Barrel-Aging in a Hot Rod Shop

When bartenders started barrel-aging spirits, they did so in a controlled environment — a small barrel, a single spirit or classic cocktail — and a location like the back bar where the aging process could be supervised daily.

Paul Monahan, Sailor Jerry’s Brand Ambassador, decided to turn the barrel-aging concept on its ear, not only using a full size Glenfiddich cask, but setting up everything in a hot rod shop in Huntington Beach, California. The grime and grit of the environment married well with Sailor Jerry’s free-wheeling image, but the bottom line was: Will this taste good? Here’s what Monahan had to say.

Chilled:

While barrel aging has become common, aging in a hot rod shop is not. What was the inspiration?

Paul Monahan:

The inspiration was “how can we do something that is common” like you said, just more innovative — and a natural fit for the Sailor Jerry brand. Was it a whim? I wouldn’t say a whim, but more of a creative thought process over a few drinks in the corner of a bar one night that spawned the idea of doing this one of a kind, limited edition, small allocated barrel aged cocktail. The process of acquiring a used 55 gallon sherry Glenfiddich barrel from our distillery in Scotland, to a hot rod shop in Huntington Beach, California was much more of a systematic process that took some time and very polite emails than the actual conception of the cocktail.

Chilled:

What influences did the environment have on the process?

Paul Monahan:

Everything from welding, sawing, painting, engine tests, ambient music in the shop walls, down to business dialogue and car education played some role in the melding of the flavors. There was no approach to the process, other than the knowledge I have about other spirit aging processes and how filling this used 55 gallon sherry cask from Scotland with a signature Sailor Jerry Old Fashioned would more than likely mature into a very complex aged liquid.

Chilled:

How different do you think the spirit would be in a “normal” environment?

Paul Monahan:

It’s tough to say. The history of the barrel played a really big role. Any cocktail enthusiast on any level or bartender can purchase an unused 5 liter American oak barrel from any website, follow a few blogs, and age a cocktail in it for an undisclosed amount of time. Same idea as home brewing beer. Just research and a couple hundred bucks gets you to an end game. But the idea of getting a full sized, 55 gallon, used sherry Glenfiddich cask and filling it back up with a recipe of varying ingredients was the gamble I was willing to take. That the hot rod shop played a role between the countless man hours of labor and machinery helping stimulate the aging process for the second time around for this barrel was the icing on the cake.

Chilled:

Were there any flavors or developments that you think came directly from the hot rod environment?

Paul Monahan:

The longer the liquid sat rested, the darker and more sharp the flavors got. The best time frame for this cocktail, in this barrel, was six months. We tasted it after nine, 12, and 15 and the flavors dramatically changed into a totally different liquid that I can honestly say some palettes would not have appreciated; the majority appreciated the 6 month liquid.

Chilled:

Any surprised?

Paul Monahan:

I think it was shocking how dramatically the liquid changed each time after the six month tasting and bottling. The cocktail was very, very flavorful and enjoyed by many, but personally, it took me aback how time and temperature in that environment dramatically took a toll on the liquid. Who knows, maybe too many hot rods were being built during that time frame.

Chilled:

How did you arrive at the “recipe” for the cocktail?

Paul Monahan:

The shop owner and I collaborated on the recipe. He is no means a spirits professional, but I simply asked him what flavors he liked. Sweet? Savory? Spice? Smoke? After some chatter we arrived on the Apricot and Peppercorn Sailor Jerry Old Fashioned.

Chilled:

What else would you consider aging?

Paul Monahan:

I’d consider aging anything. Rum is great to age because the flavors that come out of the Caribbean are versatile to play with. Vanilla, toffee, cinnamon, honey, all dry spices — these meld well and aren’t delicate botanicals that potentially, if damaged, might not be the best fit for a gamble like this. Some call it a safe move, I prefer calculated.

Chilled:

Did you find rum to be particularly malleable as an aging base?

Paul Monahan:

Yes absolutely. Mostly spiced, dark, amber rums would be the best out of the rum category to age with a multitude of flavors. A lot of it like any cocktail is the combination of sweet and spice. If you can conceptually taste these flavors, or any flavors alone in your head, then piecing them together, and look at potential viscosity, that will give you good foresight on an end game.