Starbucks Reserve Roastery launches Gin Barrel-Aged Cold Brew

The exciting new mocktail is currently available only in the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle and only for a limited time. (iStock)

Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle has released a mocktail creation that combines two of this year’s trendiest beverages. The new sparkling beverage is a non-alcoholic twist on a classic gin and tonic made with coffee aged in gin barrels. This new Starbucks creation comes after last year’s Whiskey Barrel-Aged Sulawesi blend.

Roastery baristas combine the new Gin Barrel-Aged Rwanda coffee concentrate with ice and a few dashes of lime bitters to create the innovative new beverage. “The beans absorb the botanical essence of the gin, bringing out its bright citrus notes with a sweet caramel finish. The resulting cup is rich, nuanced and unlike anything we’ve tasted before,” Jennifer Galbraith, Starbucks’ manager of product development for research and development, said in a press release.

“When you go to take your first sip, you’ll smell the quinine from the tonic and the botanicals from the gin and the coffee. Then you taste the orange and lemon, finishing with caramel notes from the coffee and the barrel. It weaves together like a piece of fabric and leaves you with a light, refreshing flavor.”

The exciting new mocktail is currently available only in the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle and only for a limited time.

Never heard of barrel-aged gins? According to The Spirits Business, the practice dates back to the eighteenth century, when gin was stored in oak rather than more expensive breakable containers. Barrel-aged gin is also known as “yellow gin” thanks to the color the liquid picks up from the barrel. Since Starbucks is incorporating it, we have a feeling barrel-aged gin may become one of the trendiest cocktail ingredients this year.