Uncle Nearest, Inc., is a Rock-Solid Bourbon Company and a Proven Industry Leader!
- Donald V. Watkins
- Oct 7
- 3 min read
By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on October 7, 2025
An Editorial Opinion
Drive-by character assassins on social media have maliciously declared that Uncle Nearest, Inc., the leading independent producer of bourbon in America, is dead. They attribute the company's death to the fact that a federal court in Tennessee appointed a Receiver on August 22, 2025, to take over the financial affairs of Uncle Nearest.
Uncle Nearest is led by dynamic CEO Fawn Weaver, a hardworking, supersmart, visionary entrepreneur. Weaver, who knows how to weather the storms of adversity in business, has created dynamic economic value in her growing bourbon company.
Unlike Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was merely a brand ambassador and marketeer for Cîroc vodka, Weaver and her husband Keith own and operate Uncle Nearest. Under their leadership, Uncle Nearest became the World’s Most Awarded Bourbon of 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and soon to be 2025. This is a remarkable acievement for a bourbon company that just started in 2017.
As the co-founder and majority owner of nationally-ranked Alamerica Bank in Birmingham, Alabama for 20 years, I can tell you that Uncle Nearest is a rock-solid industry leader. Uncle Nearest is NOT bankrupt. It is NOT drowning in debt. The company’s debt-to-equity ratios, annual revenues, and system of internal financial controls are more than adequate for bank lending purposes.
Uncle Nearest is NOT a financial scam. The company’s retail bourbon sales are extremely strong in a down-market for hard liquor companies. Finally, there has been no change of ownership in its corporate structure.
As a retired litigator who holds the national record for trying and winning the largest and most complex financial fraud case in America history (U.S. v. Richard Scrushy), I can tell you that the true story of Uncle Nearest’s financial.situation is found in the Docket Sheet entries in the federal case of Farm Credit Mid-America, PCA v. Uncle Nearest, Inc., et al, Case No. 4:25-cv-38 (E.D. Tenn.).
This court case started on July 28, 2025, with a complaint filed by Farm Credit Mid-America. Yet, there have been only 48 docket entries filed in the case (as of October 6, 2025). This dearth of docket entries suggests that there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes cooperation between Farm Credit Mid-America, the Uncle Nearest-affiliated parties, and other interested parties in the case.
Simply put, Uncle Nearest is undergoing an internal restructuring of its debt at the request of its lead creditor – Farm Credit Mid-America. The litigation provides a convenient business tool that many solvent companies use to achieve greater flexibility in the performance of their debt obligations. This tool does NOT impair Uncle Nearest's business operations, nor does it damage the company's excellent and hard-earned business reputation.
The Receiver’s First Report is Very Good News for Uncle Nearest
On October 1, 2025, the court-appointed Receiver issued his First Quarterly Report. After three months on the job, this is what the Receiver said:
“The Receiver believes that this receivership is progressing smoothly and that the opportunity for the Company’s successful emergence from receivership is very good. While challenges lie ahead, the outlook is positive. The Receiver hopes to present the Court with motions to sell non-essential, non-income producing assets over the next quarter, with plans to conclude this receivership in the following quarter via a total refinancing of the Company’s debt or a sale of the Company as a going concern.”
This optimistic quote is lawyer-speak for informing the court (and other interested parties) that Uncle Nearest’s financial situation will be a relatively easy debt restructuring job. The Receiver will sell some non-essential assets to reduce the Farm Credit Mid-America debt and refinance it on terms and conditions more favorable to Uncle Nearest.
Fawn and Keith Weaver will retain the option to sell Uncle Nearest for fair market value, should they choose to do. I believe a sale of the company is highly unlikely considering the fact that Uncle Nearest has been a proven, high-performing, revenue producing asset for the Weavers since its founding in 2017.
The bottom line is this: Uncle Nearest’s business foundation, top management executives, and day-to-day operations are rock-solid today. The company is an "ongoing business concern," which is a very positive factor from a business valuation standpoint. The internal restructuring of Uncle Nearest's core debt will be completed in record time. When Uncle Nearest emerges from receivership, it will be one of the strongest bourbon-producing companies in America.
thank you for the article. my interest is purely concerned with finding and drinking a new beverage. but I do think there are several malevolent things going on in cyberspace, akin to 'doxing', persecuting innocent folks for profit, fun, or pure vindictiveness. But I will have to try
it soon in any case.
Considering the amount of consistent, excessive, and negative media coverage of Uncle Nearest since August 2025 by media entities that have no demonstrable expertise in bank financing, business valuations, and court-appointed receiverships, I have decided to leave this story posted as my featured article for seven days. It is a simple fact-based analysis of Uncle Nearest that is backed by sworn court documents and general principles of bank financing and business valuations.
Uncle Nearest was NEVER an eligible candidate for Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The company’s confirmed assets and reported annual revenue streams far exceeded its financial liabilities. Uncle Nearest has plenty of accretive value and quantifiable equity.
Finally, I have no connection whatsoever to the…
This is an interesting story but far removed from your usual topics, which I prefer.
I do not know Fawn and Keith Weaver and have never spoken to them. My evaluation of Uncle Nearest's financial condition and solvency is based upon: (a) the plethora of sworn declarations and other documents filed in the federal court case, (b) my 20-years of experience as a highly ranked independent commercial bank owner, (c) my 4 years of experience as the chairman of the Board-Level Enterprise Risk Management Committee of a leading national life insurance company, (d) my experience in taking four Baltimore-based financial services companies public on the NASDAQ, and (e) my 20 years of experience in securing over $1 billion in project financing for industrial-scale energy producing projects around the world. In my view, Uncle Nearest i…
By all objective standards in the world of Wall Street business valuations, Uncle Nearest is a monumental success for an 8-year-old hard liquor company. Reading the "hit" pieces posted by paid social media influencers, you would think this business had failed. To the contrary, Uncle Nearest is the most accomplished and fundamentally sound bourbon-producing company in America.