Barrel Aged Cocktail Batch No.1 Released

With constant doctoring of a minor leak throughout this first yield and a tub of bees wax I siphoned our first ever batch of Barrel Aged Negroni!

To start the process I carefully measured out five litres of Martini Rosso, Campari & Deaths door gin. I chose this particular gin due to its high alcohol content, 47% to be exact. When making any barrel aged cocktail it is paramount that you do not put a low alcohol spirit into the mix as the barrel will only soften the gin which will strip it of any dryness and make the overall experience too sweet to handle. An over-proof gin allows for a higher dryness and also helps to stand up to the elements that the oak will bring to the table.

Once the mix had been blended I carefully funneled in the shinny liquid rouge cocktail and set my date to keep an eye on proceedings. After day two I was a little disappointed however patience is a virtue. Day by day my experiences of the cocktail were changing. By the time day seven came around, there was a notable change in the sweetness levels and some smokey tones started to appear on the palate. I had landed a cracking barrel! After all you never know as every barrel is different.

This barrel was extremely porous... parting every ounce of flavour from a very early stage. As a result I had to bring bottling forward into week two. The cocktail was showing sweet tones of mandarin and Seville orange along with smokiness and oak bringing with it a supple and pleasant finish. The barrel had done its job... the only surprise was the forecast of 30 days had come much sooner!

The next stage was to try the batch to see how it would taste once garnished and with some dilution. With excitement rumbling in my belly I made some spherical ice balls (use standard balloons from the shop, fill them and freeze them, works every time). I diluted the cocktail over some large cubed ice just to take the burn of the alcohol then strained over the spherical ice ball adding the zest/oils of an orange skin to create a heightened sense of warming citrus notes. No straws required! The process had been completed. From acquiring the barrels to finished cocktail it took me over 4 weeks in total to produce.

Currently available in 50cl bottles... soon to be available in 20cl bottles. This cocktail is the perfect warming pre-dinner drink to enjoy on a cold night this festive period.

Should you want to order any of our barrel aged Negroni please feel free to get in touch via email to kevin@lovewine.je or alternatively hello@lovewine.je.

Barrel aged Negroni batch No.2 is currently resting and is predicted to be available in the middle of January

Barrel aged Manhattan batch No.1 has begun its journey and will be available before the New Year is out, just in time for more celebrations!