Koval is easily one of the best quality drinks I've ever had. I love their classic Bourbon, and the dry gin and cranberry dry gin are absolutely delicious. Thomas (one of the employees who runs the tours, and is also amazing by the way) suggested mixing the gin with preseco, but I prefer to sip it straight; it's THAT good. All of their products are single barrel, so there is never any contamination between bottles and every lot is consistently perfect. If you STILL aren't sure about Koval (which is mind boggling to me), you can always take their tour! My fiancé and I toured Koval at their first distillery location in Ravenswood, and it was so much fun! Thomas was great. He was super friendly and very knowledgeable about Koval and the whole distillation process. I admit I probably spent too much at the end of the tour (because you get 10% off after the tour!), but I have no regrets. When you spend too much because you can't decide between the Rye, Oat, or Bourbon so you just buy them all, they're damn good. read more

Things started off on the wrong foot today. We had a reservation through Gilt that didn't make it in to the tour calendar - initially the tour guide seemed a bit out of sorts about the whole thing but then she came up with a solution that worked. So while we paid for a private tour, we got one with lots of other people but that was all right. The tour, itself, is short and to the point about the history of Koval. You get to learn a bit about how they make their goods while sampling a fair number if their products. All told, we ended up with about two shots' worth of various goods. Some if the other reviews say they got very little in their glasses but it was enough for all of us to get a taste. The tour guide is knowledgeable and, as someone who likes to cook with beer, wine and other beverages, I liked her ideas for food and drinks. There is a small gift shop that you can stock up on goodies - ask if you don't see something as they may have it in back. We were a big group so the shelves were pretty bare by the time we were done. ** if you have a deal site coupon for a private tour, just make sure to confirm your day and time a day or two in advance. According to the tour guide, she also handles the reservations so if she doesn't confirm the day before, get in touch with her. read more

I moved to Andersonville 2 weeks ago. I was walking around with my BF and found this Distillery. I had to take the tour to find out more about this place. It's a small family owned organic distillery. They make few kinds of whiskeys and liqueurs. We tasted 3 different whiskeys and 5 liqueurs. Tour is $10. I don't know much about whiskey so I can't comment. I liked coffee, Jasmine and ginger liqueurs. It was a great experience. read more

Who doesn't love whiskey?! Take the tour & ask for Jessica

Let me be honest and say I've only been in a handful of distillery tours. However, I really think this is the best one I have experienced to date. We went on my birthday a couple of months ago. Not only did we have the opportunity to taste MULTIPLE spirits, we learned a lot of fun and useful history about the origins of whiskey, prohibition, and how the city was affected by it. After this tour both my husband and I want to learn more about the history! Highlights: we had a small group, big bonus! The whiskeys are really delicious, and the bottle labels are genuinely classy. The biggest unexpected highlight for us was the gin. It was clean, delicious and had uniquely refreshing botanical notes. It is easily the best Gin I've had in a very long time. Bonus: it has a beautiful laser-cut label! Perfect housewarming/birthday/host gift. Do yourself a favor and check out Koval. We are looking forward to another visit! read more

Fun and informative tour and a great quality product (although I enjoy their liqueurs and gin more than their whiskeys but I am goofy like that) I have actually done the tour 3 times in the last few years (fun thing to do with out of town guests) and it is different every time and I have always enjoyed it. read more

The tour is great. Their products are terrific and innovative. If you enjoy liquors and liqueurs, this is the place for you. The tour gives you a feel for their process and the personality of the brand and products. That's really cool. It gives you a different way of appreciating them. Friendly, fun. A good time. Check out their products. also make good "creative gifts" for holiday times (particularly if the recipient isn't from Chicago). Cheers! read more

Everyone and everything about the (only!) 10 dollar tour was outstanding. These folks are passionate and infectiously so. The whole crowd was charged and inquisitive even before the sampling began. I left with five bottles of exquisite liquor and received a very generous discount merely for being a part of the tour. This was an experience I'll surely return to replicate. read more

The Lion's Pride Millet Whiskey may be my favorite thing made in Chicago.

