Koval Distillery Releases Limited Edition Thresh & Winnow Premium Whiskey and Gin
Koval Distillery Releases Limited Edition Thresh & Winnow Premium Whiskey and Gin
I chatted with Koval co-owner Sonat Birnecker Hart and tasted these new spirits.
So much has happened in urban craft distilling in the last 16 years, especially in Chicago. When Koval debuted in 2008, after securing Chicago’s first distillery license since long before Prohibition, it sparked a distilling revolution.
Today, there are a dozen or so distilleries in Chicago, including CH Distillery in the West Loop, Judson & Moore in Avondale, Chicago Distilling Company in Logan Square, Rhine Hall in West Fulton Market, Hoste in Pilsen (well, soon to be), Wolf Point Distilling in the Loop, Letherbee in North Center, FEW in Evanston, and others.
It’s fun seeing these local spirits, many of which have won countless awards for their whiskies, gins, brandies, and other craft bottlings, in stores and on cocktail lists around town. Even more fun is going to their tasting rooms to get an up close experience into what these craft distillers are doing.
That’s what happened a few weeks ago after Drew (whose birthday is today — happy birthday hunny!!) and I popped into the (somewhat newer) Koval tasting room, which opened in North Center in 2021 after married owners Sonat Birnecker Hart (president) and Robert Birnecker (CEO and master distiller) moved the distillery from its original location in Andersonville.
Drew and I had gone to a vintage market down the street and strolled up to see what was going on at Koval. Walking into the bright, airy shop, I immediately noticed a set of gorgeous adorned cut glass bottles with the name Thresh & Winnow just in front of me. Asking about it, I was told they were Koval’s new premium offerings and had just been released. Curious, I sent Birnecker Hart an email to set up a tasting and chat.
Introducing Thresh & Winnow
After winning countless awards for its range of spirits — including whiskies distilled from various grains (rye, millet, and corn for example), dry and barrel-aged gins, and numerous liqueurs and brandies — Koval’s owners sought to put out a premium offering with Thresh & Winnow.
These newly released aged single-barrel, bottled-in-bond 100-proof whiskies and citrusy and herbal gins mark a new era for Koval. Yes, the company will continue to focus on its main Koval line, which is made sustainably with locally sourced certified organic and kosher ingredients. But Thresh & Winnow is an opportunity for Koval to let some spirits age longer, gaining more depth of flavor.
“We wanted to have something that took things to the next level in the design as well as what’s in the bottle,” Birnecker Hart said. “It provided us the opportunity to have whiskey that is more limited, aged longer, and to do some very unique whiskies.”
In early fall, Thresh & Winnow introduced two limited-edition whiskies and two gins. While the gins, named Citrine and Forêt, will continue to be produced year round, only 500 cases of each whiskey was made. This gives Koval an opportunity to introduce new limited-edition aged whiskies each year they can produce with various mash bills. The bottles and labels, designed by Chicago-based Dando Projects, headed by Birnecker Hart’s sister, Oona Hart, showcase various grains and botanicals, with labels placed strategically whether showing gin or whiskey.
“We wanted to create something truly special,” Birnecker Hart said. “As a collector’s edition, we also wanted something someone would want to keep, as maybe a vase or fill it up with something else like olive oil.”
The name Thresh & Winnow refers to the process of making grains edible, whether bread, beer, or distilled spirits. Threshing involves separating the grain or seeds from the stalk or plant, where winnowing sees air blow through the grain to remove any chaff. While the process is mostly automated these days, people used to thresh and winnow by hand. That is reflected in the new line’s logo, where a woman rides a horse-drawn cart as grain winnows in the wind.
“Distilling is an agricultural business at the end of the day,” Birnecker Hart said. “So this is a nod to that.”
Tasting the Thresh & Winnow spirits
I met Birnecker Hart at the beautifully designed Koval tasting room across from the Metra tracks along the Ravenswood Corridor, home to the numerous breweries of Malt Row. Walking into the sun-drenched room filled with art, greenery, a long plush leather Italian sofa, high-top wood tables, and a white marble bar (not to mention the sunny outdoor deck), you feel like you’ve entered into a sophisticated living room — albeit one where a bartender can make you cocktails.
