4 Unique Flavor-Packed Barrel Aged Coffees from Clout Coffee

Trending more in the coffee world is barrel aged coffee.

 

Barrel aged coffee is basically exactly like it sounds: green coffee beans (aka beans that haven’t been roasted yet) are placed in an aged barrel that was previously used for liquor or wine. 

 

The beans are then rolled in the barrel to soak up their flavor. After that rolling process, the green beans are roasted as per typical coffee roasting practices.

 

There is actually no alcohol in barrel aged coffee because it is burned in the roasting process, so just the flavor and smell from the barrel are what is left on the roasted coffee beans. 

 

The most popular I’ve seen is bourbon or whiskey barrel aged coffee. And, my first sampling of barrel aged coffee was from Oak & Bond earlier this year (which I quite enjoyed!).

 

Since then, I’ve discovered a number of barrel aged coffees that have piqued my interest. 

 

But when I came across Clout Coffee, out of Nebraska, I knew I had found a special barrel aged coffee roaster.

 

“Coffee is a universal experience; it’s a drink we enjoy with family and friends as well as in our lone moments as we get our days started.” – Clout Coffee, About Page

 

Founded in 2018 by Carole Sprunk, Clout Coffee is a women-owned small business that specializes in barrel aged coffee. 

 

Unlike Oak & Bond who offer up a wide selection of single origins and blends in addition to barrel aged coffee, Clout Coffee almost exclusively makes barrel aged coffee. 

 

They have one non-barrel aged coffee blend, a Single Origin Columbian, which is honestly just the “base” beans they use to make their barrel aged coffee. 

 

So Clout Coffee is very unique in its specific focus and passion for barrel aged coffee.

 

There are currently four flavor-packed barrel aged coffees available. 

 

And, I made sure to try all of them! 

 

I purchased the Variety Sampler pack, the Bourbon Barrel Aged Clout Pods, and some Clout Caramels.

 

Sampler packs are always my favorite and this one was perfect as I was able to make multiple pots of coffee from each 4oz sampler bag. 

 

Another fun aspect of Clout Coffee is you select not just your grind (whole bean or ground), but also your roast type: Light, Dark, and Espresso!

 

I’ve never seen that with another coffee company before and it offers a chance to customize your coffee even more to your liking depending on your drinking preference. 

 

For my sampler pack, I went with the whole bean in a light roast simply because I prefer those over dark roasts and I don’t make much espresso. 

 

 

 

 

My favorite of the four barrel aged coffees was the Rum Barrel Aged.

 

It offered a sweet rum-like finish with notes of caramel, dark cocoa, and vanilla flavors. 

 

I enjoyed the flavor profile and I liked that it wasn’t too strong of a rum smell or taste. It was the perfect blend. 

 

The Bourbon Whiskey and Single Malt Whiskey were also enjoyable and I think any whiskey lover would enjoy these two especially. 

 

The Bourbon Whiskey had a strong bourbon smell, especially while brewing, and notes of vanilla and dark chocolate in addition to bourbon. 

 

The Single Malt Whiskey was more of an earthy flavor profile and was less rich than the Bourbon Whiskey. 

 

For me, if I was deciding between those two, I’d probably go for the Single Malt Whiskey just because it was less powerful of a whiskey flavor.

 

The last of the barrel aged coffees from Clout is the Rye Whiskey, which was my least favorite. 

 

This is probably because I don’t really enjoy Rye Whiskey in general so it’s nothing against the coffee; rye whiskey just isn’t my late-night drink of choice. 

 

Tasting notes on the Rye Whiskey Coffee include vanilla, rich oak, and subtle almond flavors with a rye finish. 

 

The Rye Whiskey wouldn’t stop me from trying the sampler pack if I was new to Clout, but I wouldn’t go back for it having tried it once. Just wasn’t for me. 

 

The Rum Barrel Aged Coffee is totally where it’s at!

 

I also couldn’t resist trying the Bourbon Barrel Aged Clout Pods and the Clout Caramels. 

 

 

The caramels were freaking delicious! 

 

So good in fact, my husband said one day, “What happened to those coffee caramels you ordered?” 

 

Apparently, I ate the entire bag of caramels before he could even try one. 

 

Whoops! 🙂 

 

The caramels are made with the Bourbon Barrel Aged Clout Coffee and Brickway Bourbon and produced by The Perennial Homestead exclusively for Clout Coffee. 

 

They were soft and tasty with clear notes of coffee and bourbon. Such a fun coffee-related treat I’ve never tried before.

 

The Bourbon Barrel Aged Clout Pods were good as well, but they really pack a punch in the bourbon flavor!

 

The smell while brewing the pods was quite strong and actually overpowering for my liking, but I really enjoyed the strong flavor of the coffee itself. 

 

Because of the strength of this coffee, I think it pairs perfectly with milk. 

 

Milk often compliments coffee due to the fact that it acts like a subtle sweetener and can actually take away some of the bitterness (which is even more common in a dark roast).

I also tried the Bourbon Barrel Aged Pod over ice for an iced coffee which turned out really tasty too (I filled my cup with ice, brewed per usual just in a tall glass over ice, and then added a splash of milk). 

 

Quietly honestly they are some of the best coffee pods I’ve had and I love the versatility they offer for brewing preferences.

 

They also worked great in my Keurig K-Supreme.

 

Clout Coffee is truly unique in its craft and clearly good at what they do. 

 

I hope you check out their sampler pack specifically as it gives you the chance to sample all four barrel aged coffees. 

 

It would also make a great gift idea for any coffee or bourbon/whiskey lover! Clout Coffee also ships internationally too.

 

And I want to know, have you ever tried barrel aged coffee before? Tell me about it in the comments!