Yes, it's gin: The Botanist Rested gin from Bruichladdich, aged in barrels from the distillery for 6 months, seen here all dressed up for cocktail hour.
In the 1960s and ‘70s, with vodka ascendant and whisky sales tumbling, many brands started trying to make their whiskies more vodka-like, raising the proof off the still and lowering the proof in the bottle to make it lighter, less flavorful and “easier” or “smoother.” Today, with whisky riding a long growth curve, the situation is reversed: spirits that are typically unaged are being barrel-aged. Gins, mezcals, sojus—and yes, even vodkas—are acquiring a brown hue from time spent in a barrel, with an emphasis on new American oak and whisky barrels that impart flavors familiar to whisky drinkers.
Barrel-aged spirits of all sorts are, of course, nothing new. In the 18th and 19th centuries, any spirits that had to be transported were carried in wooden barrels, so some degree of barrel aging was virtually universal even if inadvertent. In the 20th century, Seagram’s Extra Dry gin was “rested” for a month in whiskey barrels as far back as 1939, giving it a distinctive yellow-tan color, while “tequila añejo,” which also refers to mezcal, has been going on since at least the 1920s. But the last decade has seen spirits of all stripes take a page from whisky’s playbook, giving them a chance to get in on the action.
The Gin Is In (A Barrel)
For Bruichladdich, the scotch whisky distillery that also makes The Botanist gin, bringing the two worlds together in barrel-aged matrimony was only a matter of time. Master distiller Adam Hannett had been experimenting with barrel-aging Botanist since its initial release in 2010, but was frustrated by the lack of aging guidelines for gin. “A gin could have been in cask for a day or a year or anything in between, which can be confusing for consumers,” he says. He created two versions, with the Cask Rested expression finishing for 6 months, similar to a reposado tequila, and Cask Aged spending at least 3 years, like an añejo, in casks. Hannett draws on a variety of barrels also utilized for Bruichladdich’s whiskies. “With Rested,” he says, “we’ve selected 16 different cask types to create the expression. With Aged, the liquid combines six different cask types including rum and sauternes to give it that depth, richness, and sweetness.” Smaller craft distilleries are also barrel-aging their gins, with North Carolina alone boasting two of them, Conniption and Mystic Distilling.
Vodka Gets The Whiskey Treatment
Barrel-aged vodkas are still a rarity perhaps because of the scorn that greeted Absolut Oak, the most high-profile attempt, when it launched in 2016. But if you ask Mystic Distilling co-founder Mike Sinclair, it’s an idea whose time has come. His barrel-aged vodka spends 24 months in barrels formerly used to make their bourbon. “It added this really nice, almost like a honeycomb sweetness to it,” Sinclair says. “Our vodka is already 100% corn, and we use our on-site well water. Smooth and creamy is the best way to describe it. And it drinks like 60 proof even though it's 80.”
Asian Spirits With Scotch & American Influences
Asia has also dialed into the barrel aging trend. “After soju, the second most-consumed spirit in Korea is whisky,” says Brandon Hill, the American-born founder and distiller at Tokki Soju. “So they already had a taste for it.” Tokki has two barrel-aged sojus. Gold Label spends about 1 year in 15-gallon new American oak barrels with No.-3 and No.-4 chars to impart bourbon-like flavors, while Garnet Label is finished for an additional 6 months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks — as Hill notes, “the number one whisky for Koreans is Speyside, so they love a sherry cask.” Soju is often bottled around 20-25% ABV, but Hill opts for a more whisky-like 46%.
In Japan, shochu — the country’s most widely-consumed spirit — is also typically un-aged and bottled at a low proof of about 25% ABV. Over the last couple of decades, however, more distillers, including Kuroti Honten, have been upping the ABV to 40% and employing oak barrels, in this case, new American oak, to impart a bourbon-like flavor even though the shochu is barley-based.
