There was a time when distillers, brewers, and other drinks makers either had one great-tasting flagship product to capture their audience—or they had no audience at all. In today’s increasingly crowded market, however, keeping drinkers satisfied and attracting new ones with a single product—even if it’s a great one—has become increasingly challenging.
Craft brewers have sustained interest through the likes of barrel-aged imperial stouts and mango or guava sours. In whiskey, meanwhile, cask finishes have proven to be the most practical way to engage consumers.
While sherry casks remain by far the most popular choice, distillers have increasingly experimented with alternatives such as brandy, rum, and even sweet-wine barrels—yet liqueur barrels remain one of the least-explored frontiers for cask finishing.