Bourbon Barrel Aged

Repurposed meets enhanced flavoring!

 We’ve all seen it!  Bourbon aged maple syrup, bourbon aged wine, bourbon aged honey…the list goes on and on. After all you can’t re-use a bourbon barrel to make more bourbon – that requires new white oak charred barrels. So, what to do with used barrels? Repurpose them! Aside from a variety of furniture, décor, and art projects, the best way to continue to reincorporate that beautiful flavor is to reuse the bourbon barrel to age another product in it.

The charred layers now seeped with bourbon hold a unique element to age products like wine, maple syrup or honey to name a few. Adding maple syrup to an empty bourbon barrel allows the syrup to absorb the charred seeped flavoring. The syrup ages in the barrel and the results produce a beautiful blend of smoky oak with layers of spice and/or caramel from the bourbon all incorporated into the sweet maple syrup.

I was introduced to Bourbon aged maple syrup at Iron Fish Distillery when I did my first podcast there. The syrup was wonderful by itself, but even better when I added it to my favorite baking recipes! You can read more about that in my post here!

Not to be confused with infusing; the aging process in a charred barrel allows another liquid to sit and chemically change in time. Whereas infusing (for example honey) with bourbon is a different process, where you warm the honey and add small amounts of whiskey or bourbon to the honey and then let it sit for a couple of weeks for the two liquids to meld together. Read the labels of products to see if it’s aged in bourbon barrels or just infused.

Bourbon aged honey. Now you may be wondering, why would you want to add bourbon flavor to honey? Besides having it on toast in the morning, imagine it in a cocktail, or better yet a hot toddy!  I’ll play with that idea in another post, but for now if you would like to try a Bourbon Aged Honey check out Beekeeper’s Daughter Bourbon Aged Honey (*Amazon link.) This American business started as a family hobby in the 1800’s, until one family member William Perry Sr. established a honey business in 1950. Years later his granddaughter, Hannah saw the need for local raw honey and created The Beekeeper’s Daughter, and she sells products all over the US and online.

Now I realize this is a bourbon blog, but I do enjoy a good red wine occasionally too! Robert Mondavi Private Selection Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine is a California wine that uses new and used bourbon barrels to create a lovely warm wine that is enhanced with flavors you find in bourbon. They also have a Red Blend that is aged in a rye whiskey as well.

So the next time you see a bourbon aged product, let your imagination go and explore the many enhance flavors of the bourbon world.

*LINKS — (When available, I’m using affiliate links and may earn a commission!)

Beekeepers Daughter Bourbon Aged Honey https://amzn.to/429Wrfg (Amazon)