“This is no ordinary rye, because it doesn’t come from an ordinary distillery. […] Despite being 100% rye grain, this whiskey is fresh and light […] with a maple-y, candy corn entry and a kiss of spice on the “finish.” — The Wall Street Journal

The name Koval refers to a “black sheep” in Yiddish and means “blacksmith” in many Eastern European languages. The two founders of Koval, Robert and Sonat, chose this name for their distillery because Robert’s grandfathers last name is Schmid - German for “smith” and Sonat’s great grandfather moved from from Vienna to Chicago in the early 1900s to start a business, making him the black sheep of the family.