As a family-owned distillery, Jeptha Creed is infused with the values and priorities of Joyce and Bruce Nethery and their children Autumn and Hunter. One of the Nethery family’s strongest values is honoring their heritage, which is applied to every aspect of Jeptha Creed, from the distilling process to the bottle designs. For Bourbon Heritage Month, we wanted to highlight the bottle design of Jeptha Creed’s newest product: our first Straight 4-Grain Bourbon, an elegant homage to the Nethery family history.
The central iconography of the bottle design is a bold, sprawling tree. Though its meaning is multifaceted, an obvious reference is to Jeptha Creed’s commitment to sourcing the highest-quality, home-grown ingredients from our home state of Kentucky.
The word “Jeptha” refers to the Jeptha Knob, the highest point in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. Though their ancestors hailed from Scotland, the Nethery family has farmed in Shelby County Kentucky for five generations. Now, the Netherys continue that tradition through Jeptha Creed and their “ground-to-glass” process of distillation.
Jeptha Creed grows or locally sources the ingredients used in our spirits: fruits, herbs, and open-pollinated heirloom Bloody Butcher corn are grown in our fields. We save seeds, use honey harvested on-site, and pull water directly from the creek. The Nethery’s dedication to the land of Kentucky is self-evident: it’s why they were determined to create their own unique bourbon and why the tree is the perfect motif for this bourbon bottle design.
When Autumn Nethery studied in Scotland, she came across the creed of the Graham Clan, “ne oublie,” which is Scottish Gaelic for “never forget.” Upon telling her father, Bruce Nethery got goosebumps, recalling the many times his grandfather and great grandfather had conveyed that very sentiment: “don’t forget where you come from.” The Netherys believe that the “ne oublie” creed has been passed down through their family for generations, in different iterations, but truly never forgotten. As a tribute to their Scottish roots, a Celtic trinity is found nestled in the roots of the tree of life. “Ne oublie” is also imprinted on the bottom of the bottle. Don’t forget where you came from, and don’t forget to pick up your next bottle of Jeptha Creed!
At the base of the bottle, the roots of the tree stretch into the past: Scotland, Kentucky, and farming. The elegant Jeptha Creed label anchors the trunk in the present, where the Nethery family is working to create a unique spirits brand and family legacy. Along the neck of the bottle, the branches of the tree stretch into the future. This thoughtful bourbon bottle is the perfect vessel for Jeptha Creed’s carefully crafted Straight 4-Grain Bourbon.
Celebrate Bourbon Heritage Month with a bottle of Jeptha Creed! Visit our Where To Buy page to find a location that carries Jeptha Creed Straight 4-Grain Bourbon today. When empty, the bottle is a beautiful way to store olive oil or other ingredients.