JK Williams Gold Zephyr Small Batch Bourbon
JK Williams is a name on the rise, and if all goes their way, could be a phoenix within a phoenix.
Andy Faris - who took over the JK Williams Distillery in 2018 from Williams’ own descendants with Stacy Shunk - and Jeff Murphy, who Faris brought on in 2020 as the Head Distiller and Operations Manager - joined me on the Whiskey Ring Podcast to talk whiskey. Specifically, the bourbon and rye coming from the distillery in Peoria, Illinois.
At the turn of the 20th century, Peoria was the whiskey capital of the US, if not the world. It’s where Hiram Walker had their biggest plants and it’s where dozens of distilleries operated alongside just as many breweries (Pabst Blue Ribbon, for example, started there). But as happened with so many others, Peoria was eviscerated by Prohibition.
Production moved down the river systems to Kentucky. Hiram Walker retreated to Canada. Breweries stayed around a bit longer, but largely abandoned the site as well. Other industries rose in their place, but by the end of Prohibition and especially by the end of World War 2, Peoria’s whiskey legacy was already a memory.
On paper, Peoria is one of those perfect places for American whiskey. Tell me if you’ve heard this before: strong transportation network by river and rail, a limestone shelf with limestone filtered water, strong crop industries surrounding the area, flat land for warehousing. Sounds just like Kentucky and Tennessee (and New York, for that matter), right? The Illinois River was an artery through southern Illinois to the rest of the country.
According to Andy and Jeff, Hiram Walker warehouses and the original distilling plant still stand today (I even asked them about acquiring one of the Walker rickhouses for their own use…you’ll have to listen to the podcast for their answer!) And, although the original JK Williams operation was closed for nearly a century, his recipes have survived. Descendants of Williams started the distillery back up in 2010, unfortunately without success: enter, Andy and Stacy.
JK Williams Distilling has a built-in story: a legendary distiller-turned-bootlegger who crossed paths with Al Capone, a whiskey dream ended by Prohibition to be reborn in the bourbon boom of the last decade-plus. When Andy and Stacy took over (and later added Jeff to the team after stints at Rebecca Creek Whiskey and Bayou Rum), they had a stock of bourbon and rye on which to build. These first two releases, the Gold Zephyr Bourbon and Stormy River High Rye Whiskey, were both distilled by the previous owners. At four years old, both are impressive (check out my notes on the Stormy River Rye here).
I’ll save the rest of the story for the Stormy River Rye page (and the podcast!) but TL;DR try these out. I know “craft” isn’t for everyone, and I know there are some snobs who will turn up their nose at anything under 10-15 years old no matter what it is. But if you are open to appreciating something new, something different, and something good, grab a bottle of this or the rye, and grab a seat for what’s coming next.
JK Williams Gold Zephyr Small Batch Bourbon: Specs
Classification: Bourbon
Origin: JK Williams Distillery
Mashbill: 80% Corn, 10% Wheat, 10% Malted Barley
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Age: 4 Years Old
Location: Peoria, Illinois
JK Williams Gold Zephyr Small Batch Bourbon Price: $60
JK Williams Gold Zephyr Small Batch Bourbon Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Burnt orange slices brulee. Medium rims and thin legs.
Nose: Grain-forward, a little funky at first. Orange fruitiness, natural and artificial. Smells a bit young, but not raw or woody, more like it’s fresh and not overly oaken. Plenty of scraped vanilla bean. Proof heat opens up with air.
Palate: Spicy up front, plenty of mouthfeel though. At first, drinks way above proof. Follows the nose, vanilla and orange, like a liquid creamsicle in a good way. Mouthfeel is full, coating, velvety, and crazy full for a 90 proofer at only four years old.
Finish: Keeps the creamsicle going, coating sticks on the palate for another minute or two.
Overall: Not at all what I expected. Honestly - and I said this to the guys from JK Distilling on the podcast - I expected something a bit younger and oakier, but this wasn’t like that at all. There was oak, but it was controlled in a good medium between young and raw and being too oaky. Creamy, full mouthfeel was the biggest surprise, and who doesn’t like orange and vanilla? It isn’t perfect yet, but there’s also no obvious “you need to change this right now” flaw. Give this a try now, and see where it is in another year or two. There’s promise for sure.
Final Rating: 6.6
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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