A familiar and revered face to Henderson bourbon aficionados spoke Tuesday at the Men’s Bourbon Society’s annual meeting.
Corky Taylor, a Henderson native and founder of Peerless Distilling Co., came in from Louisville to talk a little bit about the history of his company and to offer some words of wisdom.
Taylor, recently inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, recounted some of the anecdotes that the Hendersonian featured in a previous article about his honor. Among them, that he’d retired to Sarasota, Fla., and spent 1 ½ years after he first retired walking the white sandy beaches. “I was miserable,” he quipped.
Taylor moved back to Louisville, bought back the Peerless name, and eventually opened Peerless on Whiskey Row. Twelve years after the company was founded, nine years after the first barrel was filled with Taylor’s Peerless bourbon and five years after the first Peerless bourbon was sold, Taylor was inducted in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame’s 2024 class.
He also mentioned an article in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 13 in which it was reported that Peerless bourbon had been named the best bourbon in the world.
Taylor was the guest of honor to speak on the topic of the “growing prominence of Henderson in the Bourbon industry.”
Andrew Powell, the president of Henderson Distilling Co., and brothers Zach and Zeb Hargis, founders of Hargis Spirits, also spoke at the meeting.
Hargis Spirits is again producing Silk Velvet Whiskey, a past Henderson bourbon with a long history. Zach Hargis said by the end of 2025 Silk Velvet will be shipped to more than 40 states.
The society does more than gather to sip nice bourbons. According to information provided, the organization has provided financial assistance to several projects since its founding in 2019. The society distributed the following information about the work it has accomplished. Here’s a list:
- In December 2019, MBSH officially becomes a not-for-profit organization. The society distributed gifts totaling $25,000 to five local not-for-profits organizations.
- In April 2020, the MBSH, using $25,000, helps to establish the Henderson Employee Relief Fund. The fund, led by MBSH members, provided one-time emergency financial assistance to Henderson County residents who had lost their employment or had their hours reduced because of the pandemic. There was $750,000 contributed to the Fund, approximately 40% of the donors were MBSH members and 65% of the dollars were contributed by MBSH members.
- In December 2020 and 2021m MBSH members spent an hour in Walmart representing Santa and financially assisting shoppers with their Christmas shopping. It was a gift worth approximately $25,000.
- In December 2021 and 2022, the MBSH gave $50,150 in gift cards to the Family Resource Centers at Henderson County Schools, Holy Name School and Riverview School.
- In summer 2022, MBSH members spearheaded an initiative to replace the American Legion Honor Guard van. In collaboration with Henderson Chevrolet and the Henderson War Memorial Foundation, it was successful in raising $48,000 to replace the van.
- In June 2023, the MBSH led a collaboration with Field & Main Bank, the Henderson Employee Relief Fund and the Henderson County School System to install 3M Safety Film in all schools including Holy Name School and Riverview School, which was a project supported by the Henderson Police Department, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police. The $250,000 installation was completed in time for the start of school 2023.