by Blake SandnesRMS Brewing Solutions is back for another month of celebrating our partners in brewing and distilling. Each month, we like to highlight one of the amazing businesses we have had the privilege to work with to ensure they get the top quality product their clients have come to expect. We are proud to be part of the brewing and distilling process, and this month, we are showcasing a distilling company for the first time. And there is truly no better business to put at the front of this line than Kentucky Peerless.
Kentucky Peerless Distilling
Kentucky Peerless, set in the heart of Bourbon District in the seat of American whiskey, Louisville, has a history perhaps as long as the production of liquor in this country. The distillery was founded in 1889 and saw great success until 1917, with incredible foresight, owner Henry Taylor converted his product to “medicinal whiskey,” which allowed the business to stay open through Prohibition. It was an ingenious move that required less grain and use pre-existing barrels, but they still had a product and a company that met the demands of the day.
When Henry died shortly after Prohibition ended, the distilling industry had been all but decimated. In Louisville, the wall street of whiskey, all businesses had been shuttered and destroyed. Upon Henry’s death, his relatives liquidated his estate, and that was what seemed to be the end of Kentucky Peerless.
It would be decades before the revival of a love of whiskey in the United States, after the Baby Boom and the thriving 1980s. Whiskey once again came into the American vision as elegant, refined, and classy. Something to savor and enjoy at leisure.
The great grandson of Henry, Corky Taylor, saw an opportunity to bring his family’s legacy back into celebrity as he witnessed more and more Americans demanding whiskey as their preferred beverage. And here he was in the heart of the Bourbon district, perfectly poised to meet that demand.
In 2015, Corky distilled the first barrel of Kentucky Peerless after almost a century since its demise.
And in that short time, Kentucky Peerless has already established a reputation for quality, for character, and for the value of patience.
The team works at a slow, sweet pace. They are only one of two distilleries in the state that produces a sweet mash, which means fresh grain, fresh water, fresh yeast, for every distillation. They are bringing leisure and elegance into Kentucky Bourbon that has already brought them international acclaim. Indeed, Kentucky Peerless was voted the top craft distillery in the world in 2019.
If you love whiskey, and bourbon specifically, Kentucky Peerless is a must.
RMS Brewing Solutions
RMS has been delighted to be with Kentucky Peerless from their reopening. We have partnered with Corky and his team to provide grain handling equipment, ensuring their machinery fits neatly into the space and meets the needs of this small but mighty distillery.
We look forward to getting down to Louisville every chance we get, so we can enjoy this Kentucky exclusive bourbon.
If you’re in the area, you simply must pay a visit to Kentucky Peerless. Maybe we’ll see you there!
