Next month, Molson Coors Beverage Company will release its first full-strength spirit, a blended American whiskey made with Coors malt and Rocky Mountain water called Five Trail. The new offering will come under the banner Coors Whiskey Co.
Bottled at 95 proof, Five Trail whiskey was distilled, blended and bottled in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Co. in Bardstown, Ky. It’s made from a blend of Colorado single-malt whiskey and three bourbons, cut to proof with Rocky Mountain water.
The whiskey is the first full-strength spirit from Molson Coors and represents the company’s latest step beyond the beer aisle, a key part of a strategy to diversify and premiumize its portfolio of beverages.
“This is not just about acquiring a brand or working with a distiller on a blend,” says Kimberli Fox, Molson Coors’ marketing manager for wine and spirits. “This is a true collaboration that marries Colorado provenance with innovative distilling techniques of pioneering Kentucky-based distillers.”
Molson Coors’ decision to begin its spirits journey with a whiskey is premised on three factors: the spirit’s unbridled growth over the past two decades, a built-in affinity of beer drinkers for a whiskey produced by a brewery, and a desire to build more premium offerings within the company’s portfolio.
“While whiskey drinkers are a very loyal group, discovery is a key theme. They love to explore, expand their collections and try new things,” Fox says. “That makes this a very interesting place for us to play as a beverage company. Within whiskey, there’s so much rich territory to explore and you don’t have to stay within the confines of a singular consumer expectation.”
That gives Coors Whiskey Co. an opportunity to deliver what Fox says are unique, limited-edition whiskeys made with high-country barley from its malthouse in Golden, Colo., and recipes that could change year-to-year.
The goal, Fox says, is to build a brand: “Five Trail isn’t planned as a one-off proposition.”
Five Trail whiskey is slated to roll out September 1 via Molson Coors’ distributor network at better liquor retailers in four markets: Colorado, Georgia, Nevada and New York. It is packaged in 750-mililiter bottles and will be priced at $59.99.
For more information, head over to Molson Coors’ official website.
In January, Molson Coors teamed up with Casa Komos Beverage Group to launch Tequila-based, ready-to-drink canned cocktail Superbird in the United States. The agreement marks the American drink giant’s first foray into spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails.
In October 2020, the company announced the official launch of Coors Seltzer. Its first step into the hard seltzer world.