Mexican Agave Spirits Meet American Whiskey Barrels
Tequila has been barrel-aged for decades — the official “añejo” designation goes back to the 1960s. But where many high-end tequilas were aged in French oak to impart cognac-like flavors (and to implicitly make the connection to that spirit), a number of tequilas are now partnering with high-profile whisky brands, and using their barrels to do it. Corazon, for instance, uses its connections to parent company Sazerac to score some highly desirable whiskey barrels from Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection of bourbons and ryes, which it uses for aging its Expresiones line of limited-edition añejos. Similarly, El Tesoro has brought out tequilas aged in barrels from Booker’s Bourbon, Knob Creek, and Laphroaig, all of which are fellow Beam Suntory brands. While we have yet to see widespread aging of lesser-known agave spirits, like sotol or raicilla, aged mezcals are becoming more common. Most are still aged in brandy French oak casks, but there are exceptions, such as Lagrimas de Dolores añejo, which is aged for 1 year in new American oak, putting a bourbon-esque twist on the mezcal’s dry, herbaceous flavor.
So Many Spirits, So Many Barrels
One of the more unusual barrel-aged spirits to have surfaced recently is the California-based Absinthia Bottled Spirits’ Barrel Aged absinthe, aged up to 6 months in Sonoma Distilling rye barrels. The aging process, according to founder and distiller Absinthia Vermut, is a delicate balancing act. “We taste every batch every few weeks,” she says. “I want it to pick up the flavors and color from the barrel, yet I also want it to taste like absinthe.” The result is a classic absinthe with the addition of vanilla and caramel notes that, Vermut says, “pays homage to the Sazerac, a delicious rye cocktail with an absinthe rinse.”
Indeed, bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts are among the biggest boosters of atypical barrel-aged spirits. Noah Small, corporate beverage director at New York’s Empellon restaurant chain, recently created a cocktail with barrel-aged gin for Empellon’s menu.
He notes, “I find that [barrel aging] rounds the edges of the palate and creates a third dimension of flavors. This opens up more creative opportunities, as the spirit does play differently when aged in a barrel.” Distillers and blenders have also embraced the cask because it makes lesser-known spirits more comprehensible to whisky drinkers. “the fastest way to kind of elevate a category is to age it,” says Hill. “For the Western market, and the Western palate, that's an easier parallel to draw, like, ‘Oh, I'm familiar with whisky, so I can do this.’ And then you can kind of go down the rabbit hole.”
A Trend or a Permanent Shift?
Just as there was a backlash to vodka-fied whisky, there will no doubt be a backlash to whisky-fied vodka and other spirits. The flavors and aromas of the barrel can overwhelm what makes the spirit unique in the first place, transforming it into something less distinctive and less interesting. But in an ideal situation, we won’t have to choose between one or the other. We can look to tequila, with its multiple tiers of aging as well as its classic un-aged expressions, and hope that something like that system can come to pass for every spirit. There will always be purists who complain about barrel aging, but the people who are actually making and aging the spirits seem more open-minded. As Vermut says of her barrel-aged absinthe, “If people are drawn to it because it has been aged in a barrel, then I am happy!”
AGED CLEAR SPIRITS TO TRY NOW
The Botanist Cask-Rested Gin, 46%, $50
Aged for 6 months in various casks
Designed to emulate the aging time of reposado tequila, it’s aged in 16 different kinds of barrels that were previously used to age Bruichladdich whiskies. Oak and citrus complement the botanicals without overwhelming them.
Tokki Soju Garnet Label, 46% , $60
Aged for about 1 year in 15-gallon new charred American oak barrels, followed by 6 months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks
This has a Speyside whisky influence, with the oak and fruit notes amplified to make it a powerful, flavorful sipper.
Absinthia Barrel Aged Absinthe, 55%, $50
Aged up to 6 months in Sonoma Distilling rye whiskey barrels
Absinthe’s familiar herbaceous notes are overlaid with notes of vanilla and caramel.
Lagrimas De Dolores Añejo Mezcal, 40%, $70
Aged for 1 year in new charred American oak
This is a mezcal for whiskey lovers, with strong notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak.
El Tesoro Mundial: Laphroaig Edition, 40%, $175
Aged for 1 year in 10 year old Laphroaig casks
An extraordinary combination, where the sweet, lightly vegetal agave notes meet the salty, briny, and peaty flavors of the Islay whisky.
