dispensable income and are prioritizing vacations and lodging. They go to the grocery store, I think in some cases, spirits has fallen out of the basket a little bit. And that isn't obviously great,' Whiting said. Brown-Forman Corp. is Jack Daniel's parent company. AP However, he said that spirits are still taking market share from beer and wine. He also noted that while premiumization isn't the same as it was, 'it's been kind of stagnant a little bit,' which he said is mostly good news. 'I think the consumers – they haven't traded down necessarily,' he said. Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting blamed lower whiskey demand on cannabis, weight-loss drugs and Gen Z. Brown Forman However, Brown-Forman CFO Leanne Cunningham said the company projected that the operating environment will remain volatile in fiscal 2026. 'We believe that through all of that continued kind of uncertainty that the consumer is going to remain at that sustained level that it is now,' Cunningham said.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brown-Forman Stock Plunges as Jack Daniel's Maker Warns of Economic Challenges
Brown-Forman said it faces a challenging operating environment this year, and shares sank to a more than 11-year low. The maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey and other alcoholic beverages warned about the impact of macroeconomic volatility, soft consumer demand, tariffs, and sales of used barrels. Fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales missed (BF.B) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 Thursday after the maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey warned about a "challenging" economic outlook this year. The company that also has brands such as Woodford Reserve, Chambord, and Korbel predicted the operating environment in fiscal 2026 will have "low visibility due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility as we face headwinds from consumer uncertainty, the potential impact from currently unknown tariffs, and lower non-branded sales of used barrels." Brown-Forman sees both full-year organic sales and organic operating income to drop by a low-single-digit percent. CEO Lawson Whiting said Brown-Forman faced "softening consumer demand" as well as "an exceptionally challenging macroeconomic environment," and that it expects "continued headwinds." The company reported fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.31, with revenue falling 7% year-over-year to $894 million. Both were short of Visible Alpha forecasts. Shares of Brown-Forman sank more than 15% in recent trading to their lowest level since September 2013. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
06-06-2025
- Business
Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman sees sales fall as Trump trade conflicts weigh on spirits producers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Brown-Forman Corp. reported weaker sales Thursday as the maker of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey confronts challenging market conditions amid global trade conflicts and pinched consumer spending. The Louisville, Kentucky-based spirits giant said its full-year net sales of nearly $4 billion were down 5% from a year ago, and fell 7% in in the fourth quarter. Net income was down 15% for the full fiscal year and plunged 45% in the fourth quarter ending April 30, the company said. The quarterly drop came as Brown-Forman and other U.S. spirits producers who rely heavily on foreign sales felt the reverberations from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plans and consumer anxiety about the economy. Brown-Forman also offered a sobering assessment for the coming year. Having steered the company through an 'extremely challenging and uncertain operating environment' in the past year, Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting predicted another challenging year ahead. 'Fiscal 2025 was a year unlike any other that I've seen in the past three decades,' he said during a conference call with industry market analysts. Whiting pointed to industry figures showing that many consumers are purchasing smaller sizes of spirits. He called it unusual and said it reflects a consumer 'who's pinched and just goes to the store with a $10 bill instead of $20 and then they get the smaller size.' 'The consumer and their wallet just doesn't have as much money in it," he said. "They're spending money on things like vacations and lodging, and other things like that. But then when it trickles down and they go to the grocery store, I think in some cases, spirits have fallen out of the basket a little bit.' In its outlook for the next year, the company said the challenges include continued consumer uncertainty and the 'potential impact from currently unknown tariffs.' 'We know it's highly volatile," Leanne Cunningham, the company's CFO, said while fielding a question about tariffs during the conference call. "None of us can predict what's going on." The company believes the market volatility will "create sustained levels of consumer uncertainty, which we believe will lead to another year of below historical total distilled spirits trends,' she said. Trump has often announced changes and pauses to his sweeping tariff plans on his social media platform. Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that's set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further. Brown-Forman executives said Thursday that American spirits brands mostly remain off store shelves in Canada. Trump has angered Canadians with his trade war and calls to make Canada the 51st state. Spirits makers in Kentucky have expressed fears of becoming "collateral damage' by getting caught up in trade conflicts. 'The uncertainty of the tariffs continues to weigh down distilleries large and small," Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in a statement Thursday. "We are urging the Trump administration to help get the spirits sector back to fair and reciprocal trade with zero-for-zero tariffs with our major trading partners.' Meanwhile, Brown-Forman's full-year results showed that net sales for its whiskey products were flat. Growth from Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and its Woodford Reserve brand was offset by the negative effect of foreign exchange and declines in other super-premium Jack Daniel's products, it said. The company will launch a new product, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry, this summer. 'BlackBerry is a globally recognized, well-established flavor trend, and naturally complements the flavor of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey," Whiting said. In January, Brown-Forman announced it was reducing its global workforce by about 12% and closing its hometown barrel-making plant in Louisville. Whiting reaffirmed Thursday that those actions are expected to produce about $70 million to $80 million in annualized cost savings.
