2014 Drink Trend – Barrel Aged Drinks
Chefs and bartenders are sourcing their own barrels, making large batches of cocktails and aging them in-house, allowing them to give their customers something unavailable elsewhere.
Peter Kreidler, sous chef of Clay Pigeon Food and Drink in Fort Worth, Texas, uses a charred three-gallon white American oak barrel from local Rebecca Creek Distillery and fills it with four bottles of whiskey, one bottle of vermouth and bitters, and lets it age for six weeks, resulting in a barrel-aged Manhattan.
“It’s kind of harsh up front, but after about two weeks it takes on that charred flavor and changes color a little bit,” Kreidler said.
The New York City location of 14-unit Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar also offers three barrel-aged cocktails, as well as a Negroni with house-aged sweet vermouth.
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