Tequila Aged In Bourbon Cured Barrel

Barrel Aged Cocktail Recipe – Tequila Aged in a Bourbon Barrel

If you are a fan of tequila then you have to try this tequila barrel aged recipe.  Tequila traditionally is made from the Agave plant. I would recommend 100% agave tequila vs others that are not 100%. You will notice that tequila comes in a few different forms.  Blanco (or silver) is tequila that comes right out of the still.  It is bottled, sold and drank without any added flavor or barrel aging. Blanco tequila is clear.  Reposado tequila as rested in an oak barrel for at least 2 months and up to a year. It will have a light color to it and has some of the barrel flavor. Anejo tequila has aged in a barrel for 1-3 years. Is usually a bit smoother than the silver unaged tequila.  Extra Anjeo tequila has been aged for longer than 3 years.  This tequila usually has a darker color and a lot more barrel flavor. You can choose any of these for this recipe.  I, personally like the barrel aged flavor in the tequila so I will normally start with a reposado or anjeo tequila when aging since it will have a bit of a jump start on the flavor.

What we are doing here is giving the barrel some flavor BEFORE we age the tequila.  You can cure the barrel with just about anything you like but in our recipe we used 1776 bourbon. Bourbon has a great flavor and to add that flavor profile to your tequila will be quite tasty.  This bourbon is a 100 proof high rye bourbon which means that it is at least 51% corn and the second highest grain content will be rye.  It will have have a little spice/peppery back taste to it.  You can go with a wheated bourbon or just about any flavor you prefer.

Serving Size

Will make about 9-11 drinks per recipe.  The longer you age it in the barrel the less you will have remaining since some loss due to Angel’s Share is imminent.

Ingredients

Directions

The first thing you need to do is cure your barrel.  Most people normally cure the barrel with water but in this case you want to cure the barrel with your bourbon.  You will need to fill at least half of the barrel with the bourbon you are curing with.  Leave the bourbon in the barrel for about a week. This will allow it to permeate the staves of the barrel and leave the flavor profile behind for your tequila to absorb. You can skip this step if you purchase one of our flavor infused precured barrels. We can have the barrel cured for you with Kentucky Bourbon or any of our other flavors available.  This will save you from having to buy the bourbon AND the tequila.  Once you have the barrel cured then pour the bourbon back in your bottle and empty the fifth of tequila you are going to age in the barrel. Now comes the hard part.  WAITING.  Wait for the barrel to impart the flavor into the tequila.  You can leave it in the barrel for a week, a month or even longer depending on how you like yours.  I suggest that you take a small taste each week to see how it is going and once it reaches your preferred flavor then remove it from the barrel and pour it in a bottle.  You may find it hard to drink regular tequila after you have tried this.  Great flavor! This will be a tequila you will want to savor and sip. No shots with salt and lime here!