On dads and drams: How the Coors family gave whiskey a shot

It’s Father’s Day weekend, which means it’s time for a myriad of published guides to the best whiskeys for Dad. 

Here in Colorado, we have a unique father-and-son whiskey origin story of our own, straight from “one of America’s most enduring beverage families” — Pete Coors and his son, David — who in 2021 expanded into distilling with the Coors Whiskey Co. Its first product was the Five Trail Blended American Whiskey. In 2023, parent company Molson Coors acquired Blue Run Spirits in Georgetown, Kentucky. And this month, the company is debuting a brand-new product: a limited-edition Blended American Malt Whiskey (only 600 bottles are available in the state) containing a selection of eight-year-old whiskeys made with Colorado malt. 

To get the inside scoop on how two generations of a 150-plus-year-old beer dynasty were inspired to forge a pathway into a whole new beverage category, we spoke with David Coors to glean a bit of insight into how he and his father first got into whiskey production, and where that effort may take them next. 

“The story starts a little over 20 years ago now,” says Coors. “I was seeing more people dabbling in the whiskey space. So one day we were driving to the brewery, and I said, ‘Dad, why don’t we make a bourbon?’ And he didn’t even look at me. I still remember the old silver Suburban he was driving. He said, ‘We’re good at one thing, and that’s beer,’ and that was the end of the conversation. . . . I wish I would have been a little bit more of a rebel; we’d have 20-year-old bourbon right now, and I’d be a lot cooler.” 

But the idea that the Coors family could be good at whiskey precisely because they’re good at beer stuck with him.

“The front end of the process of making whiskey is making beer, effectively,” he points out. “You’re taking grains, mashing them up, fermenting them. We know that portion of the process pretty well.” 

So, while he was stuck at home at the beginning of the pandemic, he began experimenting with different whiskey blends in his kitchen as a hobby, and bringing the results to the rest of the family during Sunday Suppers. 

“Early on, I think (my dad)  was mostly humoring me as I brought over samples for him to taste,” Coors says. “But over time, those tastings became real working sessions. He’d ask questions, offer feedback, and challenge my thinking. What was especially rewarding was watching him become a genuine fan of what we were creating. He didn’t even really drink whiskey before starting this project, [but] he has a discerning palate and doesn’t hand out compliments lightly . . . [so] honestly, one of my favorite moments was simply pouring a glass for my dad and hearing him say, ‘This is really good.’” 

Thus was born the Five Trail label, which encompasses four expressions: the flagship Blended American Whiskey, a barrel-proof variant, a version finished in imperial porter and cherry imperial wheat beer casks, and a small-batch edition. 

In other words, whatever you may assume about R&D at a corporation as massive as Molson Coors, “Five Trail wasn’t developed in a boardroom,” as he puts it. To be sure, the father and son work with a whole team of experts in distilling, blending, and barrel aging at Kentucky’s Bardstown Bourbon Company. But the fact that the blend consists of three straight bourbons with a whiskey, primarily using Coors malt made right here in Golden and proofed with Rocky Mountain water, certainly speaks to its roots in the Coors COVID-era kitchen. The name, meanwhile, underscores the Coors family’s legacy of “five generations blazing a trail,” in his words—as David is the fifth generation after his great-great-grandfather Adolph, who was the first as the founder of Coors Brewing Company. 

Speaking of Adolph, Coors Whiskey Co. launched another label in 2023 called Barmen 1873 Bourbon in honor of the company’s 150th anniversary. You might reasonably expect the name to be a shout-out to mixologists, but you’d be wrong: Barmen was Adolph’s hometown in Germany. 

Regardless, industry professionals seem to have embraced the Coors Whiskey portfolio, judging by the accolades several of its expressions have received over the past years from respected competitions like the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC), the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the ASCOT (American Spirits Council of Tasters) Awards. That already includes the aforementioned Blended American Malt Whiskey, which garnered a score of 98 from the IWSC just last week for, according to the judge’s tasting notes, its “captivating aromas of caramelized peaches, iced tea, beeswax, and creamy vanilla lead[ing] seamlessly to a palate bursting with tropical fruit and milk chocolate.”  

Coors is naturally proud of the recognition, even if he and his father have their own debate over which brands they like best. 

“He’s a Barmen guy, and I’m a Five Trail guy,” says Coors of their opposing preferences. It’s a rare point of disagreement for a man who, despite his stated wish for a rebellious streak, clearly considers himself his father’s son. 

“We share a lot of the same valuesn— curiosity, optimism, competitiveness and a strong sense of responsibility,” he says. “He always made time for family. Looking back, I probably didn’t appreciate that enough as a kid, but I certainly do now.”