Corky Taylor

Roy Taylor, Jr., also known as “Ace”, was at one time General George S. Patton’s right-hand man. Since Ace was stationed in Hawaii, his son Corky naturally grew up a surfer and teenage beachcomber, much to the chagrin of his military-minded father. Ace soon retired, though, and moved the household back to his farm in Henderson, Kentucky. It wasn’t long before family dynamics saw a rebellious Corky shipped off to a prestigious but rigid military school in Tennessee. Corky did not excel there and was unceremoniously dismissed after just a few semesters. At the military school, Corky had roomed with Gregg and Duane Allman, who later formed the Allman Brothers Band. “They were a lot of fun,” recalls Taylor, smiling. Notwithstanding his partying ways, Corky managed to complete high school and get a college degree, and worked at diverse roles before founding and becoming the President and CEO of the leading financial services company BENCOR.

In 2010, Corky Taylor sold BENCOR and retired very comfortably to Florida at a young age—but he was miserable. “I had walked the beaches for a year-and-a-half, and I was the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life”, explains Taylor, ”So I called up my son Carson and said, ‘We gotta do something’”. That something turned out to be reviving the family company, which was founded as Worsham Distilling by Corky’s grandfather, Henry Kraver, in 1889. The Worsham brand was at one time highly respected but had not survived  Prohibition and had never reopened.  But soon, the father and son duo had purchased and revitalized a building on Louisville’s historic Whiskey Row, procured Kraver’s old distilled spirits plant (DSP) #50, obtained his recipes, and renamed the new venture Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company.

The Taylors are determined to not take the hard work of Grandpa Henry lightly. Peerless patiently waits for its whiskies to age and has never sourced. It remains focused on its bourbon and ryes and does not produce clear spirits. Corky’s son Carson himself designed the label and bottle and insists on the quality only achieved in American-made glassware. “I also like the fact that my bottles keep Americans working,“ explains Carson. It should also be noted that Peerless is only one of a few distilleries that operate on strict kosher guidelines to honor Kraver’s Jewish ancestry.

Peerless’ dedication to their craft has already paid off in spades. In 2019, Peerless bourbon was named “Best Kentucky Bourbon” at the World Whiskies Award. Whiskey Advocate christened Peerless Rye “One of the Top 20 Whiskeys in the World", and  USA Today recently proclaimed the Peerless Distillery itself ‘Best Craft Whiskey Distillery’. Finally, 2024 culminated in R.M. “Corky” Taylor being elected to the illustrious Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.

As to how Corky feels about all the accolades that Peerless has received in a relatively short time, he concedes, “Obviously we are elated, but in a word—SHOCKED! But the extraordinary reception that Peerless has received has put us in 37 states so far, as well as in Australia. Now we are off to markets in Asia and the United Kingdom!”

Reference: Peggy Noe Stevens (The TasteMaker), 2018

Contributed by: Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee