528 - Is Uncle Nearest Done For? on Bourbon Community Roundtable 109

Bourbon Pursuit

Hobbies, Food, Arts, Leisure

4.9 • 866 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 84 minutes

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Summary

In this episode of the Bourbon Pursuit Podcast, we take on the very serious and complex situation surrounding Uncle Nearest. We’re diving headfirst into the new lawsuit from Farm Credit, which alleges Uncle Nearest defaulted on over $100 million in loans, citing financial mismanagement and inflated barrel inventory. The discussion gets real, as our panel unpacks the legal jargon and business strategies, putting a spotlight on how a prior CFO's actions have complicated the entire case. We'll analyze what a federal judge's ruling for receivership could mean for the distillery and its co-founders, Fawn and Keith Weaver. We also reflect on how the rapid growth of the bourbon market post-pandemic might have contributed to this crisis and how a breakdown in communication between the distillery and its lender fueled the fire. Finally, we’ll tackle listener questions and talk about the emotional weight of this case on the people who support the brand, showing why the implications of this go far beyond just one company. This one is a must-listen. Show Notes: Overview of Uncle Nearest's lawsuit from Farm Credit Mid-America Discussion on allegations of financial mismanagement and inflated inventory reporting Implications of the receivership ruling on the distillery’s operations Analysis of financial trends and recklessness in the bourbon industry Insights on the founders’ stories in the context of American whiskey history Speculation about the brand's future and community impact Audience engagement and reflections on the significance of the case Support this podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Yeah, to Ryan and Nick's points when banks are lending, you know, any amount of money, whether it's your car loan and you don't tell them that, you know, you trash the car or you, you know, let your son take it to college or whatever else.
0:15.4	Think about what they, what they're going to do when over $100 million is at stake.
0:20.0	They get nervous. They want to is at stake. They get nervous.
0:21.3	They want to see the books.
0:22.7	They need transparency.
0:24.7	And I was personally really surprised to see that this is going back to what I think
0:29.6	was January of 2024 is what's alleged is when the first default was.
0:34.6	So we're dealing with all of last year being the lender saying that they're in
0:41.5	default and they're working out interim agreements. They're loaning them more money. They're just,
0:46.8	they're piling millions of dollars on top of the loans that they already had to try to make it
0:52.7	work. And in the meantime, they're saying,
0:54.4	you know, we're gonna, we need a chateau in France.
0:57.1	We need this, we need that.
0:59.2	And they, you know, they just,
1:00.8	they alleged they weren't seeing where it was going.
1:02.9	And then I think Brian's right.
1:04.7	It was April where it really fell apart.
1:07.2	They entered into a forbearance agreement.
1:09.3	They didn't pay, you know,
1:10.7	within a matter of days after that.
1:12.9	They allegedly breached it right away.
1:15.5	And that's what's going to lead to a lawsuit every time.
	...

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