BABE #337: JOYCE NETHERY - Master Distiller, Jeptha Creed Distillery
Joyce is the CEO, Master Distiller, and half of the mother-daughter ownership team at Jeptha Creed, a Kentucky-based bourbon distillery. She’s held many different roles in her successful career, from chemical engineering, to teaching high school chemistry and physics, to being a chief financial officer—all of which blended perfectly together to prepare her for the work she does today. The spirits coming out of Jeptha Creed are made with intention, love and a whole lot of respect for their land. We’re rooting her on as she and her team continue to change the spirits game—one bottle at a time.
The Basics:
Hometown: Shelbyville, KY
Current city: Shelbyville, KY
Alma mater: University of Louisville; Moonshine University
Degree: M.A., Chemical Engineering
Very first job: I worked at a department store called Roses
Hustle: Co-Owner + Master Distiller, Jeptha Creed Distillery
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
One of the women I really admire is Peggy Noe Stevens and what she's done to lead women in the bourbon industry through Bourbon Women.
How do you spend your free time?
Well, there isn't a whole lot of free time, but one of the things I did before and I still enjoy doing now is sustainable gardening. I have a raised bed garden at the house and I like to grow a lot of vegetables.
What would you eat for your very last meal?
Oh, that is a difficult question. It would definitely be a pasta dish, with really rich creamy sauces on it—probably an alfredo sauce, and excellently cooked chicken, with roasted red peppers and garlic. Dessert would be a deep dark chocolate mousse.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
I am one of the founders of Jeptha Creed, a bourbon distillery sitting on 64 acres of Kentucky farmland. I am our CEO, our master distiller, and half of our mother-daughter ownership team. Hustle is definitely a good term for what we're doing. Through all of my roles, I make sure our production is up to standard, that our raw materials and ingredients are coming in in good shape, that we're cooking and fermenting them correctly, distilling properly, and then aging and making sure the barrels are in good shape. I'm also heavily involved in marketing, and getting the word out—but if I have to take the trash out, I take the trash out. I’ll do whatever needs to be done.
What does your typical workday look like?
I don't know if I have a typical workday, but I have an ideal workday. My ideal workday would be hanging out in the production area—specifically in the lab, doing lab analysis and just being one with the bourbon and the products and the process. I'm kind of an introvert, so not talking to anybody would be my ideal day.
When did you decide to pursue this career?
Well, my career was in chemical engineering, and then I left engineering to become a high school chemistry and physics teacher… and then I left teaching to become a chief financial officer. I've had a crazy career. My husband grew up as a dairy farmer, and we still live on the farm. We thought building a distillery would be a great combination of his skillset with mine, so a distillery is what we came up with. Our passion for it all really derives from the soil; it derives from the land and all of the Kentucky history and culture pieces of bourbon. We think that's beautiful, and wanted to build something for the children, for our kids, that they could use for their careers. I love it. It's so a part of us, and since we grow the corn we use in our products, it all ties together.
Tell us about your ground-to-glass production process and sustainability at the distillery.
Well, sustainability really starts with the corn. This corn is open-pollinated (that means each kernel on the cob is a seed). We save the seeds over the winter, plant them back the following spring and get the same exact corn again. That makes it very sustainable. It's just beautiful; we call it the corn cycle. Then, the spent grains from the distillation process—we take those spent grains and feed them back to the animals. The animal manure is actually an excellent fertilizer, and that gets spread over the fields. So, we're renourishing the fields, renourishing the ground with the spent grains. It all comes together.
What’s it like running a business as mother and daughter? How do you find a balance between your personal and professional relationships?
It is a fine balancing act. Luckily, both Autumn and I really appreciate each other and kind of understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that we are both growing and learning in this business. We give each other a little bit of leeway, and that's actually one of the joys for me—to get to watch her grow and develop as a manager, and leader, and the person knowledgeable in this industry. That's been one of the true joys.
What’s been your biggest career milestone?
I'm going to have to say having a bourbon product. Getting to this point is gigantic, because we didn't source anything—we did it all ourselves, and beyond that, we've grown it ourselves. It takes us three years to make a two-year bourbon, so to have all those pieces come together and have a product on the shelf, that's got to be my biggest milestone.
How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
I have been in a male-dominated space for the majority of my career. Really, the only time it wasn't male-dominated was teaching. Through that experience, I don't think about being the woman in the room anymore. I think to earn respect—regardless of your gender—you have to know what you're talking about and you have to be an expert. That's how I would encourage people: know your stuff, have confidence in your knowledge, and just go for it.
What are some common misconceptions about your job?
One of the things about this business I found kind of interesting (and I was not expecting) is the level of political knowledge you need, and the amount of politicking that needs to be happening with it. A lot of the rules that affect distilled spirits are still driven by prohibition—like, one thing is we can't ship because of prohibition rules. There's a lot of working with legislators, and politicking, and PACs, trying to get us on an equal footing with every other aspect of life. You can order anything on the internet—anything except distilled spirits.
Who are some women in your field you look to for inspiration?
There are a lot of ladies in the bourbon industry, like Carla Carlton, leading Bourbon+ [Magazine]. It's just fabulous. That magazine is doing so much for bourbon, and her being the editor of it is awesome.
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
I would encourage them to not necessarily be afraid of a crazy move. Life happens, and sometimes you need to change. Don't necessarily be afraid of that. Jump in there, learn it, become the expert in the room, and go for it. That skill, that talent you learned, and that crazy move could be the thing preparing you for something huge in your future. I would encourage you not to be too strict with yourself.
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