The Whiskey Brand Behind Starbucks Reserve's Barrel-Aged Coffee

If you've ever visited a Starbucks Reserve location (there are nine worldwide, six of which are roasteries), then you know that you won't find many of the company's best-known beverages on the menu. There's no "venti PSL" at a Roastery — but there is a Hot Honey Affogato and Toffeenut Bianco Latte. Starbucks' Reserve Roasteries are playgrounds for the coffee giant to test and sell quality-crafted espresso and coffee bean creations, and they're home to a myriad of different inventions. At the three New York City locations, Starbucks carries such complex coffee beans as Sun-Dried Brazil Fazenda Recanto with rose and lavender, and Rwanda Sholi Kundwa with chamomile and ginger. Among this spread is Starbucks Reserve Knob Creek Bourbon Barrel-Aged Guatemala coffee with chocolate and fruit notes — and there's more to this particular roast than meets the eye (or, perhaps, the taste buds).

Starbucks Reserve crafted its barrel-aged Guatemalan coffee in collaboration with whiskey giant Knob Creek. According to the Starbucks Reserve website, the batch comes from "an extraordinary lot of Guatemalan beans, tended carefully throughout the aging process in Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels." Longstanding coffee tradition meets the expertise of the longstanding Kentucky distillery for, as Starbucks describes it, a coffee with "mellow sweetness, notes of chocolate, hints of stone fruit and an aura of rich oak." For maximum preservation of those nuanced, crafted flavor notes, this barrel-aged coffee should be prepared in a pour-over or French press, or even turned into a luxurious batch of cold brew.

Barrel-aging is an artisanal way to impart flavor into a coffee without using viscous sugary syrups or artificial flavorings, totally alcohol-free. It's a trend that's been taking the coffee industry by storm in recent years, inspiring the emergence of brands like Regent Coffee and Bourbon Coffee Co. Good Folks Coffee in Louisville, Kentucky even makes a custom Pappy & Company coffee blend aged in luxury Pappy Van Winkle bourbon casks.

In the barrel-aging process, green, unroasted coffee beans are placed into a barrel that had previously used to age liquor (in this case, Knob Creek bourbon whiskey), then left to absorb the aromas and flavors. After a non-specified length of time, those bourbon-note-logged beans are roasted and brewed to make a knockout cup of joe. Expert manipulation of the aging time controls the aroma strength. Judging by Knob Creek's proprietary Kentucky Straight offering, those coffee beans are likely earthy, nutty, oaky, vanilla-forward, spiced, and slightly sweet.

Multiple fans took to the internet to share their thoughts on the brew, and mentioned that Starbucks Reserve Roasteries and stores serve the Knob Creek barrel-aged coffee sweetened with vanilla syrup. This addition, as one fan on Reddit proposed, helps to temper the bittersweet tartness of the dark cherry notes, adding a mellow balance. If you're feeling like a loose cannon, you could even add a splash of Knob Creek bourbon into a cup of black drip coffee brewed with the Starbucks Guatemala specialty beans.