Company Description
JK Williams, a young whiskey-making pioneer at the age of sixteen, developed his craft working various distilleries for two decades in the “Whiskey Capital of the World” on the riverbanks of Peoria, IL.
The Midwestern Region was rich with high-quality grains and a plentiful water source from the Illinois River which are key ingredients for high-quality whiskey making.
Just like J.K. in his day, the current Williams generation are raising families in Central Illinois while creating our own craft whiskey The great-great-grandsons of bootleg whiskey-making master J.K. Williams were thrilled to have access to J.K.’s recipe and the chance to start a long-overdue revival of craft whiskey-making.
In 2013, Jesse and Jon Williams felt a certain opportunity to bring craft whiskey-and bourbon-making back to the Peoria area. They desired to bring back the spirit of adventure that fueled the era of bootlegging during Prohibition. They wanted to make their great-great-grandfather proud of their craftsmanship and innovative spirits for which J.K. Williams was known around these parts.
In April 2019, Andy Faris and his fiancé decided to acquire the business, including the naming rights, distilling equipment, and an existing inventory of spirits.
Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Andy
President and Managing Member
Mr. Faris has a long history of entrepreneurship, and most notably served as President – Americas for the Hardware.com subsidiary of the Simian Group, a $250 million distributor of networking products, from 2001-2015, whereas one of five shareholders, he was instrumental in establishing the most profitable segment of the company. This segment was spun off into a separate business, ProLabs Limited, in 2014. ProLabs has since received a significant private equity investment from Inflexion, a UK-based private equity firm, and merged with AddOn Networks of Tustin, CA to form Halo Technologies, the world’s largest independent supplier of fiber optic and connectivity products. Faris has since sold his stake.A native of Minneapolis, Faris also served on the Board of Directors of craft brewery Rahr & Sons Brewing, Ft. Worth, Texas, for 12 years. Faris holds a BA-Journalism (Advertising) from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Stacy
Vice President and Counsel
Ms. Shunk, a licensed attorney with over 30 years of experience in commercial litigation, real estate, and insurance, with a career that includes almost 6 years with John Hancock Financial Services. A career highlight includes being a team leader in the settlement of a $500 million lawsuit against John Hancock, where she was instrumental in negotiating settlement agreements with plaintiffs. Shunk was also the Director of the Legal Fee Arbitration Board and Director of the Committee on Professional Ethics Committee at the Massachusetts Bar Association (“MBA”). During her time at the MBA, she also served as Assistant General Counsel.A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Shunk lived and worked in Boston, Massachusetts for over 30 years. Shunk holds BA’s in American History and Afro American Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and a JD from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts
Jeff
Head Distiller and Operations Director
After his global adventures in the military, Jeff landed in San Antonio, Texas, where his passion for brewing pivoted to the art and science of distilling. He enjoyed his time at Rebecca Creek Distillery making small-batch whiskey and vodka before he felt the need to explore another of his favorite spirits, rum.In 2011, an opportunity opened at a start-up distillery in Massachusetts called Privateer. Here, Mr. Murphy was instrumental in launching the distilling of Privateer’s brands of rum, including white rum and aged rum. Privateer Rum is still going strong and can be found in many stores around the country, including Illinois.In 2012, he took his talents as Head Distiller to Louisiana Spirits, LLC, a start-up distillery in Lacassine, Louisiana. The company had recently started construction of its distillery where he played an integral role from the beginning and he and the team helped build its flagship brand, Bayou Rum, into the largest and most successful U.S. distiller of rum. While at Bayou, Jeff and the production team racked up more than 100 awards in spirits competitions around the world for their various rum brands.In July 2018, Bayou Rum was fully acquired by Stoli Group USA. At this time, Jeff was promoted to Operations Director and tasked with overseeing and completing a multi-million-dollar expansion of Bayou’s distilling facilities, which was successfully completed.Jeff is extremely excited to be joining the JK Williams team and bring his highly respected background in distilling to Peoria. At JK Williams, he plans on continuing the Company’s rich history in the production of small-batch bourbon and rye whiskey and promises to bring his flair for producing fine rum products as well.
