Not to be outdone by competing entries in the mould of Pernot Ricardโs Jameson Cold Brew, Dublin-based distillery Roe & Co has just thrown its hat into the burgeoning world of Irish whiskey crossovers with the new Coffee Stout Cask Finish: an expression of grain spirits that brings together both brewery and distiller, under the auspices of the beverage industry titan, Diageo.
Consisting of blended whisky produced by Roe & Co, which has been aged subsequently in Guinness beer barrels, the Coffee Stout Cask is (for now) an Irish market exclusive โ limited in number and released as part of the distilleryโs wider, thematically driven โCask & Kegโ series. Just one more reason to make tracks for the Emerald Isle then.
For the sake of clarity, Roe & Coโs latest hasnโt been aged in barrels used to brew the proverbial run-of-the-mill black stuff. Rather, itโs Guinnessโ Coffee Stout that is the source of this particular expressionโs character โ said to lean hard on notes of cold drip, with fruit and allspice whispering away in the background.
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The Roe & Co Coffee Stout Cask Finish marks the third time the distillery has partnered with Guinness, having previously worked with its neighbour and corporate sibling on two limited releases built around an IPA and export-style stout respectively.
This time around, the goal, according to Guinness Head Brewer Peter Simpson, was โto deepen the blend between whiskey and stout.โ
โThis yearโs Cask & Keg release is the result of the 11-month finishing of Roe & Coโs blend 106 in barrels previously [used to] mature coffee-infused stout,โ said Simpson.
Priced at under $100, you can imagine itโll be a passable sipper โ though the medley of coffee, fruit and allspice flavours will, conceivably, work even more effectively when used as a baseline in cocktails. Espressotini, anyone?
