Coalition Whiskey

The Roaring Kentucky 100% Rye in all its barrique-strength glory.

Coalition Whiskey founder Leonid Yangarber, quite expectedly, first made his name as the CEO of Russian Standard Vodka. But, as any great visionary, he had an itch to create something truly different. His out-of-the-box dreams led him out of the corporate world and Russia and into the US, following his love of American Whiskey.

There, he envisioned a 100% Rye Whiskey made in Kentucky, but he wanted to give it a special twist. So he assembled a coalition of industry experts—featuring Kentucky veteran Whiskey distiller Steve Thompson of Kentucky Artisan Distillery and a world-renowned Winemaker from Bordeaux Ludwig Vanneron—to help him create a luxurious, 1920s-inspired Bordeaux Wine barrel-aged Rye the market hasn’t seen before.

After all, there’s no risky business like Whiskey business, right?

Thus, Coalition Whiskey was formed in 2021. Their product, an exceptional hand-crafted Whiskey, aged in American white oak barrels for five years, and skillfully finished in Bordeaux Wine barrels (or barriques in French) for up to nine months. It obviously wasn’t the first Whiskey to be finished in Wine barrels, but what Coalition did is to go after barrels from three different appellations: Margaux, Pauillac, and Sauternes. Not barrels that carried simple, cheap Wine, no siree bub. Also, the Wine wasn't supposed to have been sitting in those for a long time, no more than a year. Each of the barrels thus imparts a truly unique flavor profile to the finished Whiskey.

Coalition Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is their centerpiece Rye made from a 100% rye mash bill—with 10% of that being malted. (The rye grain is sourced from just one mile away from the distillery.) This is a powerful 5-year-old, 108.8 proof (54,4% ABV) Rye Whiskey.