Brad Nethery

“Lloyd Approved”

Before he entered the whiskey world, Brad Neathery was a brand storyteller, not a distiller. Raised in Texas, he built his early career in design and creative direction, helping lifestyle companies craft identity and voice. He spent years leading advertising projects, refining messaging strategies, and learning how consumers form emotional bonds with products. It was a foundation built not in barrelhouses, but in boardrooms, and yet, those skills would eventually help redefine how a new generation experienced whiskey.

His transition into spirits began through a professional relationship with entrepreneur Joe Giildenzopf, who had a background in technology and business ventures. The two first connected through branding projects when Giildenzopf hired Neathery for design work. They quickly realized they shared not only compatible creative instincts but also a mutual appreciation for bourbon. Their discussions evolved from marketing strategy into product philosophy. Could a whiskey brand be built not just on tradition, but on innovation? Could it be rooted in craftsmanship but speak in a modern voice? That shared curiosity laid the foundation for Oak & Eden, which Neathery and Giildenzopf officially launched in 2018.

Rather than constructing a distillery from scratch in the early days, they focused first on rethinking the whiskey finishing process. They sourced fully distilled bourbon and wheat whiskey from established producers, then added a radical twist: each bottle would contain a real spiral-cut piece of oak, known as a “Spire,” inserted directly into the liquid. This wasn’t decorative—the wood was toasted or charred to specific levels, allowing it to continue flavoring the whiskey after bottling. They dubbed the process ‘In-Bottle Finishing’.

From the beginning, Neathery led messaging and design, while Giildenzopf focused on operational growth and distribution. Neathery crafted the visual language, clean typography, minimalist labeling, and bold but refined presentation, while Giildenzopf helped translate that identity into scalable production. They operated less like a historic distillery and more like a creative lab, where branding and production evolved together.

Early releases included Bourbon & Spire, Wheat & Spire, and Rye & Spire, with each expression using a different species or toast level of oak spirals. Texas consumers were initially skeptical. In a state known for rugged authenticity, placing a wooden insert inside a bottle could have easily been dismissed as a gimmick. But Neathery’s messaging sidestepped novelty, and instead of presenting the concept as a trick, he framed it as personalization and evolution, allowing every bottle to mature differently in the hands of the drinker.

To further solidify Oak & Eden’s cultural positioning, Neathery developed The Anthro Series, a program of whiskey collaborations with musicians, actors, and creators. Rather than traditional celebrity endorsements, each collaborator helped determine mash bills and finishing woods to match their own character. Releases included country artist Thomas Rhett, actor and musician Zachary Levi, and Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman. Through these projects, Neathery’s background in creative direction merged fully with whiskey production, and each bottle became not just a beverage but a biography in glass.

Oak & Eden established its headquarters and tasting room in Bridgeport, Texas, and later expanded to include an “Anthro Bar” in Dallas, where guests could select their own finishing spire for custom flavor control. The brand grew into regional and national distribution, eventually reaching more than 20 states. In 2021, the Anthro Series featured none other than one of America’s most beloved television personalities, American cowboy and actor, Forrie J. Smith, better known as Lloyd Pierce from Paramount Network’s hit TV show, “Yellowstone.” Forrie collaborated with Oak & Eden to produce a 116-proof bourbon whiskey finished with a cold brew coffee-soaked American Oak spiral, which has already caught the attention of fans and bourbon enthusiasts alike.