Valentina Shevchenko partners with Sespe Creek on 170-bottle limited-edition whiskey

Former UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is moving from the octagon to the barrel room, partnering with California-based Sespe Creek Distillery on a limited-edition release called the Warbringer Bullet Edition, set to debut on 3 November with only 170 bottles available.

The whiskey was developed alongside master distiller John Campbell, who spent 16 years at Scotland’s Laphroaig distillery before joining Sespe Creek. Bottled at 114 proof (57% ABV) and priced at $95, it is built on a mash bill of 65% mesquite-roasted Bloody Butcher red corn, 10% hand-roasted yellow corn and 25% malted rye, then finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The distillery describes tasting notes of honey, spice and eucalyptus.

Shevchenko personally chose the barrel during a blind tasting — a detail Campbell said made the selection feel inevitable.

“This is Valentina’s Whiskey, and so the process was all about finding something she genuinely delighted in,” Campbell said. “We tasted through a lot of different barrels, but when she blind selected the Bloody Butcher, it was like ‘Ahh right, of course!’ It was a fun moment. She picked a delicious barrel.”

Shevchenko said the whiskey’s earthy, smoky character reminded her of her home in Kyrgyzstan, where cooking over an open fire is tied to family celebrations.

The Warbringer Bullet Edition will initially be available through the Warbringer online store and select retailers across California, Texas, Arizona and Colorado.