Many years ago I was a “partier”.  With this moniker came an incredibly stupid responsibility.  This responsibility was to carry on as wildly as possible and to drink any booze that floated close to my gullet.

For a spell I had a penchant for tequila, and passionately gulped shots of Don Julio, Jose, and *hurggge* Zapata.

I had my share of vodka.  From Triple Platinum, to Smirnoff, to Vladmir, it was all rather similar.

I have finally settled on whiskey.  And while some of my favorites are Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, and Knob Creek,  I tend to only enjoy the occasional shot, and a cheap alternative to the brand names will usually suffice.

When it coming to gin, I have had very little experience that resembles enjoyment.  I’ve never been, even during “party” days when I drank whatever was around, a fan of the taste of gin.  There is a dry, herbal pineyness to gin for which I’ve never quite developed a taste.  Even the smell of gin seems to generate slightly sickly feelings and a deep gut nausea in me.  Maybe this is as a result of a booze fueled night, at twenty, in my friends attic/bedroom, where three of us found ourselves without any alcohol but gin.  So, we proceeded to ring in Christmas Eve with shots of gin chased with spring water until everyone passed out.  I’m quite sure that I was the furthest away from the tree that Christmas afternoon, yet couldn’t remove myself from the pine smell, as I reminded myself every few minutes with a fresh gin soaked belch and hiccup.

Fortunately, now my main category interest in the world of libations is beer.  And while I do enjoy many standard offerings in this realm, ipas, imperial stouts, barleywines, goses, berlinerweisses, lagers, and honestly, I would be lying if I said i wouldn’t try any beer.  When the idea of barrel aged beer came upon my radar I assuredly became interested.  Though I can’t recall my first, I can assure all that I’ve had many different types of barrel aged beers.  The most common would be the bourbon, or whiskey barrel aged beers.  Wine barrel aging is common with sours and usually when paired with a barleywine or imperial stout will create an amazingly memorable concoction.  I’ve had several rum barrel aged beers, of which most are terrific.  And, I’ve had a few tequila barrel aged beers, though admittedly, these are usually less consistently performing than the aforementioned barrel aged varietals.  Cognac and sake barrel aged beers are rare as well as other barrels from less commonplace liquor varieties.  But when a beer becomes available in a barrel aged option, I engage and imbibe with great anticipation and fervor.

That is until I, at long last, encountered a beer that has been aged in gin barrels.

“GIN! AGH! MY PINE-LADEN NEMESIS! WHY MUST YOU BE AN ACCENT TO MY BEER!”

So I waited, for a long time, with great trepidation, to open this gin barrel aged beer.  I was slightly concerned with what I may encounter.  Would it harken those early twenties, binge drinking memories? Or would my mature palate accurately and accommodatingly assimilate the flavors?

Triumvirate – Rivertown Brewing Company – Even with a fairly vigorous pour, this slightly hazy, golden colored brew yields virtually no carbonation.  The smell is an all vinegary, woody, sour tinged deliciousness with a slight hint of gin on the back end.  The carbonation is minimal, and expected after the pour. But, with the puckering sourness involved, I don’t really miss the carbonation.  What I was most concerned about, the gin flavor, is very decidedly in the background.  After the acutely delicious sour, puckering notes, an alighting of piney, dry notes grace the back of the tongue and entrance to the throat.  The gin accents leave just enough to be noticed, but not enough to detract.  A gin lover may wish for more, I’m comfortable with the tinge as it is.  Overall, I rather enjoy this. The prominence of sour, and the vinegary mouth puckering type of sour that this is, form the highlight of this beer.  The gin accents, are in the background, and for me happily so.  Overall, I really enjoyed this, and as a unique experience, would recommend this highly. 7/10

Humbly yours,

J