Very cool and laid back place. It is fun to learn the insights into whiskey, bourbon, gin and more. It includes their own thoughts and a general process of distilling. read more

I'm so happy that I took the recommendation to attend a whisky tour at Koval. For Sweetest Day, I took my husband to Koval for a whisky tour. I wasn't sure what I was in for but I left there very pleased because my husband thoroughly enjoyed it.The tour isn't quite a tour... You're in one location, and the "tour guide" speaks to you and several others in the group about the making of Koval's creations and how it all started. No, it wasn't boring at all. The speaker keeps the discussion very interesting and fun while he pours shots of their distilled whisky. We had a good time, laughing with people in the group and drinking a ton of shots. LOL! It's a relaxed atmosphere, and the people are a lot of fun. At the end of the "tour experience", you are given an opportunity to purchase products sold by Koval. Which we definitely took part in as we continued to taste other products that weren't included in the tour. read more

0 stars. My girlfriend set up a tour and tasting for a bachelorette party. Guess what?! They closed and forgot about them!!! They took their money and didn't show up! What kind of business practice is that?! Great business Koval! read more

The KOVAL tour was great! $10 per person and we were part of a small group. Lots of interesting tastings and a great tour guide who was interactive and open to questions from the group. Great samplings of whiskeys and liqueurs and we had opportunities to sample additional items after the tour ended. No hard sales pitch, just a lot of warmth, welcome and really good whiskey! read more

Attended a Cocktail class at Koval and had a wonderful time! Emily is absolutely fantastic as a hostess! I would highly recommend these classes as an introduction to cocktails or an excellent refresher on old favorites. read more

I came here for my bachelor party in March of 2015 and had a truly excellent experience! The class/tour lasted a little less than an hour, and our guide, Annie, was very friendly, knowledgeable, and inviting. Not only would I happily return, but recently found out that a selection of their products can be purchased in my hometown as well, so I will certainly be purchasing some soon. My personal favorites were the gin (and I usually don't like gin!), bourbon, and toasted rye. Annie did an excellent job explaining the different processes of production and differences between types of liquor and liqueur. The tour made a great start to a great bachelor party, but don't expect to get too drunk off of the samples :) Due to their friendly staff and wonderful product, KOVAL has gained a customer for life. I cannot recommend it enough! read more

Recently went to the distillery for a tour. Prior to the tour I was really looking forward to sampling some of the Koval products as I had heard good reviews. However I have to agree with many of the prior comments. The samples were along the order of a few drops in a shot glass not even enough to get a sufficient taste. After sampling 5 whiskeys and two other products I would say the total amount equated to less than 2 oz in all making it very difficult to get a full flavor of the whiskey we were sampling. As an avid whiskey drinker I would have also expected to sample a bourbon blend which we were told was not going to be part of the sample we would get to try. Ten dollars for the cost of the tour would be much better spent elsewhere. Very disappointed. read more

There are three ways to review this: The whiskey/spirits/brandy/liqueurs: across the board they are all fantastic. My top three are the gin, the plum brandy and the Toasted Oat whiskey (a little hard to find so settle for the regular oat whiskey). This is quickly becoming a go to drink for me when I go to a bar and see it on their menu. I only hope more bars start to include this in their roster of whiskeys. The Tour: the tour of the distillery is the main pull for this location. You don't go just to buy a bottle. You can do better in pricing by going to Binnys or any local liquor store that sells Koval simply because the Koval retail store has the highest prices on their products. (Not uncommon for places like this to do that as to create good relations with the local retailers who are also selling their product). The tour is only $10 for an hour of learning all about the various products, the history of Koval and how they make their products. The place is small- if you spin in a circle in the middle of the room you have seen the whole place. Don't go expecting to see a lot and get a ton of pics. Go to learn about their process and history. You get to sample most of their products throughout the tour which even with the thimble sized portions of each liquor is pretty great for the price. At the end of the tour you can feel free to ask to try a sample of any of their other products you didn't get to try on the tour which is very generous. The retail shop: to go to the tour you must enter their retail shop first which is the size of a large walk-in closet. It's pretty bare bones and simply has the liquor displayed on a wall. I'm not sure what is lacking but I feel a little more could go into the look and layout of this particular part of their space. One thing I thought would be great is if they had hand written descriptions from the owners about each of the products taped to the shelves. If you've ever been to Pastoral they do something similar where the staff writes about the various products and while it doesn't always influence my opinion on what I'll buy, it's just a nice personal touch. read more

Neighborhood distillery on the famous "Malt Row" along Ravenswood. First, I was sceptical if this small distillery can keep up with the quality of the big industry but they absoultely can. My favorites are the Whiskeys, you can buy them in different sizes and the friendly team lets you try them in the shop. Great for gifts. They are offerinng tours. read more

Great bourbon with a very full flavor. Small distillery on the north side, great to sample what they have and pick up a bottle or too.

