Cream soda | Brown sugar | Maple syrup | Cocoa powder | Almond amaretto

Cola | Dates | Candied pecan | Maple butter syrup

Leather | Milk chocolate | Cola | Walnut | White pepper

Located in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Jeptha Creed is a working farm and distillery owned by the Nethery family. The company holds true to the Scottish Gaelic phrase “Ne Oublie” (which means “never forget”) by including it on the bottle label of Bruce’s Blue and using it as inspiration for their founding motto, “Don’t Forget Where You Came From.”

Bruce’s Blue corn is an exclusive heirloom corn varietal developed, planted, and harvested exclusively on Jeptha Creed’s own farm. The company states that “this new expression is the realization of the pioneering vision of Bruce Nethery, husband of Joyce Nethery and the driving force behind the family’s Shelbyville farming operation. By developing and distilling their own heirloom grains, specifically corn, Jeptha Creed has been a leader in exploring the flavor possibilities heirloom corn offers.”

Blue corn is having a moment with brands like Beyke’s Blue, Still Austin, and Bluegrass Distillers, all recently featuring a blue corn bourbon. But not all blue corn is created equal, and Jeptha Creed Distillery also imparts very distinct flavor qualities to its bourbon, for better or for worse. Bruce’s Blue Straight Bourbon lands closer to the former.

There is a light earthiness that is found throughout Bruce’s Blue Straight Bourbon, which is not uncommon for the distillery’s bourbon. Cream soda and cola notes combined with brown sugar and maple syrup are also hallmarks of the company. In Bruce’s Blue Straight Bourbon, the flavors fuse nicely, creating a sugary, old-timey, soda-shop-like flavor profile. Its earthiness is light and adds a welcome depth to the sip, which otherwise features a narrow band of like-minded flavors. There’s a lot that comes together well with Bruce’s Blue Straight Bourbon, from its new squat bottle design to a flavor profile that may lack some needed high notes, but makes up for it with a profile most will thoroughly enjoy.