Product description
Koval, the first legal Chicago distillery since prohibition, was founded in 2008 by Robert and Sonat Birnecker.
Before starting a distilling career Robert was the Deputy Secretary for the Austrian Embassy in Washington DC and Sonat lecturer and writer on Jewish Studies and German Jewish Cultural History. Koval is 100% grain-to-bottle operation that sources its grains from an organic co-op in the Midwest. The distillery produces several unique whiskeys including Bourbon, Rye, Millet and Four Grain, liqueurs and gins. Koval Dry Gin was introduced in 2015 and Barreled Gin followed the next year. The base for Koval gin is rye spirit distilled on site. There are 13 botanicals in the formula however the Birneckers are not revealing any details. While juniper is certainly one of them the rest are referred as woodland spices.
Koval Barreled Gin is crafted with the same recipe as Koval Dry then is aged for six months in barrels that previously held Koval whiskey. It has smooth nose with notes of pine needles, lavender, caramel, honey, hints of thyme and coriander. On the palate we detected notes of pine needles, butterscotch, lemon peel, hints of vanilla and lemon grass. The producer recommends serving it in classic cocktails such as Old Fashioned, Negroni or Gimlet.