Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/537687
122 / the tasting panel / july 2015 SPEED TASTING REPORT Barrel-Aged and Prd of it: Waterloo Antique Gin Call us cheeky if you must, but we snuck a gin into our Brown Spirit Speed Tasting— a barrel-aged gin, that is! Rules firmly intact, our panel was wowed by the nuances of flavor presented in Waterloo Antique Gin, which is made from Lone Star State– sourced ingredients and distilled in Texas. The Texan spirit is then aged in first use American white oak barrels, giving the gin a whiskey-like quality that's undeniably pleasant. Waterloo Antique Gin joins the rest of the award-winning and beloved Treaty Oak Distilling Company portfolio, which includes the easy- drinking Starlite Vodka, the Texas molasses–based white Treaty Oak Rum and three– to four year aged Treaty Oak Barrel Reserve Rum, the Texas–blended and –aged Red Handed Bourbon and pleasantly unsweet, tangy Graham's Texas Tea Vodka. All Treaty Oak aged spirits are seasoned in new all– American white oak charred barrels. With Waterloo Antique Gin in the spotlight at our tasting, mixologist Christian Armando Guillen called his cocktail, the Antique Resolution, "a reimagination of a Negroni." Guillen explained that the addition of barrel aging adds complexity to the spirit that also helps elevate the resulting cocktail: "The wood effect on this adds a lot of texture to the spirit, which creates a silky and really great finish in the drink." Our panel was quick to agree with Guillen's assessment: "The spirit is very nice and smooth, with lavender, anise and clove really shining through," said Melody Bishop. "I love that it's not just overpowering with juniper berry flavor, and the cocktail is nicely bittersweet with an oaky finish." Israel Delgado also picked up on lovely lavender, and added, "There's some great sweet floral notes and a cinnamon finish, and the cocktail offers bright red fruit up front with nice lingering sweetness." Matt Orth picked up on a "nutty mid-palate, with a clove/allspice finish, and an almost tannic finish in the cocktail." Catarina Miltenberger picked up on "floral, sweetgrass, tarragon notes with dry tannins, caramel, anise, butterscotch and a nice mouthfeel," and loved that the cocktail was a twist on a Negroni. Jeffrey Gregory noted "pine, heather honey, cherry pit and orange blossom," in the spirit neat, and agreed with Miltenberger that the cocktail was bursting with black tea notes. Charles Riley picked up on "nutmeg, juniper, candied vanilla," while Máté Hartai noted "clove, honeysuckle and harmonized citrus qualities of the gin with the oak." Christian Armando Guillen is the Head Bartender at The Standard Pour. Antique Resolution ◗ 1½ oz. Waterloo Antique Gin ◗ ¾ oz. Earl Grey and huckleberry vermouth ◗ 1 dash cardamom bitters ◗ ½ oz. Suze