Modern World – Eversbusch Fasslagerung

On to the next, “new” Eversbusch Doppel-Wachholder. As mentioned in the article on the coffee infused juniper spirit, Peter Eversbusch is always experimenting with new products. This time he aged his Doppel-Wachholder in a mulberry wood barrel for five months. For a cocktail I combined the Eversbusch with a barrel aged herbal liqueur. Let us see how the luxurious Chartreuse V.E.P. and the juniper spirit got along!

The base for the Eversbusch Doppel-Wachholder Fasslagerung forms the regular combination of juniper from Tuscany and high-quality grain spirit. After distillation, the Doppel-Wachholder spends five months in a new 225 l mulberry wood barrel. Finally, it is bottled in a clear glass bottle at an ABV of 60 % ABV. There only is a limited number of bottles each year. Peter was kind enough to provide me with a 2020 vintage bottle which has already sold out.

Barrel notes and resinous juniper

First, let me tell you that, despite the barrel ageing, the Eversbusch Doppel-Wachholder Fasslagerung is powerful. You get the familiar resinous juniper note of the Eversbusch’s Doppel-Wacholders. However, on top of that there lies a distinct spiciness from the barrel. On top of that, it reminds me of new oak, but at the same time is different from oak barrels. Despite the cask flavours, the juniper spirit reminds me of the Eversbusch “66” juniper spirit.

Basically an Old-Fashioned

Well, the initial idea was to mix up an Old-Fashioned style cocktail with the “Fasslagerung”. Yet, I also wanted to incorporate the Chartreuse V.E.P. I finally got my hands on. In the end, the drink more resembles a weird Old-Fashioned / Sazerac crossover. For the bitters I used a combination of Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal and Bittermen’s Krupnik Bitters.

The “Modern World” cocktail really needs a fair share of dilution. Therefore, I used a Double Old-Fashioned glass filled to the rim with cracked ice. The maple-syrup really works perfectly with the aged Doppel-Wacholder. Apart from that, the combination of the two Chartreuse products adds a herbal complexity and depth. Furthermore, the bitters should only linger on in the back. In the end, the resinous notes dominate the drink, but at the same time the drink is very balanced. Well, I guess this makes up for my first try where the ice ball destroyed one of my hand-made glasses…

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The Doppelwachholder was provided by Eversbusch.