If you needed a symbol to capture the renaissance of rustic aesthetics, the barrel could very well be a front-runner. People buy them to turn into coffee tables or high tops. They’re a major prop for any of the many, many barn weddings you’ve probably attended throughout the last five years. And probably most importantly, they've been adopted in new ways for so many different alcohol categories, creating a seemingly endless array of new booze classes. Within this age of barreled-everything, gin has quietly emerged as one of the more interesting and limitless trends of alcohol to be transformed, and it’s just beginning to gain traction.

The History

Most people credit Ransom Spirits in Sheridan, Oregon as the first American distillery to experiment with barrel aging gin around 2008. Ransom’s take on the spirit, developed with author and cocktail-historian David Wondrich, was an attempt to replicate Old Tom gin, a slightly sweeter take on the spirit version that was in fashion during the mid-1800's and the golden age of American cocktails. Ransom rightly figured that most gins sold at that time would have had to travel in casks, significantly altering the flavor profile of the spirit inside. The result being the botanical-forward taste gin is known for with subtle notes of malt. With the quick success Ransom saw in their Old Tom, more distilleries followed. And the uptick in American distilleries means we’re likely to see an uptick in barreled gins as well.

But even though barrel aging gin in America is pretty new, a closer look at the history of the spirit itself provides even more insight of the relationship between barrels and gin – and perhaps why the idea maybe isn’t as strange as it seems.

"If you go back a little further to jenever, a very crude Dutch spirit which is kind of the origin of gin, it was very common for it to be barrel-aged,” says David Cohen, founder and head distiller of Manifest Distilling in Jacksonville, FL. “And I think that came as a byproduct of storage. A lot of barrel aging was kind of stumbled upon, those were the only containers people had. They would stick something in it and realize, ‘Oh this actually improves the flavor.’”

Gin has since come a long way from the harsh, juniper-infused, distilled malt wine that is jenever, and for many, it’s become the poster child of American craftsmanship and creativity in distilling. Its quick turnaround in production relative to whiskey makes it an ideal product for new distilleries, too. And while juniper is still at the forefront as the main ingredient, the doors are wide open for a vast array of botanicals to be added and played with. This sense of freedom is a welcome, though sometimes overlooked, aspect to the often restrictive parameters distilleries work in. “In America, gin is so broad and open-ended because there is really no limit. If it's considered safe by the FDA you can put it in gin,” says Cohen. “People are using everything from figs, to fennel, to aloe leaf, all kinds of crazy stuff. So you have that broad spectrum then you add the process of barrel aging on top of that and it makes it even more complex. There're just endless possibilities.”

So, What Is It?

If gin is the blank canvas of craft spirits, then barrel-aged gin is something else entirely. Inside the Beverage Alcohol Manual produced by the Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (the governing body for spirit classifications in the United States), clear definitions are set as to what constitutes specific spirits in America. Every spirit is defined by classes and types, and there are clear standards and constraints for each.

Cohen explains that after Ransom’s Old Tom, similar options from other distilleries followed and labeled themselves as barrel-aged gin. But the TTB started rejecting those label applications since they didn’t fall under any specific, defined class and subsequent type. As a class, gin is separated into three types: distilled gin, redistilled gin, and compound gin. barrel-aged gin still doesn’t have a definition.

Looking at barrel-aged gins that were released in the last ten years or so reveals another aspect of the creative resilience distilleries often inspire: a range of different label claims. As the TTB kept denying claims (since by definition gin is an unaged spirit), distilleries rephrased it. “Barrel-aged” turned to “barrel-rested,” “barreled” or some other creative twist. So for now, barreled gin exists in somewhat of a legal purgatory.

“It's kind of cool. I look at it as this very entrepreneurial, craft-driven sector: defining a new category,” says Cohen. “We just keep innovating that class to the point where you come up with a new term – like ours is called Barreled Gin – and they let it through because it kind of doesn't hit their radar.”

A New Frontier

So what, exactly, does it taste like? It really depends on individual distillers, individual recipes of gin and of course what barrels are used and for how long. But it can be a delicate process, and crafting the profile of any gin, before barrels enter the mix at all, takes time in its own right.

