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Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery has quite an interesting history. You can learn about it on a tour at their facility in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tours
Tours last about an hour and cost US$25 (as of September 2023). A valid ID is required for a tasting at the end of the tour. Reservations are highly recommended.
History
The tour starts with the guide telling the story of the Nelson family, which starts with a 15 year old Charles Nelson immigrating to the United States from Germany in 1850. The entire story is fascinating and well worth a read.
Later on, Charles bought a distillery and started producing Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey, a high-quality product that was once the best selling Tennessee whiskey in the world. As an innovator, he was one of the first people ever to sell whiskey by the bottle instead of the barrel, which gained him a trustworthy reputation and boosted sales.
After Tennessee adopted prohibition in 1909, the distillery closed and the property in Greenbrier was sold. The family history was all but forgotten until 2006, when two brothers, descendants of Charles, passed through Greenbrier and came across two original bottles of their great-grandfather’s whiskey. They decided together to resurrect the business and once again produce high-quality whiskey using original recipes.
Distillery
After learning about the family history, we walked through the distillery and listened to a quick lecture on how the equipment works.
We then went to see the barrels of whiskey aging in the next room.
Tasting
Finally, we visited the tasting room. The guide poured samples of a few different products including Belle Meade Bourbon and Louisa’s Liqueur. After the tasting we had an opportunity to purchase some bottles in the store.
Conclusion
It’s your typical distillery tour, where you’re drawn into the unique family history, see how the whiskey is made, and then given a chance to sample the best products. The guide was entertaining and did a great job, the whiskey was good, and we left happy. That’s all we could have asked for.
