Nelson Brothers Is The New Tennessee Bourbon Brand From Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery

In 2006, Andy and Charlie Nelson learned that their great-great-great grandfather, Charles Nelson, was the founder of Tennessee’s largest pre-Prohibition distillery and responsible for producing Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey. The brand has a U.S. trademark dating back to 1860, making it one of the state’s oldest whiskey brands.

The brothers were determined to resurrect the family business. After three years of research and planning, the Nelsons relaunched that business 100 years after the original closed up shop.

Because it was prohibitively expensive for two twenty-somethings to start a distillery, the brothers began by sourcing whiskey, creating a proprietary bourbon blend and naming it Belle Meade after a label sold by Charles Nelson. Belle Meade took off, and today the brand puts out an extensive line of bourbons, including those finished in sherry, cognac, and Madeira casks.

Fast forward to 2019, and Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery bottled the first batch of Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey since 1909, making it on site at their shiny new distillery. Charlie and Andy weren’t done.

The two brothers are continuing their goal to distill their own products, debuting a new line of whiskeys called Nelson Brothers. The brand serves as the distillery’s premium label and has launched with two products: Nelson Brothers Classic Bourbon and Nelson Brothers Reserve Bourbon. Both are made from a mash bill of corn, rye and malted barley, and available nationwide in select retailers and online via Drizly.

“We’re building a branded house that allows us to have two complementary brands in the marketplace,” says Charlie Nelson, co-founder and general manager of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery. With two brands under the distillery’s banner (plus Belle Meade, which is currently their best selling line), the company is able to offer whiskey drinkers multiple options.

Nelson Brothers Classic Bourbon is aged in new, charred American oak barrels and features a high-rye recipe that was created for approachability. It features spice cake on the nose, plus cherry, milk chocolate, vanilla and baked apple. Take a sip, and the palate moves to banana bread, cocoa, more cherry and some dried pineapple, before finishing with black pepper, cool spearmint, lemon peel and sweet tobacco.

The founders say the 93.3-proof bourbon works well neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail, and given its affordable price tag ($36.99), you don’t have to hoard it.

Nelson Brothers Reserve Bourbon also features a high-rye recipe with a similarly balanced profile, but it features bigger flavors that elicit visions of drinking a nightcap by the fire. It was created by selecting barrels with extra character, and then blending those barrels into a 107.8-proof expression. All that results in aromas of cherry, maple syrup, mint and cinnamon, and flavors of cherry, caramel, allspice and hazelnuts. Served neat, it packs a wallop—ice or a splash of water tames some of the boldness. It runs $59.99, so it’s a significant step up from the Classic Bourbon, but still reasonable in the current age of sky-rocketing bourbon prices.

“Nelson Brothers marks a new chapter for Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery,” says co-founder Andy Nelson. “It honors our great-great-great grandfather Charles Nelson’s legacy, while building on our rich family heritage to position the portfolio for successful growth in the future.”