Barrel Aged Cocktails and Beer

[Moore1170]

I work for a restaurant that does their own barrel aged cocktails. We have some barrels that are being retired and I am taking a few to try and age beers in. First is the Manhattan Barrel which has had a few batches of our house made Manhattans in them for the past 6-9 months (Rye, Sweet Vermouth, and bitters). Second are Margarita Barrels which we've aged our house made Margaritas in (Tequila and Cointreau).

Any ideas or opinions on what beers I should age in them? I was thinking a Belgian Dubbel for the Manhattan Barrels and a Belgian Wit for the Margarita Barrels.

I think these beers have potential to be pretty amazing. I would love to hear your thoughts, concerns, and opinions/ideas.

I may also be able to get a hold of some of our Negroni barrels and possibly one or two Sazarac barrels.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Sounds like an awesome playground to have at your disposal. I know of one bar in my area that barrel ages cocktails, and they can be mighty tasty. I've never used them for anything, so I wouldn't know what to expect, but it sounds like you're set up for a few great experiments.

 

[chicagowaterguy]

I have a 5 gallon barrel from Journeyman Distillery that I filled with Manhattan cocktail for a party. I plan on aging a variation of Jamil's English Barleywine in it. I think the Manhattan flavors will go nicely with the C60 and C120. I also plan on adding some Extra Dark Crystal too.