Bourbon-Barrel Gin Review

Some things you just know are going to be interesting. More than interesting.

Distillers are doing some exciting and innovative things. At Tommyrotter, whose vodka I recently tasted, they’ve released a cask-strength bourbon barrel gin. A gin aged in bourbon barrels? Right. And bottled at 61% ABV (aka 122 proof). Wow.

Bourbon-Barrel Gin Review

The first sniff is really interesting. There’s gin, there’s a lavender/violet sweetness, and there’s the woody caramel and vanilla aroma of the bourbon barrels. It reminds me a little of Metaxa, which has rose petals in there. It’s like a strong bourbon or scotch or cognac. It’s a very complex aroma. You can’t put your nose into the glass for long as the alcohol rears up and bites you in the butt, but it’s an aroma that demands you keep returning to it.

It’s so complex on the nose that I’m nervous to taste it, as I’ve a feeling it’s going to blow me away. And it does. Tasting it, the alcohol strength is overpowering at first, though your mouth gets used to it. It really burns but is also absolutely delicious. This is not going to be a sipping gin. This is going to be something that creative mixologists (which I’m not) can have a field day with to invent cocktails which will have their customers going wild.

A second sip is, like, ‘gin meet bourbon, bourbon meet gin, I just know you two are going to get along.’ The caramel/vanilla sweetness is more pronounced on the palate, alongside a slight sourness, and there’s the power of that whiskey/bourbon/cognac blend. I can’t comment on the mouthfeel as this is so strong I didn’t want to swirl it around my mouth. I’ve a feeling my teeth might have fallen out.

As I said, this is not going to be a sipping gin. More like a sniffing gin. Pour some in a shot glass, and pick it up from time to time and sniff it. It’s a real testament to what our craft distillers are doing right now, being brave and bold and experimental, and producing that rare thing, a spirit you can honestly say is like nothing you’ve ever tasted before.