Broken Barrel Ages Rye in Coffee Liqueur Barrels to Make ‘A Great Kentucky Whiskey Taste Even Better’
Broken Barrel released its new Black Hjerte Rye Whiskey, finished in black coffee liqueur bottles. (Photo: Broken Barrel)
On Wednesday, Broken Barrel Whiskey announced its latest release as part of a collaboration with Laurel Canyon Spirits — a rye whiskey named Black Hjerte.
Black Hjerte features blended rye whiskey and a Kentucky-distilled light whiskey finished in a combination of 66% Black Hjerte Coffee Liqueur and 33% Blood Orange Coffee Liqueur staves from Laurel Canyon Spirits.
With a mashbill of 51% corn, 48% rye and <1% malted barley, Black Hjerte is bottled at 107 proof and hosts a suggested retail price of $99.
Broken Barrel Black Hjerte is described by the brand as possessing aromas of roasted coffee, vanilla buttercream and charred oak. On the palate, the whiskey’s flavors conjure up images of citrus zest, caramelized sugar and bitter coffee in the mind’s eye. Black Hjerte finishes with a lingering warming citrus sweetness from the Blood Orange Coffee Liqueur staves.
“When I discovered Laurel Canyon Spirits’ Coffee Liqueurs and learned of these two distinct coffee liqueur barrels, I knew a collaboration was in order,” Broken Barrel founder Seth Benhaim said in a news release from the brand. “Oak accounts for over 80% of a whiskey’s flavor so why not expose whiskey to various types of wood and create even more complex layers of flavor? Our innovative finishing process makes a great Kentucky whiskey taste even better.”
The whiskey can be purchased in specialized retail stores throughout California and at Broken Barrel’s gift shop, which is loacted at 2332 East 8th Street in Downtown Los Angeles.
About Broken Barrel and Laurel Canyon Spirits — 2 L.A.-based Craft Spirits Brands
Broken Barrel was founded by Benhaim in 2017. Benhaim felt there was a missed opportunity within the traditional finishing process and believed that broken barrels could impart distinctive flavors to a whiskey and offer a variety of flavors due to alternating staves that traditional barrels could not.
He additionally gravitated to blended whiskeys with the belief that blended whiskeys may be more receptive to alternating stave finishing, according to the brand. Benhaim claims he has purchased whiskey barrels from over a dozen countries and has finished whiskeys in a variety of casks including Barbadian rum, Cognac, Maple, Mizunara, Amontillado and more.
Laurel Canyon Spirits is also a Los Angeles-based brand helmed by Bryan and Dayna Turcotte, two music industry veterans. The duo began making French press coffee liqueur in their kitchen, and the spirit grew in popularity. Laurel Canyon Spirits makes a corn-based vodka as well. The craft spirits brand describes its Blood Orange Barrel-aged Black Hjerte as “Christmas in a bottle.”
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