#high proof

You can legally buy some of the world’s strongest alcohols, like Everclear and Spirytus, which reach up to 95% ABV. These high-proof spirits are typically made using advanced distillation methods that concentrate the alcohol while preserving purity and flavor. However, legal limits vary by location, so availability depends on your local regulations. You should always follow safety guidelines when…

REVIEW TOUR

HIGH PROOF (Moonlight and Moonshine:  Bluegrass Dynasty 17) by Deanndra Hall at The Reading Cafe:

‘interesting and intriguing’

it's been about a month since I barreled up a batch of Manhattans in Lil' Fucker (my 2l oak barrel.) From six batches of experience aging booze in this barrel, I know that the character of the product changes significantly at some point after 45 days.

/begin side trip/

Some part of me wants to so a booze based start-up with aged cocktails as the product -- it seems impossible, but I suppose there may be room to challenge that market in same way that Uber challenge the traditional taxi medallion system.

So I'm going to start saving snapshots of the booze as it ages on all my future batches, so I'll be ready should the opportunity arise to scale this up in the future.

/end side trip/

First up....

Lil'Fucker barrel-aged Manhattan

This batch is 35 days old today when I sampled it. I used an industry standard blue "bendy straw" to extract a sample and reviewed it in a shot glass. Although color isn't an indicator of aging, since vermouth is in the mix, I still enjoyed beholding the amber nectar in the shot glass. (It's got a 5% buff against acid damage, btw.)

You can see the recipe is simple. I didn't use a spicy bitters, since I believe the barrel itself has that note seasoned into the wood of the barrel I call Lil' Fucker.

I tried the sample straight, probably 130 proof, and it was a mix of fire all over my mouth, with no unifying note. It tasted like the ingredient list and nothing more. I diluted it to 2x then 3x to see if any new notes were present, but nothing. This mix needs some serious aging.

Bottled up 2 oz for future reference and finished off the pour. Moving on to...

BA41 5gal Batch 1

Now that's a great name for what I'm making here: BA41 5gal Batch 1. I'm reminded of how military firearms are named. It sounds tough and professional; industry-standard. Safe only in the hands of experienced drinking professionals.

I approached the cask with caution -- the feline guarding the area was adorably fluffy, but almost TOO cute.

This job required a turkey baster to get a nice sample, and I immediately liked what I saw in the color, which looked significantly darker than the original mix to me. Perhaps the toast color comes through strongest in the first batch?

I barreled this up a mere three weeks ago, and the surface area to volume of the cask is much lower than Lil' Fucker, so I expect a much slower aging process. And this sample confirmed my expectation. It tasted like the cocktail that I poured into the barrel. That mix is not bad pre-aged, but the original SOMA this is based on uses an aged gin, and it's that profile I'm after.