Barrel aged gin and peanut butter whiskey

[WelshBloke]

As far as flavoured gin goes this is about as far as I go. Gin is pretty flavoured anyway, it's a neutral spirit with botanicals in. I don't mind the odd pink gin but they are a bit excessively sweet.

 

[WelshBloke]

Most of the advice I see about barrel aged gin is to substitute it for whiskey in classic whiskey cocktails. I think I would rather just have the whiskey, but can't knock it until I try it I suppose.

I just think that you'd lose all the stuff that makes a gin a gin.
Whiskey before it's put in the barrel tastes like vodka, gin before they put the botanicals in tastes like vodka.
The botanicals in gin are supposed to give it light flavours and oak aging does the opposite.

 

[dullard]

I'm honestly a pretty big fan of drinkable budget whiskeys, something like a $20 Glen Moray Elgin Classic pleases my taste buds and my budget!

Glen Moray Elgin Classic and Minor Case Sherry Cask Rye are my go-to second drinks. I really like the subtle sweetness from the port/sherry casks. Once I've had the first drink of something a bit nicer, and I can no longer distinguish fine notes, these are great.

Photo where I found ones I like. This was maybe my 4th or 5th whisky/scotch tasting night where I had finally honed in on some that meet my flavor profile.

 

[pete6032]

As far as flavoured gin goes this is about as far as I go. Gin is pretty flavoured anyway, it's a neutral spirit with botanicals in. I don't mind the odd pink gin but they are a bit excessively sweet.

I've seen that in stores here. It's about $25 after tax. Is it sweet or syrup-y?

 

[dullard]

As for gin, is there anything better than Brokers in the under $40 category? So many flavors in Brokers that just meld well together.

 

[WelshBloke]

I've seen that in stores here. It's about $25 after tax. Is it sweet or syrup-y?

The pink stuff is fairly sweet for a gin. Not sloe gin sweet but pretty sweet. It's ok with tonic but I wouldn't buy a full bottle the first time if you are a gin fan. They do pre mixed cans of it over here which are a good way to try it. It's not syrupy but it's sweetened.

Or did you mean the Tanqueray? That's fantastic. Like normal gin just with a faint taste of orange blossom. I really like it, it's not sweetened it just has different botanicals in.

 

[pete6032]

As for gin, is there anything better than Brokers in the under $40 category? So many flavors in Brokers that just meld well together.

London Dry I wouldn't spend much more than $25ish. If you are looking for a botanical gin, its hard to make a recommendation as everyone has different tastes. Aviation and Hendricks are common in our house though. My guilty pleasure is Gordon's gin, which doesn't taste like much of anything at all, but who is to say James Bond was wrong?

 

[WelshBloke]

London Dry I wouldn't spend much more than $25ish. If you are looking for a botanical gin, its hard to make a recommendation as everyone has different tastes. Aviation and Hendricks are common in our house though.

Hendricks is nice but people have very strong opinions on it!

 

[pete6032]

The pink stuff is fairly sweet for a gin. Not sloe gin sweet but pretty sweet. It's ok with tonic but I wouldn't buy a full bottle the first time if you are a gin fan. They do pre mixed cans of it over here which are a good way to try it. It's not syrupy but it's sweetened.

Or did you mean the Tanqueray? That's fantastic. Like normal gin just with a faint taste of orange blossom. I really like it, it's not sweetened it just has different botanicals in.

The Tanqueray Sevilla. I might pick some up. How much do you pay for it over there and what are you mixing it with? Premixed cans here are just starting to grow in popularity. Wish we had more.

 

[WelshBloke]

The Tanqueray Sevilla. I might pick some up. How much do you pay for it over there and what are you mixing it with? Premixed cans here are just starting to grow in popularity. Wish we had more.

I use this tonic.


Its quite light so you can taste the gin but it still tastes of tonic, and there's no artificial sweeteners in which I can really taste in a G&T if they are there.
Not sure how much I paid for the gin. It's not a super expensive one, £25 maybe.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I just think that you'd lose all the stuff that makes a gin a gin.
Whiskey before it's put in the barrel tastes like vodka, gin before they put the botanicals in tastes like vodka.
The botanicals in gin are supposed to give it light flavours and oak aging does the opposite.

Which gin are you talking about though? Botanical gins are a far cry from london dry, as well as old tom.

 

[pete6032]

I use this tonic.

Its quite light so you can taste the gin but it still tastes of tonic, and there's no artificial sweeteners in which I can really taste in a G&T if they are there.
Not sure how much I paid for the gin. It's not a super expensive one, £25 maybe.

Haha that is what we drink here too. We have all of the fever tree varieties. All good. Much better than Schweppes.

 

[WelshBloke]

Haha that is what we drink here too. We have all of the fever tree varieties. All good. Much better than Schweppes.

Its a good tonic! They do a few flavoured ones as well that arent overpowering but that light one is fantastic if you want to try out new gins and taste them!

 

[Exterous]

I'm usually game to try barrel-aged stuff, I have scotch that's been aged in secondary barrels, got some hot sauce because it was barrel-aged (did not ultimately appreciate it).
I got some stout that was oak-aged, not full-on whiskey barrel aged, it was neat to contrast it with the more typical whiskey barrel aged stouts.

I'm a big fan of barrel aged beer. Second favorite type after Belgium beer which doesn't get a ton of love in the US. Fortunately we have two pretty decent breweries barrel aged that in Michigan: Founders and New Holland. Not as great as the likes of Side Project or Bottle Logic but good local(ish) options

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Skrewball is based out of San Diego and was supposedly invented by The Holding Company (THC) a live music venue and bar. You can still buy the "homemade" PB Whiskey shots there.

