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Coors, Yes, That Coors, Just Released Its Most Ambitious Whiskey Yet

The Beer Giant That's Been Perfecting Malt for 150 Years Just Made a Whiskey

liquor
Coors Whiskey Co.

Coors Whiskey Co. launched its Blended American Malt Whiskey today, and it’s a limited one: 1,200 individually numbered bottles, available for Father’s Day only in Colorado and Illinois at $79.99.

The expression is built on Coors’ proprietary malt and Colorado malt, a direct nod to Molson Coors’ malting heritage. You may have heard of them; the company behind Coors Light and Coors Banquet has malting operations dating back to 1878 and is now one of the largest in North America.

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Bottled at 110.5 proof and blended from 8-year-old whiskeys, the tasting notes lean fruity and layered: plum, cinnamon raisin bread, and Granny Smith apple on the nose; pear, salted melon, and dark chocolate-covered cherry on the palate; charred oak and warming spice on the finish.

It came in with a 98 score and Gold Outstanding at the 2026 International Wine & Spirits Awards, plus Double Platinum at the 2026 ASCOT Awards for both taste and label design — the latter featuring a custom illustration of the historic Coors Malt House and a copper cork.

Molson Coors has been trying to crack whiskey for a few years now, and it hasn’t been a clean run. They launched Five Trail Blended American Whiskey in 2021, picked up Blue Run Spirits in 2023, and then took a reported $75 million write-down on that acquisition. The spirits push has been real, but the results have been uneven.

This release feels like a course correction — and a smart one. Rather than acquiring a trendy bourbon startup, Coors is making a whiskey that’s actually rooted in something it already does better than almost anyone: malt. Coors has been malting grain since 1878. That’s a legitimate supply chain advantage most distilleries don’t have.

The main concern at this point is distribution. For Father’s Day, 1,200 bottles split between Colorado and Illinois is a proof of concept more than a product launch. But if the liquid backs up the awards, it suggests Coors may soon be able to put together both parts of a boilermaker, to the delight of everyone involved. 

Andy Vasoyan
Andy Vasoyan is a Chicago-based writer and audio editor. He has been fortunate to visit distilleries and breweries across the…
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