Uncle Nearest’s rise in the spirits industry continues to accelerate.

The whiskey brand, founded in 2016 by Fawn Weaver to pay tribute to Nathan “Nearest” Green, a former slave who taught Jack Daniel whiskey distillation techniques, is now available in 30,000 establishments, including bars, hotels, and restaurants across 12 countries, as previously reported by AFROTECH™.

Bloomberg’s latest report indicates Weaver’s aspirations for a larger stake in the spirits market. This attitude has led the company to acquire organic vodka maker Square One Organic Spirits.

Weaver also refers to a resolved legal conflict between Diageo Plc and Sean “Diddy” Combs over his vodka brand as an influencing factor in her latest acquisition, emphasizing a gap in the market and the significance of black-owned vodka brands taking up space. Major companies like Diageo PLC and LVMH, whose valuations total around $79 billion and $423 billion respectively, heavily dominate the market, the report says.

Uncle Nearest is gaining significantly in the industry, with its valuation close to unicorn status, as it’s worth is over $900 million after the recent acquisition, as Weaver mentions. The details of how much Uncle Nearest paid for Square One Organic Spirits are not shared, but the acquisition was financed through the company’s Series E funding round.

“There are a lot of requests coming in for brands that are authentically owned and culturally relevant,” stated Weaver in the news release provided to AFROTECH™. “Customers are becoming more particular and are looking for products that deliver high quality and also showcase real ties with the cultures they reflect.”

Further, she added, “This move towards authenticity has developed an important opportunity for a firm like ours. Uncle Nearest’s extensive country-wide distribution network combined with our serious commitment to heritage and authenticity place us as a perfect fit to cater to this rising demand. By introducing to the vodka market, we are not only diversifying our portfolio, but also answering a consumer demand for transparent and culturally connected brands.”

In the coming future, Square One Organic Spirits will rebrand under the guidance of The Formulation Group, with fresh gluten-free vodka choices and scale to all states in the country. Allison Evanow, the founder of the company, will still have a leadership role.

“While we have really loved being an independent brand so that we could focus on quality organic ingredients and unique flavor profiles, the intense demands of handling nearly all sales personally underscored the need for stronger backing,” Evanow said in the news release. “Uncle Nearest will not only preserve our independent spirit and world class quality, but also bring the robust sales and distribution capabilities we need to reach our full potential.”