Grimes Celebrates National Bourbon Day At Women-Owned Jeptha Creed Distillery

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes on Wednesday marked the 238th birthday of Kentucky bourbon and National Bourbon Day with a visit to Shelby County’s Jeptha Creed Distillery.

Jeptha Creed, a 15,000-square foot, $3-million distillery, opened in November 2016. The owners are mother-daughter team Joyce and Autumn Nethery. Joyce is one of three female master distillers in Kentucky. She, along with her daughter and marketing manager Autumn, designed the distillery from the ground up. The two had taken courses on distilling before deciding to open their own distillery.

“Today is another milestone in the history of Kentucky bourbon. As the bourbon industry continues to experience a tremendous boom, I’m excited Jeptha Creed – a woman-owned small business – is adding to Kentucky’s rich bourbon tradition,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief business official.

Jeptha Creed employs 14 people and is as a “farm-to-glass” operation with production using ingredients grown on-site or at nearby farms. The distillery sits on 64 acres of farmland.

“Even though we’re new to the industry, we feel right at home,” said Joyce Nethery. “Our whole family is involved. My son takes care of the bees and my husband is heavily involved and grows all of our corn. We grow everything we can think of to flavor our spirits straight from the Kentucky soil. We’re excited to join Sec. Grimes in celebrating bourbon’s birthday today.”

Jeptha Creed uses the “bloody butcher” corn variety in their products, an heirloom crop they grow and harvest themselves that dates back to 1845. This makes the bourbon mash pink rather than yellow. Current products include vodkas, moonshines, and Bloody Butcher’s Creed, a limited-edition bourbon that previews the distillery’s full roll-out of bourbons in 2019. Jeptha Creed’s products are distributed across Kentucky.

“Jeptha Creed is the quintessential Kentucky small, family business ­– mix hard work and bourbon and you have a recipe for success,” said Grimes.