The Barrel-Aged Negroni

Two months ago, we got together with friends and decided that we wanted to attempt a barrel-aged cocktail. We went to The Modern Bartender and bought a 5L oak barrel. We followed the instructions and then filled it with equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari to make the classic Negroni. Because a Negroni is known to be bitter, we thought this drink would be the perfect test subject. We hoped to see the sharper edges knocked off leaving a much smoother cocktail.

Eight long weeks later, we unbarreled the Negroni and bottled them with labels and all (pictured below). Our expectations were met when we at last sampled our creation. Our eight weeks of sweat and toil had paid off. Okay, there was no work involved but eight weeks of whining about the wait is exhausting.

Once it's in the bottles you can keep it as long as you like. You can only barrel and bottle cocktails that are purely alcohol, no juice etc, otherwise it will turn sour. Once you have transferred the cocktail to jars, it's easy to stir over ice, strain and garnish (with a orange twist). Voilà, le Negroni!

Once you open Pandora's drinking box, you'll realize there is a lot more to making a proper drink than a shaker. Get your butts down to The Modern Bartender and/or download the app Speakeasy Cocktails and they'll show you a thing or two.

Cheers,

Charysse