When John Abbott Young and HK Wallace decided to start Abbott and Wallace Distilling in 2017, the last thing they planned on crafting was gin.
“We always intended on being a whiskey and rum distillery,” Young noted. “My mother loved rum and Wallace’s father loved scotch. We were planning on making them in their honor.”
But, in April of 2023, Abbott and Wallace’s Dutch style “Genever” Alpine Gin took home a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a quintessential tasting competition for U.S. distilleries. Built upon their already award-winning gin, the Barrel Aged Gin proves that the duo may have a knack for the juniper-based spirit.
What makes the Barrel Aged Gin special? What puts it into the realm of gold medals and high honors? The reflection of the land it came from. The notes of both Colorado and Longmont.
Genever, the style of gin within the bottle, is a blend of both whiskey and gin. It’s a whiskey base with gin botanicals, representing both distilling programs at Abbott and Wallace. But it’s the representation of the area it was born in that brings about its unique qualities.
The drink is a wheat base. All of the wheat used is grown in Longmont at Schlagel Farms. The team adds in Juniper, which is foraged in Longmont. Then, the spirit is barrel-aged in real American oak barrels once used for whiskey at the distillery.
Young stated that the company is honored and excited to represent the area through their work, saying, “There’s a lot of great products coming out of Colorado, but we have some of the best right here in Longmont. We’re proud to be a part of that.”
Talk is talk, though. To truly understand the level of intricacy and expertise put within each bottle, you have to taste it for yourself.
“It’s a matchup of whiskey and gin,” Young described. “It brings the best of both worlds to the fold. You get the nice, solid whiskey base, but also the gin botanicals that pop in a cocktail. When you put this in a drink, you’re going to experience a whole other level of flavor.”
The Barrel Aged Gin can be purchased in bottles or used in cocktails at Abbott and Wallace
