Meet the Mother-Daughter Team Behind Jeptha Creed Distillery
By Megan Rider
Jeptha Creed Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky, epitomizes the “Ground to Glass” ethos, run by the mother-daughter team of Joyce and Autumn Nethery.
The distillery was born from Autumn’s father’s vision to blend his agricultural roots with Kentucky’s spirit. After years in industrial distillation, Autumn’s mother transitioned to teaching and eventually became the CFO of her father’s various ventures, fueled by his entrepreneurial drive. When her father couldn’t attend a class at Moonshine University, Autumn’s mother, who had already paid for it, decided to go herself. This decision reignited her passion for distillation, aligning her chemical engineering background with her husband’s agricultural expertise to establish Jeptha Creed Distillery.
When the family embarked on this journey in 2013, Autumn, then underage, was to eventually become the master distiller, but nobody wanted to teach her due to her age. This led her to Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University to study distillation. While realizing distillation wasn’t her forte, she discovered her knack for data and marketing, and is now the Vice President of Operations of Jeptha Creed.
The name of the distillery comes from the home farm, as it sits at the foothills of Jeptha Knob in Shelby County, KY, which was named by Squire Boone and Daniel Boone when they were exploring the area. Autumn’s family has lived in Shelby County for 300 years. From inception, Jeptha Creed prioritized transparency with consumers. They commit to using only natural ingredients, avoiding extracts and artificial additives even in flavored spirits. The inclusion of “Creed” in their name signifies their pledge to maintain honesty and openness regarding the contents of their spirits, ensuring consumers know exactly what fills their glass.
The stand-out attribute of Jeptha Creed Distillery is the Bloody Butcher corn they use for their products. They grow their corn seed from the ground, harvest it in the fall, and then distill it, they feed the slop that’s left over, to their animals, and then the animals produce manure, which they then use to fertilize the fields; it’s a self-sustaining cycle. When Jeptha Creed Distillery distills their Bloody Butcher corn, they typically do so at 135 proof, resulting in a liquid with a robust character that carries over into their product.
Unlike yellow corn, Bloody Butcher corn yields a less sweet initial taste due to its higher protein content, which yeast doesn’t readily break down. Despite its lower yield, the corn’s isoamyl alcohol content provides a distinctive sweetness reminiscent of banana Runts candy, enriching the flavor profile significantly and yielding a sweeter, nuttier flavor profile, with earthy undertones that is not attained with yellow corn.
In terms of packaging, the bourbon bottle is custom-made, a project that took a year and a half to complete. It’s inspired by a sketch from Autumn’s father he created in 2014. Originally starting with moonshine and vodka, the team realized the importance of packaging. They wanted the bourbon to stand out, so they opted for a round bottle, favored by bartenders for its ease of pouring and shelf fit. Departing from the original oval design, they incorporated a raised tree, symbolizing past, present, and future on the bottle. At the bottle’s base, the family motto, “Ne Oublie,” which means “do not forget,” is imprinted, serving as a reminder that it is time to get another bottle.
In May 2024, Jeptha Creed Distillery is set to unveil their inaugural six-year-old offering: a wheated bourbon mashbill. This marks their most mature release to date, with plans to introduce a new product annually for the next five years.
Preparation
- Combine all ingredients over ice into a shaker tin.
- Shake thoroughly.
- Double strain into one half of your shaker and remove ice from tin, shake again without ice.
- Strain into coupe glass and top with ground nutmeg.
Preparation
- Add ice then ingredients to a shaker.
- Shake then strain over ice into rocks glass.
- Garnish with lemon & lime.
Preparation
- Muddle peaches in highball glass.
- Add ice and remaining ingredients.
- Stir and top with black tea.
- Garnish with lemon.
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