Nelson's Green Brier Distillery is a Proud Member of the Tennessee Sustainable Spirits Program
It seems like an oversimplification, but in order to make great whiskey, you’ve gotta have a healthy planet. Sustainability and keeping Mother Earth in tip top shape is a priority for us here at Nelson’s, so we’re very proud to announce we’re a member of the Tennessee Sustainable Spirits Program.
Our great Operations team has really upped their game to meet 25 operational and facility requirements needed to certify our distillery. Only a handful of distilleries in Tennessee have been able to meet the stringent criteria, so we’re excited to be a part of a select few AND help our planet.
Here’s a small list of some of the practices we’ve implemented as a member of the program:
Glass Recycling
Metro-Nashville (where our distillery is located) doesn’t provide glass recycling pickup, so we had to source this out to a third party. As you might expect, we go through a lot of glass, so this is quite the undertaking.
Closed-Loop Cooling System
All of Nelson’s distilling and fermentation units use a closed-loop cooling system that greatly reduces our water waste.
Repurposed Water Usage
In addition to our closed-loop cooling system on our distilling and fermentation units, we’re also repurposing the water used to cool our mash cookers as the base for the next mash. The water comes into the cooker and runs through cooling coils. When it comes out it goes into a hot water holding tank. As it’s already been heated, we conserve energy on having to heat the next batch because we start with water that’s already hot.
LED Lights
All warehouse and production lights are now energy-efficient LED lights.
Next time you pop open a bottle of Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey, take comfort knowing you’re enjoying both our family’s recipe and contributing to our legacy as a responsible, sustainable Tennessee distillery.