One Starbucks Location Now Makes a Gin Barrel Aged Cold Brew

 

Looking for something with bit more buzz than cold brew infused red wine? Starbucks recently unveiled its newest cold brew project, a coffee and tonic drink made with gin barrel aged cold brew. Unfortunately for most, the non-alcoholic caffeinated beverage is found exclusively at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle, WA.

 

Described on Starbucks’ website, the coffee is made by aging Rwandan coffee beans in barrels that previously held bourbon, and then gin. The beans are rotated in the barrels and kept for several weeks before getting roasted in small batches. At the Roastery, the crew makes cold brew from the beans, which is then shaken with lime bitters and ice, topped with tonic water, and garnished with lime.

 

“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,” said Jennifer Galbraith, Starbucks manager of product development for R&D.  “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 gin infused coffee beans and cold brew launched on March 13, and their availability will  continue for an undisclosed, but likely brief, amount of time.