Manifest puts their regular botanical recipe for gin in a variety of different barrels to eventually be blended. Using a 10-year-old bourbon barrel, a two-year-old rye barrel, and a brand new, charred-oak barrel separately, each gin is tasted as it ages. They found that gin tended to be ready very quickly in the new barrels at just around 30 days, three months in the rye barrel and six months in the bourbon one. “As of right now, I think a very subtle barrel finish is what's playing really well. And makes it versatile but it still captures the character of a gin,” says Sydney Jones, tasting room manager at Manifest. “Familiar and unfamiliar, a really nice balance between the two.”

Other distilleries may take a more single-shot approach, simply aging a specific gin recipe on a single type of barrel to create a honed-in consistency; no one’s production is exactly the same. On the surface, it may seem to be simple trial and error, but to a certain extent, distillers know what their botanicals taste like, how they complement each other in the base gin, and can then guess as to what kind of barrels will work best. Jones notes that more delicate, herbal gins may benefit more from used wheated bourbon barrels, with the inherent sweetness in both. Rye barrels, on the other hand, amplify the spicy notes of coriander and cardamom in one of Manifest's other gin blends, bringing out a savory, warm, baking-spice type flavor. More juniper-forward gins may benefit from the influence of a Scotch barrel, combining smoky notes with a strong pine finish.

And after all is said and done and bottled, the result can be a nice bridge to convert whiskey lovers to gin, which is good for drinkers and even better for distillers, since they're able to have a unique product that checks the “brown spirits” box many consumers are hungry for without having to wait two or more years to put it on the shelf.

The field is still ripe for experimentation, too. Think of all of the different variations and flavor profile possibilities of American craft gins. Now take those recipes and think of the barrel combinations, beyond just different types of whiskey barrels: wine, port, perhaps even tequila or rum barrels.

“There are just so many different uses, especially barrels that are used multiple times over,” says Jones, who was also trained in bourbon production at MB Roland Distillery in Pembroke, KY. “So a brand new charred-oak barrel that was used for bourbon, that was then used for Scotch that was then used for gin, that was then used for… et cetera. There's going to be character left in the wood every time. The possibilities are really endless.” So just like it takes time for a chef to develop recipes full of ingredients that complement one another, barreled gin will continue to be a study of flavor. Luckily for us, the research has begun in earnest.

How To Drink It

Since so much time, thought, and energy has gone into the complexities of gin, barrel-aging it, and the balance of combining the two, it would be a shame to not experience all of those subtle tasting notes and influences. So try a barreled gin as you would a good whiskey – neat or on the rocks. Then getting a gauge on any particularly dominant flavors from that may give you a better plan of attack for cocktails.

“To me, barrel aging softens gin out. Especially neat, gin is a pretty hard spirit. It's very definitive, which I love, but it's a very hard flavor profile and when you barrel age it I think you soften it up a lot,” says Cohen. “You kind of take off the hard edges and you make it more accessible to more people. And that's what we've noticed in our tasting room.”

This accessibility makes it enjoyable in almost any setting. Though bright, citrusy flavors often pair best, you can generally substitute barrel-aged gin for standard gin or whiskey in any classic cocktail based on those two spirits. Try it in an Old-Fashioned or a Tom Collins for a subtle, new spin on old favorites.

Manhattan: Those barrel notes will give the drink an air of familiarity, but the botanical flavor present in both the gin and vermouth will lighten the base and complement each other.
Negroni: It won’t stray too far from the original, but the subtle barrel kick adds a brand new layer of character.
Aviation: Old school meets new school, and particularly suited for a more floral-forward barreled gin. Just don’t expect it to be blue.
Corpse Reviver: A nice middle ground between your classic Corpse Reviver #2 and a Kentucky Corpse Reviver. If the day calls for one, why not have the best of both worlds?

For as old as gin is, it’s hard to believe so much of its future is still being written. As a sort of new, distinctly American spirit, barreled gin highlights so much of the creative, adventurous ideas associated with distilleries. True craftsmanship with a dash of prohibition rebelliousness in the strange, unclassified gray area it currently sits in. So if you’re a long time gin drinker, a whiskey drinker looking for a change of pace or somewhere in between, give barreled gin a shot. It feels (and tastes) good to be on the right side of history.

The Story and Subtleties Behind Barrel-Aged Gin