Peerless Distillery Offering $1,000 Bourbon

Peerless Distilling, a family distillery dating to the late 19th century that was revived downtown last year, is offering their first bourbon to be bottled in 98 years as part of a collection called Series 1.

Beginning with new make, the seven-bottle series is a journey through the aging process presented in 375 milliliter bottles. Using product “all cooked and barreled on one day and all stored in the same place,” the whiskey is aged in barrels side by side in the warehouse, under the same roof as the distillery, said marketing director Lisa Yennes.

After aging for six months, they'll fill Bottle #2 with bourbon poured straight from the barrel with minimal screening to remove char.

“It will remain in its pristine and unaltered condition, perfectly capturing that moment in its aging,” said head distiller Caleb Kilburn.

The process will be repeated at the one, two, three, four, and five-year mark, creating bottles #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7. The five-year process will allow collectors to observe the color of the bourbon change with time in the barrel, and for those who taste it, how the flavors develop.

“It's all about the progression,” Yennes said.

Each bottle will be accompanied by a distiller's tasting note and will be signed by Kilburn, as well as current Peerless founders Corky and Carson Taylor, great and great-great grandson of Henry Kraver, the original founder. A display rack created by barrel artist Jason Cohen will showcase the collection.

Series 1 costs $1,000 and is only available for purchase at the distillery gift shop. Collectors will have the chance to sign the barrels, tour the distillery and meet the family.

“The concept was they'd come in every year,” Yennes said.

For out-of-town buyers, “this can be their annual trip.”

If they can't make it every year, she says, the collection can be stored.

This first series is limited to 300. Will there be a second series? If there's a demand, Yennes said.

For more information, visit the distillery at 120 N. 10th St. or call Yennes at 502-322-4942.