February 23, 2018 2 min read

There's a detailed process that goes into making our bourbon barrel aged coffeeand we love to share the highlights of how we incorporate whiskey and coffee together to bring this wonderful product to market.  There's a story to be told, and we want you to serve this coffee to your guests and savor the delicious flavors that come from this well crafted product that can be even further appreciated when you know the background of the coffee.

The first step in the process is the sourcing of used charred American oak bourbon barrels. (This is where the magic happens)  These barrels have been aging whiskey for years upon years. If you're familiar with the making of bourbon whiskey, you know that it's not an overnight process.  To make a quality bourbon, time and patience are key.  These barrels having quietly been resting for season after season, contracting and compressing, and creating all those rich aromas and flavors of the bourbon that have soaked into the wood. This is key to the unique richness and flavor profile of our coffee.  We think you'll be pleasantly surprised by those notes of vanilla, toffee, and chocolate!

bourbon barrels

The next step in the process is the securing and sourcing of the green coffee beans from Brazil.  Great care and vetting goes into who we partner with for the sourcing of our beans to ensure we're roasting a premium product.  Once the beans are selected, we then place the unroasted green beans into the used bourbon barrels. Every day the barrels are agitated and rotated to ensure the beans are getting maximum exposure in the barrels and soaking up as much of those delicious bourbon notes as possible.

green coffee bean

After aging the green coffee beans in the bourbon barrels, we check them periodically for the perfect aroma and moisture level we're looking for. Once we feel the beans are ready, we then pull them from the barrels and prepare the beans for roasting with a two day resting process.

whiskey coffee

Finally, it's time for the actual roasting of the beans.  This is the time that we finally get the see the finished result of several weeks of processes and work!  It's a joy to see the beans roast through that first crack and savor all the wonderful aromas as they're roasted to perfection.  We believe patience is a friend of quality. Give this coffee a try, we think you'll agree!

coffee roasting

Get your bag of our coffee here and share a cup with a friend!


5 Responses

Trevor
Trevor

February 21, 2020

@Leroy – i can answer for VG, but from my experience and conversations with other roasters, if you are still getting a strong sent of bourbon smell from the barrel, then it should work fine. Re-soaking them sometimes works, but might consume the bourbon you add, into the barrel. my limited 2cents…

Leroy Mysliwiec
Leroy Mysliwiec

February 05, 2019

Two questions… One: How many times can a bourbon barrel be used to age beans?
Can I put fresh bourbon into a barrel, let it soak in, dry and then will the barrel be “refreshed” for aging??

Leroy Mysliwiec
Leroy Mysliwiec

February 05, 2019

Two questions… One: How many times can a bourbon barrel be used to age beans?
Can I put fresh bourbon into a barrel, let it soak in, dry and then will the barrel be “refreshed” for aging??

Molly Gress
Molly Gress

February 05, 2019

Hello,

I have a question surrounding how you extract your green coffee beans from the barrels after they have sat for a few days/weeks. Do you have any tricks for avoiding the all the chaff from the barrels getting mixed into the green coffee. How do you go about separating that, as it can be quite time consuming!
Thank you!

Julius
Julius

November 19, 2018

great article. I was wondering what is the longest and the shortest amount of time you have left your beans in the barrel?

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