Uncle Nearest’s Ugly Spirits Nativism

What a way to wake up this morning! While starting my morning routine before heading off to work, I saw & watched @agavesocialclub‘s balanced, professional video analysis & response to a stunningly ignorant example of spirits nativism in the form of a series of “Tequila Takedown” videos by the owner of American whisky company Uncle Nearest, Fawn Weaver. I encourage you to watch his video. BLUF – I completely agree with his assessment that the Weaver videos come across very much like an advertising campaign that seeks to respond to a steady rise in tequila’s popularity & marketing power as whisky sales decline.

What makes the Uncle Nearest videos even stranger is the brand’s own unique history & the key role of identity in its own marketing campaigns. America is a country of a myriad coalition of people coming from all over the world who mesh their own unique cultures & traditions to create a beautiful “American” mosaic. This shouldn’t need to be said in the 21st century. The fact that Weaver & her associates are flummoxed by the growing popularity of a ‘foreign’ spirit over a “native spirit” says a lot, frankly. Are champagne, scotch whisky, cognac, chianti, port, French wines, Soju, Baijiu, & other “foreign” spirits and alcoholic beverages next?

As someone who was away from all spirits & alcoholic beverages for over a decade & is rediscovering (& newly discovering many quality spirits), I have a special love for agave spirits. But I’m also interested in & delving into & learning about whiskies from friends & great spirits communities here & elsewhere online, malts & scotch (Jeebus help me) first & now bourbons. It isn’t an either/or. If you don’t like natural tequila flavors, that’s fine. But don’t flame an entire genre of spirits because of that, nor because you are mad that ‘foreign’ spirits are earning (through hard work) the love of more & more Americans. Stop deflecting your insecurities on others.

Weaver and Uncle Nearest present mixed messages, at best, on what their one-sided beef is with tequila – on the one hand, they claim it has to do with “additives” & (them) not knowing which brands use them & which do not. There is/was, of course, the Tequila Matchmaker (TMM) list, recently removed from online due to the ongoing conflict between the CRT & TMM. Was the TMM list perfect & did all, or even most of, the distilleries & brands who opted not to participate in the TMM program & pay its associated fees use additives? No. Are some (a minority) additive free advocates elitist & suffering from a superiority complex towards others who have differing views? Yes. The fact is, though, that the TMM list is/was a good starting point & additive-laden tequila brands are often (though not always) not difficult to pick out due to their flavor profiles.

Uncle Nearest & Weaver’s main message, though, flirts, if not fully embraces, the ugliest form of nativism & ethnocentric bigotry. Even if this is, as is possible, a naked $$$ play, it’s gross. Fin. (Oh no! A foreign word!)

In the same vein, it’s unfortunate to see today some tequila enthusiasts do exactly the same thing they’re criticizing Weaver & her associates with – bashing bourbons & whiskies to “defend” tequila. Tequila doesn’t need your defense. Quality tequilas speak for themselves. And let’s not be hypocritical & do what we rightly criticize others and their ignorance or malevolence for. Yes, whiskies are created through barrel aging. So what? So are reposados, añejos, and extra añejos, and all of those tequila expressions are excellent. If you only want to drink blancos, more power to you. But don’t bash others who like aged expressions or other aged spirits. It’s childish, plain & simple.