Skatter Brain's line of flavored whiskey are interesting, some tastier than others!

 

[stargazr]

Not interested in the two mentioned but I used to occasionally get Bushmill's Red Bush. Irish Whiskey aged in bourbon barrels.

 

[WelshBloke]

Which gin are you talking about though? Botanical gins are a far cry from london dry, as well as old tom.

London Dry has a bunch of botanicals in. It wouldn't be gin if it didn't.
Off the top of my head it's going to have juniper, coriander seeds and citrus in. There'll be a bunch of others as well depending on the distillery.
London Dry is just juniper heavy compared to some other gins.

Old Tom I'm not so familiar with but if it's gin it's going to have botanicals in.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

London Dry has a bunch of botanicals in. It wouldn't be gin if it didn't.
Off the top of my head it's going to have juniper, coriander seeds and citrus in. There'll be a bunch of others as well depending on the distillery.
London Dry is just juniper heavy compared to some other gins.

Old Tom I'm not so familiar with but if it's gin it's going to have botanicals in.

The point I was getting at is 'gin' isn't just 'gin', there's some that lean even more heavily on the botanicals than london dry, and others that don't really even taste like 'gin' (london dry) at all.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Both of the ones OP links to sound terrible to me. I especially don't understand the appeal of stuff like flavored whiskey, since there's so much going on in there already. But gin is, fundamentally, just flavored liquor anyway, so I guess trying new flavors and stuff is kinda the point.

Prairie Organic makes a Cucumber Vodka that I'm partial to. They also make a Navy Strength Gin which has a different flavor (it's... peppery? I don't know what they're putting in it) than the normal stuff.

 

[dullard]

Both of the ones OP links to sound terrible to me. I especially don't understand the appeal of stuff like flavored whiskey, since there's so much going on in there already.

It is whiskey for those who hate whiskey or at least can barely tolerate whiskey (think it is too harsh, too much burnt rubber flavor, etc). If you aren't in that group of people who hate whiskey, then flavored whiskey certainly isn't for you. I've seen person after person who hates whiskey love the Screwball PB.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

It is whiskey for those who hate whiskey or at least can barely tolerate whiskey (think it is too harsh, too much burnt rubber flavor, etc). If you aren't in that group of people who hate whiskey, then flavored whiskey certainly isn't for you. I've seen person after person who hates whiskey love the Screwball PB.

See, I understand what you're saying, but I don't get it. I mean, ok, if you don't like the taste of whiskey, I can respect that. But, like, I hate olives and I don't think putting peanut butter on them would make them taste better. The underlying flavor of gross pickled green and black death is still there.

Or maybe I'm weird and most people just taste the "dominant" flavor most of the time?

 

[dullard]

Or maybe I'm weird and most people just taste the "dominant" flavor most of the time?

First it is diluted almost by half with water down to 35% alcohol. So the dominant flavor of burnt rubber is drastically diminished. It would be like how adding a drop of water to 60% whiskey / scotch really opens up its flavor profile. But then do it with many drops to open it up and then mask the burnt rubber flavor even more. Serving it cold also helps diminish the natural flavors.

Second they add flavors of nuts and vanilla and similar which further masks that dominant flavor. At least in my limited experience, those who taste nothing but burnt rubber in whiskey do not taste it in that Screwball PB.

At least with nuts and vanilla they are complementary to whiskey. I can't say that nuts and vanilla would complement a briny olive. A better analogy would be taking half the olive flavor away and then adding garlic and herbs to it. Since at least those flavors complement.

 

[K1052]

People who don't have a taste for whiskey can be turned without resorting to flavored whiskeys. Cocktails on the sweeter or sour side starting with 80 proof whiskey are the gateway drugs to the brown liquor universe. My husband used to not like whiskey and after many manhattans, old fashioneds, and whiskey sours now turns his nose up at non-cask strength lol.

 

[WelshBloke]

The point I was getting at is 'gin' isn't just 'gin', there's some that lean even more heavily on the botanicals than london dry, and others that don't really even taste like 'gin' (london dry) at all.

I get what you are saying but I just want to reiterate that gin without botanicals is vodka.
Gins a weird spirit in that it's a flavoured neutral spirit.
The fun bit is that you can make it at home. Buy a standard vodka (nothing expensive but nothing rough) and add whatever botanicals you want (start with juniper berries, dried citrus peel, and coriander seeds) and let it soak. Then filter and realise that the off the shelf stuff is better than what you made!

 

[WelshBloke]

First it is diluted almost by half with water down to 35% alcohol. So the dominant flavor of burnt rubber is drastically diminished. It would be like how adding a drop of water to 60% whiskey / scotch really opens up its flavor profile. But then do it with many drops to open it up and then mask the burnt rubber flavor even more. Serving it cold also helps diminish the natural flavors.

Second they add flavors of nuts and vanilla and similar which further masks that dominant flavor. At least in my limited experience, those who taste nothing but burnt rubber in whiskey do not taste it in that Screwball PB.

At least with nuts and vanilla they are complementary to whiskey. I can't say that nuts and vanilla would complement a briny olive. A better analogy would be taking half the olive flavor away and then adding garlic and herbs to it. Since at least those flavors complement.

They probably shouldn't call it whiskey at that point.
Whiskey based drink? Whiskey adjacent drink? Whiskey alcopop?