GOLDEN BARREL EXPERIENCE

Experience GOLDEN BARREL

Adam G. attended a recent Four Roses selection after finding the Golden Barrel in a recent issue of 42+. He talked with us about his experience.

How did I feel when I found out I won?

I was almost in disbelief and had to re-read the email a few times for it to sink in. This was my first time entering the Golden Barrel Giveaway, and I suppose I had some beginner’s luck! I’ve never participated in a barrel selection so I researched a little about the process and started planning the logistics of attending. As the day approached, the excitement was excruciating!

What flavor stuck out most to me? Could I taste the varieties?

The sweeter notes hit me the most: salted caramel, toasted marshmallow, vanilla, etc. The spice notes stuck with me through each tasting: pepper, clove, and a hint of mint in some selections. I knew about Four Roses’ approach to production with the 10 recipes, but it was incredible to see the profile differences between each individual barrel.

What did I learn?

I learned that my palate is not nearly as sophisticated as others! But really, it was really interesting to experience the individuality of each barrel and to examine what led to that specific taste (mash bill, yeast selection, even down to barrel storage location).

Additional thoughts?

Overall, it was an incredible and unforgettable experience to participate. Everyone in attendance was welcoming and wonderful, and the bourbon was top-notch. The thoughts and discussions about each selection have given me a new appreciation for the bourbons that I already loved. We did an excellent job in the selections we made, and I can’t wait for them to hit the stores! Big shoutout to those at OHLQ and at Four Roses, as they’re extremely talented at what they do.

SO... WHERE WAS IT?WHAT’S IN A RUM BOTTLE HERE’S A KEY TO FINDING THE PERFECT RUM

RUM THAT’S THE SPIRIT: BY MICHAEL PRAMIK

Crafted from sugar cane or molasses, rum is a simple yet complex spirit. It can be the crystal-clear base of classic umbrella drinks, such as pina coladas or mai tais. But when left to age, it can offer complex notes like that of bourbon.

06 | Ohio Liquor OHLQ.com ECHO SPIRITS: ZACH WILKE ECHO SPIRITS: ZACH WILKE

ECHO SPIRITS: ZACH WILKE

Echo Spirits Distilling Co. in Columbus has embraced rum with a robust line that includes a newly released spiced rum that cofounder Joe Bidinger describes as “approachable but elevated.”

Like other nouveau distilleries, Echo Spirits needed to quickly create a spirit to sell while its barrel-aged spirits were maturing. For Echo Spirits, that was rum, rather than vodka, gin, or unaged whiskey. Bidinger said he and cofounder Nikhil Sharoff came to really like rum, and it now has the best-selling, Ohio-made white rum.

“We didn’t intentionally set out to be ‘the rum guys,’ but we’re finding out that we’re pretty good at it, so we’re embracing that,” said Bidinger, who established Echo Spirits in 2019 with Sharoff, his former classmate at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus. “We take all our products very seriously.”

Most rums are made from molasses, but Echo Spirits makes its rums from panela, unrefined whole cane sugar. Thus, it contains the best qualities of both molasses and cane sugar, Bidinger says.

Echo Spirits produces white rum, pineapple rum, and Queen’s Share Rum, which spends at least 18 months aging in bourbon Ohio Department of Commerce | 07

barrels. As part of its limited Copper Label Series, Echo also produced Cherrysmoke Rum, which is white rum that has been aged in a used bourbon barrel for two years, then infused with charred cherry chips. It also recently introduced its first batch of spiced rum.

The distillery ferments panela and water using a Caribbeanharvested yeast for five days before distillation begins. Bidinger said he and Sharoff look for the most flavorful cuts, rather than trying to produce a rum with mostly neutral qualities. “We want our rum to be bold and rich,” Bidinger said.

Rum is made from sugar cane or derivatives of sugar cane. While the spirit conjures up breezy images of Caribbean nations such as Jamaica and Barbados for many people, rum is produced in dozens of countries around the world.

The styles of rum depend on things like ingredients, aging processes, fermentation, distillation, and how the spirits are blended. Bidinger said there aren’t strict classifications of rum in the United States as there are in other countries.

White Rum

This is the basic, aged variety of rum many people are familiar with as a key ingredient in daiquiris, pina coladas, and rum punch. Many white rums are aged in former whiskey barrels for about a year then run through charcoal filters to remove color.

Dark/Golden Rum

When the rum distillate is aged in charred oak barrels, it takes on more flavor notes and becomes dark in color. Rums aged longer become “dark,” while those aged for a shorter period often are called “golden.” Additives, such as molasses and caramel coloring, also can darken rums.

Rhum Agricole

This rum is made of sugarcane juice and is made almost exclusively in the French Caribbean islands.

White Rum

This is the basic, aged variety of rum many people are familiar with as a key ingredient in daiquiris, pina coladas, and rum punch. Many white rums are aged in former whiskey barrels for about a year then run through charcoal filters to remove color.

Dark/Golden Rum

When the rum distillate is aged in charred oak barrels, Navy Rum This is an overproof rum (more than 100 proof), similar to “Navy-strength” gin, designed to hearken to rums WHAT’S IN A RUM BOTTLE HERE’S A KEY TO FINDING THE PERFECT RUM it takes on more flavor notes and becomes dark in color. carried aboard ships in the 18th and 19th centuries. Black Rum Darker rums are typically used in mixed drinks. They gain their very dark hues not necessarily from more aging, Rums aged longer become “dark,” while those aged for but usually from the addition of molasses, caramel, or both. Spiced Rum Infusing dark rum with botanicals and spices leads to, not surprisingly, spiced rum. Many spiced rums yield an alluring array of baking spice, vanilla, and dried fruit notes. a shorter period often are called “golden.” Additives, such Aged Rums These premium spirits can typically spend a lot of time in the barrel and are designed for sipping neat. They can gain their distinct characteristics from the type of barrel, such as heavily charred bourbon barrels, as well as the craftsmanship of the distiller.ECHO SPIRITS: ZACH WILKE as molasses and caramel coloring, also can darken rums.

Rhum Agricole

This rum is made of sugarcane juice and is made almost exclusively in the French Caribbean islands.

WHEN TRADITIONS ARE KEPT, LEGACIES ARE BORN

Every bottle of El Mayor® Tequila begins in the rocky lowlands of Jalisco, where our skilled jimadors hand-select only the finest blue agave. It is a process our family has refined over four generations. And while it offers no efficiencies of time or labor, it creates the remarkably smooth tequila that has become our legacy.