Top 5 Weirdest Ways Gin Has Been Aged

In the world of spirits, aging is a production method used to enhance flavors and create complex tasting notes. While wooden barrels have long been the traditional vessels for aging spirits like whiskey, rum and tequila, the realm of gin has witnessed some truly eccentric and extraordinary experiments in maturation.

From submerging a gin-filled metal ball in the depths of a Welsh lake to storing barrels in the darkest crevices of a historic cave, here are the top five most peculiar ways our favorite juniper spirit has been aged.

In a Giant Egg

(Photo: Citadelle Gin)

Created by Cognac-specializing spirits producer Maison Ferrand, Citadelle Réserve is a gin that is aged in five different barrels before being finished in an 8-foot wooden egg. The egg design, patented by Citadelle, keeps the spirit in constant motion, resulting in what’s described as a spirit with complex aroma and taste that still retains the essence of juniper. This unique process also lends the gin its light straw color, smooth texture and intensified citrus notes.

Beyond its bizarre eggy origins, Citadelle Réserve is quite the groundbreaking spirit, having been among the first few aged gins on the market when it made its 2008 debut.

With Old Cricket Bats

(Photo: Greater Than/Facebook)

Boasting a tasting profile reminiscent of fine whiskey, this gin from Indian spirit brand Greater Than is aged for two months with crowd-sourced cricket bats that would have otherwise been discarded. The fascinating production process entails shaving and toasting the cricket bats, along with cracked wood from Kashmir willow bats, and combining it with Greater Than’s classic London dry, which features lemon peel, fennel, juniper and ginger.

“Lots of distillers around the world have tried aging their Gins in oak barrels with some impressive results,” Co-founder and Distiller Anand Virmani said of his gin. “India doesn’t necessarily have a tradition of oak barrels, hence we turned to another tradition of ours – Cricket!”

This unique sport-inspired aged gin is apparently so good that it went on to be deemed the “Best Gin in Asia” at The Gin Guide Awards in 2023, as well as being named a winner in the competition’s global aged gin category.

In the Dark Crevices of a Historic Cave

(Photo: Cascave Gin)

Cascave, a female-led family business in the U.K., produces a gin proudly described as the first spirit ever to be cask aged in a cave. The gin, an aptly named Cave Aged Gin, “follows the course” of the water found 250 feet deep in Dan Yr Ogof, a historic cave located at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales.

The gin also features native botanicals from the Brecon Beacons hills and mineral-rich water from the cave. Kept in a cool climate of 10°C, the casks mature in one of the Dan Yr Ogof’s most iconic formations, the Angel Passageway.

In a proper cave-loving manner, Cascave’s aged gin is recommended to be enjoyed — get ready for it — on the rocks.

Inside the Thick Walls of a Subterranean Bank Vault

(Photo: Maverick Distilling)

Maverick Distilling’s barrel-aged gin spends two years resting inside the thick walls of the historic Lockwood Bank Vault. The distillery itself is situated in a building that once served as a bank before becoming the original homestead of one of San Antonio’s earliest families, Sam and Mary Ann Maverick.

Samuel Maverick Barrel Aged Texas Dry Gin is distilled with 17 locally sourced Texas ingredients, including rosemary, pecans and grapefruit zest, along with traditional botanicals like juniper and coriander. The gin is then aged in #3 char white American oak barrels, previously used for Maverick rye whiskey.

This bank-aged gin offers heady and floral tasting notes of marigold, orange blossom and lavender, alongside a smack of sweet crème brûlée and whiskey. If you happen to score a bottle, this is certainly a gin to sip neat.

At the Bottom of a Swiss Lake

(Photo: Ginial)

Lake Constance Gin is more than just a spirit aged for 100 days at the bottom of a Swiss lake. It’s a tale of shocking loss and the theft of nearly $40,000 in craft gin.

Lake Constance Gin started its story with an inventive, albeit bizarre, aging process that called for housing 230 liters of gin within the steely confines of a 1763-pound ball. According to the distillery, Ginial, who has been making gin this way for three years, this method imbues the booze with a “very special aroma.”

Well, the whole ordeal rocked the spirits world, because when Ginial’s team went to retrieve its huge gin ball in December 2022 — it was missing. The craft gin was also attached to a 500-kilogram concrete slab, adding even more intrigue to the lake bottom looting.

To make matters worse, almost all of the anticipated 395 bottles of the gin had been sold, with each handmade bag prepared and ready to be shipped out just in time for the holidays. With no actual product to sell, Ginial suffered a loss of approximately $38,173.68 and still never located its gin. According to reports, police stopped the investigation only one month later due to a “lack of any new information.”

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