Koval Distillery, Chicago's First Boutique Distillery
Established in 2008, Koval is the first craft distillery within Chicago's city limits since Prohibition. We source all our fruits, herbs, flowers, and grains from the surrounding Midwest region, and we make all of our spirits in house, entirely from scratch - from mashing to distilling, bottling to boxing.
Our founders, Robert and Sonat Birnecker, gave up academic careers to bring the distilling traditions of Robert's Austrian grandfather to America. They vowed to create a sustainable family business with high quality and original products. Each small batch of spirit is distilled from 100% single grain organic mash bill, avoiding the common industry practice of outsourcing a neutral grain spirit. Everything we make is certified organic and kosher, and we are darn proud of it.
We started with five single grain white whiskeys: wheat, rye, millet, spelt, and oat. In 2010, we debuted a light and dark variation of each grain's whiskey, aged in New American Oak barrels. No artificial coloring, no chill filtering - just the pure heart cut of the distillate with beautiful amber hues from nothing but clean wood and lots of time. Our lineup also includes a vodka, bierbrand, pear and apple brandy, as well as six liqueurs: chrysanthemum honey, coffee, ginger, jasmine, orange blossom, and rose hip.