I know that there are a ton of BA's (including myself) that love whiskey barrel-aged beer, but has anyone tried beer barrel-aged whiskey? I bought a bottle of Jameson Caskmates on my last trip to the liquor store. The whiskey was aged in stout barrels from the Franciscan Well Microbrewery in Cork, Ireland. My first pour was neat and I noticed little difference from the standard Jameson. I added a few splashes of slightly-below room temp water to my second pour and it opened up the flavors for sure. I got some stout essence on the nose and definite roasted stout bitterness upfront in the flavor. None of the flavors were extraordinary and I will likely not repeat this purchase (I tend to prefer bourbon and scotch to Irish whiskey). However, it got me thinking that some of the premier breweries could/should think about entering a barrel exchange program with some of the premier distilleries. The product could be absolutely amazing! Thoughts?
Thread pretty much already exists... http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/beer-barrel-aged-bourbon.56083/
I bought a bottle of Jameson's Caskmates on a lark, and find it okay but not earth shattering. A bit more flavor goes in the other direction, obviously. Hopped whiskey caught my eye on the shelf (and I believe hop vodka exists, but I prefer whiskey any day). The price was reasonable, so I'm curious. Would anyone recommend hopped spirits?
I tried a great Whiskey from Abraham Bowman out of Virginia, it was a small batch bourbon finished in a gingerbread beer barrel from Hardywood. It was delicious, standard vanilla and caramel notes with a nice fall spice finish. I been trying to get my hands on more, no such luck.
I have heard that this is becoming big now. I am scared to try because I am not a huge bourbon fan(although I like it in my barrel-aged beer). I guess I would try it once. Do you think that the beer flavor really comes through and is noticeable in a whiskey !???
No, I have not read where anyone things the beer flavor comes through other than maybe a strong, separate flavor that might have been used to flavor the beer itself, like the gingerbread taste that @Iamatool mentioned above. Go to the micro-distiller and try it for yourself instead of plopping down $35 for a bottle of something that you don't like.
If you're into this kind of thing check out Seven Stills Whiskey. It's craft beer inspired. With adjunct like coffee and such. I have yet to try it so can't give it a thumbs up or down.
Interesting idea it would be neat to try, but the truth is, I'm gonna stay away from whiskey for awhile There's just to many beers to try and not enough time and every time I drink beer and whiskey in the same day, bad things happen! Tell me what you guys think of it lol.
I got big into bourbon for a bit, but quickly got out of it for other reasons. I still have two nearly full bottles of Jim Bean and Buffalo Trace laying around. If I didn't, I'd consider picking up the Caskmates. I like the sounds of it. I've never had plain Jamesons though, so I'm not sure I would pick up any of the stout subtleties.
