Estate Whiskey Alliance a boost to smaller distillers
Having long grown its own corn, Kentucky’s Jeptha Creed is one of a few smaller farm distillers that stands to benefit from the new estate whiskey certification.
In March, the University of Kentucky’s Estate Whiskey Alliance launched a first-of-its-kind certification to promote transparency and authenticity in spirits. The Estate Distilling Certification will recognise those whiskies for which at least two-thirds of all mash bill grains were grown on estate-owned or controlled land.
Members of the Estate Whiskey Alliance include major Bourbon producers Maker’s Mark, Heaven Hill, and Jim Beam, but smaller farm distillers have joined too, including Frey Ranch, Minden Mill and Jeptha Creed.
For Jeptha Creed owners Joyce and Autumn Nethery, the emergence of the Estate Whiskey certification is a form of validation for their family’s work. The Jeptha Creed Distillery was founded in 2016 with a ground-to-glass ethos that is central to the brand.
“At the beginning, one of my first thoughts was, ‘They made an alliance just for us, it’s perfect,’” Joyce recalls. “It’s going to be really helpful to smaller brands like us.”
Jeptha Creed is currently in the process of receiving Estate Whiskey Certification approval, but says that all of its core Bourbons – which include Bottled-in-Bond, Wheated, Four Grain, and the trademark Red, White, and Blue – will qualify. Joyce says that since its inception, the brand has struggled in communicating its farming roots to consumers, and that the new certification can only help in those efforts.
“It’s so beautiful to have this come together like this because we’ve been fighting this battle for 10 years,” she said. “The Estate Whiskey Alliance is allowing brands, especially small ones like us, to be able to get a certain amount of authenticity, and a certification behind us. That makes it more reliable and relatable to the consumer. And I think that’s where the biggest advantage is going to come.”
In that respect, having the larger Bourbon houses on board gives the certification more credence. In April, Maker’s Mark unveiled Stone Hill Farm wheat whiskey, the first product to bear the Estate Whiskey Certification.
“Tying those pieces together from a marketing standpoint is kind of overwhelming for a brand like us,” Joyce said. “So having an Estate Whiskey Alliance to be able to be a part of, and have that lead to bigger visibility for the consumer, is going to be a huge help for us.”
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