Inside Nelson’s Green Brier: Nashville’s Best Bourbon and Whiskey Tour Experience

Wine X Staff

Wine X Online Edition

Rediscover the rich history, craft process, and unforgettable flavors of Tennessee whiskey at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery — a must-stop for every spirits lover in Nashville.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Nashville isn’t just boots, bachelorettes, and Broadway bars with bad neon. It’s also a quietly booming spirits scene — and at the heart of it is a distillery that isn’t just riding the craft wave. It built the riverbed.

I’m talking about Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, a Tennessee whiskey institution reborn from history — and possibly the best bourbon tour in Nashville. I didn’t just take the tour. I took the plunge, the sip, the selfie, and the bottle.

A Whiskey Legacy Reclaimed in the Heart of Nashville

Tucked into the Marathon Village neighborhood, Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery is more than a photogenic whiskey stop — it’s a full-on resurrection. In the late 1800s, Charles Nelson was Tennessee’s whiskey kingpin, pumping out nearly 380,000 gallons a year of the original Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey before Prohibition sucker-punched the entire industry.

Fast-forward a century (and change), when Charles’s great-great-great-grandsons, Andy and Charlie Nelson, quite literally unearthed the family legacy. And instead of turning it into a podcast, they did what legends do: rebuilt the brand, revived the recipes, and reignited Tennessee’s place in the national bourbon conversation.

If you’re searching online for “historic Tennessee whiskey tour,” this is your answer. But let’s talk about why.

The Distillery Tour: Bourbon Nerd Heaven

From the moment you step inside, Nelson’s Green Brier hits you with that sweet, caramelized oak aroma — the perfume of charred barrels and time. And baby, it lingers.

Barrels tower around you, branded with “DSP-5 TN” — a federal designation as rich in heritage as the whiskey it protects. Some are labeled like they’ve been coded by NASA (73306, 242K198BF), and they’re aging like they know their moment is coming.

Then comes the Barrel Maturation Wall, where time is displayed as art. Lined with bottles aged two, three, and four years, it’s a lesson in patience and chemistry. One sip, and you’ll swear you can taste the moment the oak decided it loved the spirit inside.

But the highlight? The massive copper Vendome column still, gleaming under industrial beams like something out of a steampunk daydream. It’s the beating heart of Nelson’s Green Brier — part science lab, part whiskey cathedral.

Whether you’re a spirits geek Googling “how Tennessee whiskey is made” or a casual drinker wanting to know “what’s the best distillery tour in Nashville,” this still will haunt your dreams in the best way.

The Tasting: Tennessee Whiskey With a Punchline

Now for the main event — the Nelson Bros. whiskey tasting flight. Four curated pours served in etched Glencairn glasses on an engraved paddle. It looked like a whiskey runway show. And yes, I took a thousand pictures before sipping.

1. Nelson Bros. Classic Bourbon – A velvety vanilla-and-toffee welcome with just enough bite to remind you it’s not playing around. Smooth enough for beginners, complex enough for your whiskey snob friend.
2. Nelson Bros. Reserve – This is where the real whiskey flex happens. Spicy. Oaky. And bold. I wrote in my notes: “Like your ex who read Bukowski but still tipped 25%.”
3. Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey – The showstopper. A beautifully rounded, charcoal-filtered Tennessee original. Caramel apple, soft baking spice, and enough nostalgia to make you wonder if Grandpa drank this before church.
4. Cask Strength – This one didn’t knock. It kicked the door down. Over 115 proof and loaded with espresso, dried fruit, and scorched earth (in a good way). This is bourbon for those who want to feel things again.

Whether you search “best whiskey flight in Nashville” or just want something bold, this lineup delivers.

Museum Moments: Bottled History and Bourbon Ghosts

1. Before you leave, spend time with the distillery’s whiskey museum exhibits, which include original 1800s bottles — one still wrapped in historic packaging like it’s waiting for Charles Nelson himself to return.

You’ll see original Green Brier labels, vintage branding, and marketing proof that bourbon was cool long before hashtags. It’s not a marketing ploy — it’s a living homage to a brand that got knocked down by Prohibition but rose again like a charred-oak phoenix.

Bottling Room Realness: Where Bourbon Gets to Work

Toward the end of the tour, you’ll wander through the bottling and production zone, where whiskey earns its stripes. The industrial hum, the stacked barrels, the clink of glass on metal — it’s all very “Whiskey ASMR.”

And those barrels on pallets? They’re not props. They’re veterans of a war called “aging well.” A few even still had char stains, like badges of honor.

If you’ve ever asked, “Where is Nelson Bros. whiskey actually made?” this is your answer: right here. No smoke. No mirrors. Just fire and time.

Final Sip: Why This Distillery Belongs on Every Bourbon Bucket List

Nelson’s Green Brier isn’t just the best distillery tour in Nashville — it’s one of the most meaningful in the country. The family legacy. The craftsmanship. The refusal to die quietly. It all pours into every bottle, every barrel, and every tour.

This is Tennessee whiskey the way it was meant to be: bold, smooth, and utterly unapologetic.

So if you’re in Nashville and searching for:

• “Best whiskey tours in Nashville”
• “Where to taste Tennessee bourbon”
• “Historic distilleries near downtown Nashville”

Don’t just settle for the obvious tourist traps. Go where history still tastes like something.

Grab a flight. Buy the bottle. Toast the past. And say a quiet thank you to the Nelson family for reminding us that great bourbon doesn’t just age — it endures.