The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
Earlier this month Jeptha Creed Distillery launched their first Straight Bourbon, a release six years in the making. The Netherys, the family behind Jeptha Creed, spent six years creating something distinctly their own with this bourbon.
The Netherys have been farming in Shelby County Kentucky for five generations, and they now grow or locally source all of the grains used in their spirits. Since bourbon is always at least 51% corn, the Netherys wanted to be thoughtful about the corn that they used. They planted two fields: one of non-GMO yellow corn, and one of heirloom varietal Bloody Butcher corn. As the fields ripened, they noticed an intriguing behavior from the local wildlife: animals would walk through the yellow corn to eat the Bloody Butcher corn. The Netherys knew they had made a key discovery for the future of Jeptha Creed.
In 2014, they distilled test batches of bourbon, hoping to test different grain levels for the mash. Due to a delivery accident, the rye, wheat, and barley all arrived malted. It was a lucky mistake: the Netherys tasted the bourbon made from the mash of malted grains and knew they’d landed on something special. It was also around this time that Jeptha Creed began to take shape in Shelbyville. In August of 2016, Jeptha Creed distilled and barreled the first legal barrel of bourbon in Shelby County since before Prohibition. By October of that year they had begun distilling in earnest, with two barrels of bourbon heading into the warehouse each day. In February of 2019, they barreled their one thousandth barrel of bourbon, and are now producing nine barrels per day.
Jeptha Creed prides itself on being a ground-to-glass distillery, meaning they strive to be sustainable and thoughtful at every step of production. This is evident in the fact that they grow or locally source every ingredient, right down to the water pulled from the crystal-clear creek on their farm. This craft Straight 4-Grain Bourbon dazzles with its intricacies and care.
Jeptha Creed Straight 4-Grain Bourbon is now available in Kentucky markets. It will be released in Tennessee and Indiana markets in the summer of 2019. It retails for around $50.
