When the story of Uncle Nearest was introduced in 2017, many consumers were introduced to Nathan “Nearest” Green, the secret behind the success of Jack Daniels, for the first time. For Black communities, this marked another point in American history scarred by erasure and lack of transparency.
The brand’s success would unite whiskey lovers and provide a platform to honor, celebrate and reward Green and generations of his family.
His story would also leave others to wonder if there are other similar stories that are just as powerful and most importantly, untold.
The answer is yes and these two spirit brands are championing voices of their ancestors and historical figures who legacies are just as impactful today as they were over hundreds of years ago.
The Story of Viche
Pronounced “vee-chey,” this Colombian drink is native to Afro-Colombian communities in the Pacific region. The drink, whose name means “green or raw” in the Bantu languages of East-Central Africa, hails from an ancestral community practice used a traditional medicine by midwives and herbalists masters.
Liseth Martinez grew up around the practice as her father Oswaldo Martinez Chaverra was and still is a very active member in the community keeping the ancestral drink alive. Together, they launched the brand Viche Canao after many years of advocating for Afro-Colombians right to legal produce and sale viche which dates back more than 300 hundred years.
Currently under consideration by UNESCO to be declared a Colombian heritage drink, Viche Canao and other brands telling this ancestral story are only available in Colombia with the goal of international distribution in the future.
Through the production viche, Liseth, her father and other Afro-Colombians are telling the story of the legacy inherited by their ancestors. This is a legacy that they own, and also one that was once deemed illegal due to reasons that appear to center around who was making it and who was not benefitting from its production.
However, as a new generation of producers continue to advocate and tell the story, soon more outside of South America will also know the history and significance in each bottle.
Read more about viche and the Viche Canao story on Cuisine Noir and listen to Liseth tell it herself on Diaspora Food Stories podcast in both English and Spanish.
There More to Vanilla That Meets the Eye
The smell of vanilla beans may simply be a familiar flavor and smell that is sweet and comforting. But dig deeper beneath the surface and there is the story of Edmond Albius, a prodigy botanist who has inspired the launch of the bourbon whiskey brand, Edmond’s Honor.
Tracie Franklin of Pronghorn is the liquid curator behind this bourbon whiskey brand launched October 2024. “The goal was to not just showcase Edmond, but for his story to shine a light on the fact that there are thousands of tastemakers around the world whose stories were never told,” Tracie shared in an article for Cuisine Noir.
Born in 1829 in the country now known as the French colony of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, a search online populates first articles about his life 2012, more than 100 years after his death. Once enslaved, Edmond’s legacy includes inventing a technique for pollinating vanilla orchids, one that is said to have saved the industry. However, European scientists took his technique and as no surprise, failed to give him credit even to this date.
Thanks to research and the advocacy of others to ensuring credit is given where credit is due and that his name is connected to the vanilla industry with market value of almost $4 billion USD.
Read more about Tracie’s tribute to Edmond with the namesake spirit on Cuisine Noir.
