Barrel aged gin? What the heck, Ginerations? I thought you just told us that gin was clear and smelled of juniper and other lovely botanicals…now you’re telling me gin can be…brown?? And sweet, like a bourbon?
You bet it can. Barrel aged gin is part of the new “loosey-goosey – let’s experiment!” New Western gins – the vast area of exploration with gin, where anything goes, as long as juniper is involved. The fun thing here is it’s yet another way for non-gin lovers to discover gin. With sweeter tastes familiar in bourbon – vanilla, caramel, spices – and toned-down juniper and citrus, barrel aged gins are a great entry point to gin to those scared of pine.
FOUR PART SERIES? HOW FANCY!
This post is the genesis of a four-part series (oooh, exciting!). This post covers barrel aged gins in general, as well as tasting notes on Koval barrel aged gin; the next two will cover tasting notes on two other completely interesting aged gins, and the final post will focus not only on my favorite barrel aged gin (to date), but also notes from my visit to the distillery – so definitely keep reading!
For this series, I did a tasting of three barrel aged gins in one night, with this cute guy I was just starting to date. He’s now my boyfriend, so: voila! I highly recommend barrel aged gins! I’ll give you both of our tasting thoughts – I’m admittedly a little harder (read, pickier) on my gins than he, so I think his thoughts add a refreshing perspective.
ALL ABOUT KOVAL
This barrel aged gin starts as Koval’s non-aged dry gin, with strong notes of juniper, coriander, rose hip, and angelica root. Once distilled, it’s put into one of Koval’s whiskey barrels (yes, they make whiskey!) and aged for around six months. The result is this organic, 47% ABV barrel aged gin, made in small batches, and poured into a beautifully designed bottle.
TASTING NOTES:
Me: Really nice sweetness, smells great. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I like my juniper. And my worry with barrel aged gin is that the juniper will be overwhelmed, or dulled, by the notes taken on by the aging. The good news here is that gin, before even tasting it, smells of juniper and spices. The first sip is hot, with heavy taste on the front of sweetness coming from the angelica root and coriander, along with the barrel enhancement. Frankly, it feels like a cold weather drink, and I’m immediately thinking of making this into some form of hot toddy. The juniper absolutely present, but I definitely think fans of bourbon will love this spirit. Interestingly, I thought it was just okay in the negroni, and I expected this one to shine when mixed with sweet vermouth and Campari. I’m thinking some sort of Koval and lemon concoction would be both delicious and would cut down on the sweetness just a tad. I also think this would be tasty neat, with one large ice cube to dilute the hotness just a bit, making it just a bit friendlier.
Him: “I like it.” (No judgement here, it was our first drink of the evening, his first barrel aged gin ever, and the first gin he had tried in awhile.) A good reminder that sometimes, a drink is just a drink and doesn’t need to be analyzed to figure out whether or not you enjoy it! However, stay tuned…he had some insightful comments on the next gin, featured in my next post.
Cheers, y’all. Got a favorite barrel aged gin? Let me know below, along with your favorite way to drink it.
