Several months ago, /u/chalks did a barrel aged Last Word via oak spirals. I got a 2 liter barrel for Christmas and wanted to see how the Last Word would do in a real barrel.
Methodology: 400 milliliters each of Green Chartreuse, Ebb+Flow Gin, and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur were placed in the barrel. Concoction was aged for eight weeks. Every 3-4 days, the barrel was sloshed around and rotated.
At the end of eight weeks, the concoction was emptied into a bottle and stored in the refrigerator.
0.75 ounces of lime juice was added to 2.25 ounces of the concoction. They were shaken with ice in a Boston shaker and served.
Observations and Tasting Notes:
The thing that immediately struck me was how much evaporation there was. Out of the 1200 ml of solution, I recovered only about 800 ml. I don't know if this is normal or if artificially heated room during the winter months exasperated things, but I was surprised at the amount I lost.
The concoction was viscous and drained slowly out of the barrel. Not surprisingly, it had a brown hue to it.
Sorry for the poor class choice. Moved recently and the glasses are still packed up.
Tasting Notes:
I did a side-by-side comparison with a fresh Last Word.
The fresh Last Word is known for its balance. The flavor is harmonious, but your palate can easily pick out each individual ingredient. The barrel aged Last Word has the same balance, but it's not as obvious. The first thing you note is that it's much sweeter due to the evaporation. The mara's sweetness dominates, but the gin and chartreuse sensations are definitely there. The lime juice is still definitely there and strong, but secondary.
What's really interesting is that a bitter aftertaste quickly rises towards the end. You end up with a woody, bitter taste that fights with the sweet and lime before all three diminish.
A+ would make again. The flavors are still recognizable as a Last Word, but the balance is all out of whack in a good way. Each sip becomes a transformation from sweet to bitter. The ingredients are on the sidelines in this drink, but still noticeably loud. Next time, I might lessen the aging by two weeks to cut down on the bitterness. Scotch drinkers who are skeptical of cocktails would appreciate this drink.
Submitted March 09, 2015 at 11:37PM by snapetom http://ift.tt/1Gk9vNV cocktails
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