Your was very fun and informative. Our guide made sure we all had a good time. Great sampling of whiskey!!! Couldn't leave empty handed after the event. Thank you!!! read more

I absolutely loved the tour at Koval! First of all, I love that you can reserve a spot and pay online, making it very easy to simply show up on the day of your tour. We went on a Sunday afternoon, and there were 8 people total in our tour. Our tour guide (wish I could remember his name!) provided a bit of background and history about the company and walked us through the distilling process, and at different points throughout we would be offered a sample (in this part of the tour, we tasted their white whisky, vodka, and gin). I really enjoyed how the samples were integrated into the tour. Next, we moved to a different part of the distillery to talk about the barreling process and the various barrel-aged spirits as well as liqueurs that Koval produces. I liked how the tour integrated a lot of neat pieces of alcohol history that a lot of people might not know about. Again, we had various samples throughout this portion of the tour - bourbon, a couple of liqueurs, as well as some whiskys made with different grains, like oat and millet, which seems to be pretty unique to Koval. Although others have commented on the small sample sizes, I found them to be just right - considering the fact that you're probably getting 2+ shots, plus a tour, for $10, I thought it was a great value, and the point is not to be getting wasted anyways. I really enjoyed getting to sample a variety of their products, and although they are more widely known for their whisky and bourbon, I thought their gin and vodka both had great unique flavor as well, and the liqueurs (caraway and jasmine) were both delicious as well and would make a great addition to a home bar. After the tour, we were offered the opportunity to taste any other products that were not part of the tour, and were also given 10% off anything in their store, including t-shirts (which are well-designed and super soft) and spirits. A great activity for both Chicagoans and out-of-towners to experience! read more

Last night I took my third class at Koval. I keep coming back because it's a wonderful way to spend an evening and to try all that Koval has to offer. Additionally, Kate, the teacher is just a delight. She knows her stuff, tells funny little asides and is extremely engaging and interested in what others have to say. I just can't say enough good things about her and about Koval. read more

Knew the bourbon to be outstanding (on par with Blantons and others). Learning they were located in Chicago was an incredible bonus. And now having visited and learned the way they go about making their fine products - and tasting those with which I wasn't familiar - they've made a fan for life. Bravo! read more

My boyfriend and I went for a tour. Absolutely loved it!! They talked about the history of the distillery and the founders. Our guide talked in depth about the actual distilling process and how the different liqueurs are made. It was informative and fun. We sampled a bunch of different products and if you don't sample them during the tour the guy let us taste them in the store, all we had to do was ask! It felt like an old friend was showing you around and telling you about his passion. And all for a extremely reasonable price! Honestly couldn't have asked for anything better. read more

The "tour" is not really a tour. You don't see where they currently make their spirits or bottle them. Instead it's in a building they used to use and now just age spirits in. A lot of standing and not a lot of walking. Our guide was new, and admittedly didn't know much. She talked about how the owner's family fled the holocaust during world war one (not a typo), to come to the US. She was upset that the owners are not paying for her college (brought that up a few times) because she's only part time. She was also condescending and rude. Whenever she would finish passing out a sample she would rudely ask everybody to stop talking and focus on her. Getting tastings out if a syringe was an odd, weird experience. Not a lot of tasting on this "tour" since they don't have a liquor license. Her knowledge of spirits and the distillation process seemed elementary at best. The purpose of a tour should be to get customers excited about your product and wanting to purchase. I left underwhelmed and empty handed. read more

Great tour! Went here for a tour of the distillery with the boyfriend and had a great time. It's about an hour long tour, and goes over how each spirit is made, the history of the place, the future of the company, etc. It was a fun way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon, and fun to learn about this distillery right here in our neighborhood. Worth checking out for sure! read more

I visited the distillery yesterday and it was great. The tour was much more thorough than I was expecting and very interesting. We got to sample 9 of Koval's organic, kosher products that were made from scratch right there in Ravenswood. I'm not normally a whiskey fan, but the white whiskeys were very smooth and the liqueurs were delicious. I ended up buying one of each! read more