Ten years after opening its doors in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Jeptha Creed Distillery is marking the milestone with a three-part video series and a landmark anniversary bourbon that encapsulates everything the family-owned operation has grown on its 64-acre farm.
The centerpiece of the anniversary is the Jeptha Creed Solera Aged Bourbon, a release that draws together whiskeys distilled from every heirloom corn varietal the distillery has worked with since inception — a decade's worth of agricultural experimentation compressed into a single bottle. The distillery's "Our Farm to Your Glass" philosophy, built around heirloom Bloody Butcher Corn grown on the family farm, gives the release a traceability story that resonates with the growing segment of on-premise and retail buyers seeking provenance-driven spirits.
The Video Series
The three-part documentary series, unfolding across Jeptha Creed's YouTube channel and website throughout the anniversary year, is structured around the themes that have defined the distillery: family roots, agricultural heritage, and craft distilling. The first chapter, released July 4th, spotlights the Nethery family's multigenerational connection to Shelby County, timed to coincide with America's 250th anniversary. The second chapter, Decade of Dedication: Jeptha Creed Solera, debuted September 18th and focuses on the heirloom corn program and the anniversary bourbon release itself.
The series concludes November 11 — Veterans Day and the exact date of the distillery's 10th anniversary — with Ne Oublie, a French phrase meaning "Never Forget" that has been passed down through generations of the Nethery family. The phrase underpins the distillery's operating motto, "Don't Forget Where You Came From," and the final film reflects on how that heritage continues to shape the brand's direction.
Why It Matters for Operators
For beverage directors and spirits buyers, the Jeptha Creed story represents an increasingly compelling on-premise narrative: a single-estate craft distillery where the same family that grows the grain signs off on the final barrel. That level of vertical integration is rare in the American craft spirits category, and the Solera Aged Bourbon — with its built-in storytelling around a decade of heirloom varietal exploration — offers the kind of menu differentiation that resonates with guests seeking authenticity.
"Reaching our 10th anniversary is an incredible milestone and a chance to look back on everything that has brought Jeptha Creed to where we are today," said Joyce Nethery, Owner and Master Distiller of Jeptha Creed Distillery. "This series allows us to share that journey while celebrating what makes Jeptha Creed unique and looking ahead to the future."
The distillery is owned and operated by mother-and-daughter duo Joyce and Autumn Nethery, a leadership structure that has itself become part of the brand's identity in a category still dominated by large legacy producers. For industry professionals tracking craft spirits and beverage industry trends, Jeptha Creed's decade-long run offers a case study in how farm-to-glass positioning and consistent quality can build durable brand equity in a crowded bourbon market. Operators looking to deepen their craft beverage and restaurant programming will find the distillery's anniversary release and content strategy worth following as it builds toward the November finale.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