We set up at a table to talk about the inspiration behind Thresh & Winnow, including travel to Europe (Robert Birnecker was raised in Austria where his grandparents have a distillery and cidery) and Japan, where tasting yuzu and shiso heavily inspired the gin botanicals. We tasted through and talked about each of the four spirits. I share my tasting notes with you here.
Thresh & Winnow 8-year American Single Malt Whiskey — 100 proof
This double gold, best in class 100% organic malted barley is super smooth. I got candied nuts, some smoke (but not much thankfully as I am not a fan of smoky or peaty whiskey), vanilla, caramel, toffee, and honeyed mead.
“To me, this whiskey is like diving into a pool,” Birnecker Hart said. “Like when you’re finally in the middle of the pool and you weren’t sure what the temperature would be, but you get in and you’re comfortable and it’s exhilarating. That’s what this is.”
Thresh & Winnow 10-year 100% Rye Whiskey — 100 proof
This gold-awarded whiskey is technically an 11-year rye as the whiskey continued to age in barrel as Koval waited for the right labels to get produced. By the time the foil and embossing with tiny script was correct, another year had passed. Allowing it to age a bit longer gives this a rounded spiced nose with cinnamon, pepper, creme brulee, and candied chocolate-covered orange peel with a bit of maple coming through.
“We had some misses [with the label] in the beginning and we kept revising the labels,” she said. “As time went on, waiting for the labels, it sat for about 11 years.”
Thresh & Winnow Citrine Gin — 90 proof
This gin with the shimmery golden hue uses yuzu so it has more citrus bitterness from the rind. It has a gorgeous nose – herbal, rounded, elderflower vibe, floral but not too much. It’s a delicious sipping gin, but could be good in French 75, a long drink with sparkling water, and definitely a gin and tonic. Birnecker Hart likes to sip them as they are.
“We didn’t want it to be so over-the-top lemon or orange but “citrusy” as a collective,” she said. “We have bitter orange, yuzu, lemon – different citrus components that come together to make it a citrus symphony.”
Thresh & Winnow Forêt Gin — 90 proof
The Forêt, which means forest in French, uses shiso (Japanese basil), is herbaceous, a little more bitter. It’s pine and juniper forward and drinks more like an London Dry gin. This is a gorgeous well rounded gin with a stunning mouthfeel that would also be excellent in a G&T.
”We wanted them to be enjoyable, sophisticated and accessible,” Birnecker Hart said. “They’re just trying to be a beautiful expression of what it is.”
The whiskies run $95 each and the gins are priced at $45. They’re available at the Koval store at 4241 N. Ravenswood in Chicago and their online shop with pickup at the distillery. Bitter Pops has the whiskies for $109 each and are or will be sold at retailers in Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Missouri, and Colorado.
SG List: What I’m high fiving this week
Jean Banchet Awards announce 2025 finalists!
Everyone gets all excited when the James Beard Award nominations come out, but frankly, I prefer the Chicago-focused Jean Banchets as it’s all local. The nods just got released and it’s represents a wide swath of talent — higher end and more accessible neighborhood spots — throughout the city. See who made the cut.
Restaurant wine club subscriptions!
If you love the wine you have when you go out for dinner, but are bummed when you can’t take home a bottle, now you can. Sort of. A few Chiacgo restaurants — Alpana, Osteria Langhe, and Avec (and maybe more?) all introduced monthly wine clubs. For a fee, you can get a few bottles hand selected by beverage directors, sommeliers, and in Alpana’s case, by Alpana Singh herself.
Ferrari Perlé Nero Riserva is a winner!
This absolutely gorgeous blanc de noirs, which I got to taste last week at VinItaly in Chicago with Ferrari Trento president and CEO Matteo Lunelli, was awarded the best Blanc de Noirs in the world. It earned the title of World Champion Classic Blanc de Noirs at The Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships in London. Raise a glass!
Yellow powder that can pull CO2 out of the air!
I geek out when I hear about scientific advancements that can potentially help reverse the climate change we humans are all responsible for. And this powder, created by a fourth-year grad student in the chemistry department at UC Berkeley named Zihou Zhou, may help us reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere for us to breathe clearly another day. (h/t
And now something to get you moving…
Ooh the new gins sound great!
Great article....Chicago has stepped up the game in the spirits world.