King’s Family Distillery

In the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains just outside Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, husband-and-wife team Justin and Cara King built a whiskey brand around two rare things in the category: a genuine partnership and a distinct point of view on rye. What started in 2018 has grown into a lineup anchored by King's Family Distillery Ryeconic Straight Rye Whiskey, a cask-strength, double-barrel-aged rye that has become the brand's signature pour.

History & Heritage

Justin and Cara King each spent more than a decade in the whiskey industry before joining forces. Justin was recruited by Tennessee's first legal moonshine distillery and rose to Master Distiller there. Cara's path ran through the grain side of the business: starting in 2008 at her family's firm, described as the leading rye supplier in the United States, she relocated from Minnesota to Louisville, Kentucky, before eventually settling in the Appalachian Mountains. In 2018, Cara left the family grain business, and King's Family Distillery was born with Justin as her partner. The distillery is owned and operated, as of July 2026, by Justin and Cara King directly, with no public evidence of outside investment or acquisition.

The Whiskey

King's Family Distillery operates as a sourcing-and-finishing house rather than a from-grain-up operation on every label. The math gives it away: the brand launched in 2018, yet current releases carry age statements from 6 up to 18 years, and bottles are labeled as produced in both Indiana and Tennessee. The flagship King's Family Distillery Ryeconic Straight Rye Whiskey uses a 95% rye mash bill, is barreled at roughly 105 proof, and is aged sequentially in two separate barrels, three years in the first and six in the second, a double-oaking process that produces a rye whiskey packaged at 54.0% ABV. King's Family Distillery Ryeconic Toasted Straight Rye Whiskey takes the concept further: each batch is triple-oaked, aging first and second in new charred white oak before a third barrel finished with a six-hour char and a flash toast, bottled at 54.1% ABV. King's Family Distillery Straight Bourbon uses a 99% corn, 1% malted barley mash bill and carries a 6-year age statement at 43.5% ABV, while King's Family Distillery Straight Rye Whiskey is built from 51% rye, 45% corn, and 4% malted barley and carries an 8-year age statement. Older single-barrel expressions, including an 11-year rye and an 18-year straight bourbon, both bottled at 57.5% ABV, round out the top of the range. Justin King holds the Master Distiller title and the operation is licensed and marketed as a distillery, so some spirits, including the brand's corn vodka, are plausibly distilled on site, even as the whiskey program leans on sourced and extensively finished barrels.

Why It Matters

King's Family Distillery has built a competition record that outpaces its 2018 founding date. King's Family Distillery Ryeconic Straight Rye Whiskey has taken Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Double Gold in The Fifty Best Ryes, while King's Family Distillery Straight Bourbon has earned Double Gold at San Francisco and Best in Show at Great American International Spirits. For those who appreciate good whiskey, the Ryeconic line in particular demonstrates what disciplined barrel finishing, rather than distillation alone, can do to reshape a rye's character.

Visiting the Distillery

King's Family Distillery is open to the public 10 AM to 8 PM daily. The Kings host a barrel-pick program in which visiting groups taste through multiple barrels on site and select their own, typically built around the Ryeconic double-oaked rye profile.