Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery: From Prohibition to production
Grandsons resurrect family distillery, adding restaurant and bar
By Pam Windsor
A tour and tasting at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery offers much more than a sampling of fine Tennessee whiskey. It’s a celebration of history, family legacy, and the rebirth of a long-lost business.
Brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson own the distillery, where they make a spirit based on a recipe for Tennessee’s oldest whiskey. It was a whiskey their great, great, great grandfather began making in Greenbrier, Tenn., back in the 1800s, and shipped around the world. He was one of the first to sell whiskey in a bottle instead of a jug or barrel. But Prohibition during the early 1900s caused production to cease, the operation dismantled, and the once-popular whiskey all but forgotten.
Then in 2006, the brothers visited that small Tennessee town and by chance, came across mention of the whiskey and their family connection. They began researching everything they could about the original whiskey. They studied the spirits industry, learned what it takes to start and run a business, and have successfully brought that whiskey back to life.
“Our whole business is grounded in the traditional, original Tennessee whiskey,” Andy Nelson explained.
“That’s a legitimate claim. It’s Old No. 5, registered distillery No. 5, and it dates back to earlier than any other whiskey on the market today.”
Visitors taking a regular tour can sample Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey, Nelson Bros. Whiskey Classic, Nelson Bros. Reserve, and Louisa’s Liqueur (a coffee, caramel, pecan flavored liqueur that honors their great, great, great grandmother).
“The majority of what we make here at the distillery is Nelson’s Green Brier Whiskey,” said Andy. “We found Charles Nelson’s original recipe, and that’s 95 percent of what comes off of our still here.”
The brothers located the instructions by combing through state archives. They came across an old newspaper article where a journalist wrote a story about a big July Fourth picnic at the original distillery in the late 1800s. Charles Nelson had opened it up for tours and the lead distiller shared some critical details about the distilling process.
“The article included things as detailed as the cook time for the mash, the temperatures, the hold times, all of these things that are specific to the recipe. So, that’s kind of how we found it.”
When they first began making whiskey, they didn’t have a distillery yet, so their first product was Belle Meade Bourbon. It, too, had a direct connection to their grandfather.
“We learned about this brand Belle Meade Bourbon that was a brand Charles Nelson produced in conjunction with a third-party contract distillery. It showed us we could get a product to market without the overhead of a physical distillery, and we could do it in a way that was true to the history of the way he did it, with a specific brand.”
Their production of Belle Meade Bourbon helped prove to investors they could make a good quality product which paved the way to getting the funds needed to eventually build their own distillery. Since then, they’ve been so successful, they recently completed a major renovation that also includes the addition of a bar and a restaurant.
“We had tours and tastings, but we didn’t have a proper cocktail bar,” said Andy, “so we didn’t get a lot of locals coming in for drinks after work. We saw mostly tourists and guests from out of town. So, we added the bar, as well as a restaurant, because there’s a need for that in this neighborhood.”
Like the distillery, the restaurant also honors their great, great, great grandfather, who came to America from Germany.
“Half of our DNA comes from Charles Nelson who was German. So, the focus of the cuisine is a mix of German and Southern United States.”
On the distillery side, the Nelson brothers continue to try their hand at creating different products.
“We have elevated tasting experiences where we’ll taste various cask finish products. Some of what we’ve done so far are Sherry, Cognac, and Madeira cask finishes. There have been others, too. And we’re actually going to release a Nelson Bros. Rye Whiskey in the next few months. We’re excited about that.”
Andy says it’s interesting to reflect on what he and his brother have accomplished over the past 17 years. Back when the two graduated college they had little knowledge of whiskey at all, but their discovery of their family’s heritage changed everything. It’s rewarding when visitors come through for tours and get to see the whiskey-making process from start to finish. But what makes it even more meaningful here, is the story behind it.
“When you come to a distillery, at its heart, it’s a factory. You’re making something cool, but it’s a factory nonetheless. But this is also a history museum, too, and I think that’s what people appreciate. People love hearing a good story, and it’s even cooler if it’s true.”
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery is located at 1414 Clinton St. in Nashville. Open seven days a week, reach them online at greenbrierdistillery.com or call 615-913-8800.