Blues mixologist Ryan Minnick pioneers barrel-aged cocktails

Ryan Minnick, master mixologist, has been quietly pioneering a new barrel-aging program at Bethany Blues in Lewes.

Now that he is on a roll, Bethany Blues invites the public to learn about this program that allows customers to experience the full breadth of a cocktail in a reduced medium.

“No one else is doing this, and it’s something I started as a sort of hobby, but I am literally over here cooking up cocktails,” said Minnick. This is true innovation that cashes in on his creativity and marries it with his mixology skillset.

Minnick was given several 10L barrels from Sagamore Spirit Distilling Company, which each hold 12 bottles of spirits. He has been using them to age ingredients with bourbon and rye whiskey that pack a cocktail punch in just one sip. He takes the idea of a cocktail, like a Blackberry Smoked Jalapeño Sazerac, which originated in New Orleans, and peels it back to single out the components.

He takes the ingredients, like blackberries and jalapeños, smokes them, and adds them to the barrels along with the liquor, then ages them, generally about three to six months. This infuses the flavors of the additives into the liquor itself. He said, “The longer they sit, the stronger they taste. And this entire process makes the flavors more defined and clear – or basically all flavor, no fruit.”

Finally, he fine-strains the solids out with cheesecloth, and serves the infusion either on a single rock or up, as a cocktail. His process of deconstruction and reclamation of flavor condenses an entire cocktail into a single pour.

Minnick has a variety of barrel-aged cocktails brewing, and plans to expand his unique program, rotating the cocktails and coming up with new ones seasonally.