Exploring Barrel Aging with Classic Cocktails
By Marcus Reidy
The finished product
Amongst all of my ideas for the new recipes, the one thing I was most excited ti attempt was a barrel aged cocktail. This notion was inspired by a trip I took to Portland at the beginning of the summer. Though I had heard of barrel aged cocktails before, and had even enjoyed a few here in our own city, I was eager to try one made by the man who really helped popularize the concept. He is Jeffrey Morgenthaler of the bar Clyde Common. Upon tasting his barrel aged Negroni, I knew that I wanted to implement this technique at our restaurant. Typically a beautiful, bittersweet cocktail, his barrel aged Negroni presents a more rounded fusion of bitter and sweet, and a rich, burnt orange flavor.
Unfortunately, the day I came back home from my west coast trip was the very same day of our fire. But perhaps this was a blessing in some ways. This gave me 3 ½ months to come up with the perfect cocktail for my barrel aging endeavor. I knew immediately that I wanted it to be a whiskey cocktail, strictly for selfish reasons. Next, I wanted it to involve sweet vermouth. The slight oxidation of vermouth seems to add richness to a drink. Finally, it had to be an “all booze” cocktail; aging anything with juice isn’t a good idea. After extensive research, I decided on an old New Orleans classic, the Vieux Carre. This cocktail comprises equal parts Templeton Rye, Carpano-Antica sweet vermouth, E&J brandy, a splash of Benedictine, and a dash each of Peychaud and Angostura bitters. All ingredients are stirred gently and served over one large, slow-melting ice cube. It’s a tasty, sweet, and boozy cocktail, with a slightly bitter fullness.
About three weeks ago, after acquiring a used Templeton Rye barrel, I began to age the Vieux Carre. I added all the booze ingredients, minus the bitters, undiluted to the barrel. Then I sealed it and let it sit. After 2 ½ weeks I decided we should pull our first batch and test it. In just this brief aging period, a drastic change had occurred. The charred oak of the barrel imparted vanilla and caramel notes to the Carpano-Antica and Templeton Rye, and yielded a prevalent burnt orange character. These emerging aromatic flavors softened the bite of the alcohol. Even non-diluted, this aged version is mellow, rich, and smooth. Adding the bitters to order creates a wonderfully full-flavored, dangerously sippable cocktail that I hope you will come in and enjoy while supplies last!
Unassuming deliciousness in a barrel await.
Have you ever WAITED for the class? As far as I know, unless a hot biology teacher walked in the classroom, I have always eagerly awaited the break time. On May 12th, I was completely absorbed in the first ever Mixology Class hosted at Autre Monde by our amazing bar team. Are you thinking that there must have been hot teachers? They were good looking & charming to be sure, but I was drawn in not just by that but by the subject matter as well. How many teachers would be willing to make students a little tipsy as part of the class?
As the clock ticked towards noon, I was excited that I could take a free cocktail class. I do love my internship! Marcus’s wit and Diana’s espresso made students comfortable and set an easy atmosphere for the class. The first part of the lesson began with a discussion of bar tools. Although we may think we know about cocktails, without understanding how to use proper tools, how can we even start? Many people don’t even know what they have to have or where to find the proper tools. In my case, these obstacles could easily make me give up before even starting. According to the teachers kind & patient explanation, we can purchase all of them from Amazon or other websites (please refer to below suggestions) that they recommend at a low price. I was surprised to learn that you can get a pretty professional starter set up of tools with a small investment. Perhaps all that silver & gold made me think they were more expensive than they were! They showed us that with the right tools, you can come pretty close to restaurant quality results at home.
I’m embarrassed to admit it but, I don’t cook. Technically, I can’t cook. There are some reasons or excuses I could make as to why, one of the main ones being that the recipe is too complicated. When it reads something like ‘Drop ingredients by teaspoonfuls…’ I freeze I still don’t know my measurements well and have no idea what kind of teaspoon is the proper size! But it’s different when it comes to mixing a cocktail. All I need to do is having fun! Just choose a spirit and add a favorite flavor of syrup and/or fresh juice, mix and shake them or stir in a ratio, simple. The cocktail will be on the table for you to enjoy in a matter of minutes. Most of the classic cocktails follow simple recipes with a focus on a few key techniques and finding the right ingredients. It is more about the shopping, which I definitely know how to do. The best part of the class was that through first observing and then getting some hands-on cocktail training, we all felt a little bit like experts at the end. A little of this knowledge and it is easy to build your own cocktail. To learn about the next class, sign up for our 
Tasting different style of cocktails and toast with cocktail lovers exchanging opinions about their favorite flavors in the afternoon, what could it possibly get better than this? It was relaxed and informative time. I would like to thank for sharing secret tips to our amazing teachers Marcus and Diana, and all students who enthusiastically took part in the class. 
