Crossbill Barrel Aged Gin

I guess you could say that it’s been creeping up on me for sometime now – but I’ve perhaps been skilfully dodging the issue…

It was a slow descent at first, and nothing more than a distant murmur; occasional nudges and jibes, without a realistic due date to be concerned by. Then came the ever increasing number of blissfully blank and unaware faces I’d receive in response to the drop of a whimsical and well timed ‘Friends’ line (because, let’s be clear, there is always a quote from ‘Friends’ to match every situation that life has to throw at you.) It then started to dawn on me that footballers, who had once been celebrated as the ‘bright young lights of their generation’, were now sat in brightly lit studios wearing ill fitting suits and reminiscing on how the game has long since changed from ‘their days’. I’ve even started making involuntary noises when I stand up from a seated position – to the point that I daren’t even attempt to slump in to a beanbag chair now.

Yep, it seems that no matter how much I try to avoid it, it’s coming for me. Where I used to bob & weave the situation like Mohamed Ali, I’m now on the ropes and about to get hit square in the jaw like the much deserving Jake Paul. 

I’m going to be 40. 

Yikes. There. I said it. My ability to cling on to my 30’s, like the Ricky Gervais portrayal of David Brent in ‘The Office’, will be no more. I recently overheard a discussion between some co-workers, ranging from their late 20’s to their very early 30’s, discussing their own dissatisfaction at aging & indicating that their recent penchant for Garden Centres and cafes was a sign that their youth was passing them by. Well, if that’s the case, then I’m afraid that my youth has clearly moved on so far from me that it is by now somewhere abroad, having likely adopted a fake local accent, a taste for cigars & has grown a moustache (a skill that I’m still unable to hone). I’m not even sure he’d recognise me anymore…

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t open this blog begrudging my impending birthday. Firstly, I’m a glutton for the spotlight – and so having a number of days dedicated to celebrating my ability to continue breathing in and out for the last 40 years is actually something I welcome. Some may say it is long overdue… I’m also acutely aware that I am still lucky enough to not quite look (or act) my age just yet! It wasn’t so many months ago that I was ID’d buying alcohol from the supermarket, and in recent years even accosted when attempting to buy a lottery ticket! Call it ‘boyish good looks’ (thanks mom) or just being ‘a jammy git’ (thanks dad), there’s hopefully still a few miles left in the old (well… ‘aging gracefully’) tank *yet! 

*Let the record show that, as of January 2026, I still posses a thick head of hair & very few greys (despite what my wife says, when the sunlight catches me slightly unkindly). Should I awake one morning with a look more akin to getting caught in the first snow of the season, I reserve the right to revisit and edit this piece accordingly.

So before this introduction starts to be misconstrued as wallowing in self pity, or the juxtaposition of gloating over a Benjamin Button-esq aesthetic that defies the number on the birthday badge, let’s move on to the subject of this review; Crossbill Barrel Aged Gin.

But will this be a case of aging like a fine wine (or…well, gin really)? Or will there be a few wrinkles that suggest it can’t keep up with its younger siblings? See what I’ve done there?… let’s get in to it shall we. 

Crossbill; Aging gracefully 

As I wrote in my 2022 review for the Crossbill 200 Gin, I was first acquainted with Crossbill as a brand at the Junipalooza Festival in 2021. It was there that I introduced the Scottish outfit in a little more detail;

“So named after the Scottish Crossbill, a member of the Finch family that nests in the greenery surrounding the teams juniper crop, Crossbill Distillery create gins that are a celebration of the nature and beauty of the Scottish highlands. And with its unusual shaped ‘crossed’ beak, and being part of a declining population of only around 2000 birds, the brands ‘poster boy’ (poster bird?) is as special and unique as the liquids contained inside the bottle.”

The Crossbill 200 retains a special place in my heart, and on my gin shelf, making a sparing appearance on only the very most special of occasions.

So then you can perhaps understand my giddy excitement when opening last years Birthday gift from my wife, when the torn back wrapping paper revealed the iconic Crossbill logo…only this time in front of a liquid carrying a satisfying golden hue. 

Released in EXTREMELY small batches, the Crossbill Cask Aged Gin is carefully distilled and matured in a second-fill red wine cask, featuring the same harmonious blend of handpicked botanicals as seen in their flagship offering – but goes on to harness notes of sea buckthorn berries, honey and Christmas spicing. 

As I said back in 2022, the Crossbill gins always carry “an impressively heavy hitting juniper forward profile and confident swagger that is difficult not to fall in love with. With the magical ability to transport the drinker to the landscapes of its origin…”. Factoring in the stripped back ethos of ‘quality over quantity’, in both the number of botanicals used & the size of batches produced, I was sure I was about to decant something rather special.

Crossbill Barrel Aged Gin to taste

Robust and powerful juniper effortlessly roundhouse kicks you in the nose when you approach the glass; ‘we’re in for a treat here’, I thought. There’s a gorgeous aroma of vanilla and deep caramels, with notes of sticky brown sugar and cinder toffee. A silky smooth sweetness is carried on the vapours, with a sense of the classics still retained in familiar characteristics of sweet citrus and a hint of herbaceousness. 

Juniper is the first botanical that hits the palate, hardly surprising given the reputation that precedes the liquid, with a depth of flavour unveiling complex notes of smoked juniper.

There’s a drying quality to the mouthfeel and an exquisite longevity to the finish. There’s a rye and peaty feel to the gin, with whiskey-esq qualities lingering on the tongue and back of the throat long after each sip.

There’s something brandy like about the sharpness on the front & centre of the tongue. Suggestions of spiced boozy raisins and currants are conjured, reminiscent of stirring a Christmas cake batter. A white pepper heat to the back notes rounds the whole drinking experience off nicely.

With the depth of flavour and complexity brought to the equation by the aging process, it is hardly surprising that this gin sits neigh on perfectly in a Negroni.

The sharpness of the citrus, combined with large plumes of smokey juniper and caramelised Christmas cake spicing, sits as the perfect bed mate to the sweet cherry notes of the Cocchi vermouth and swift uppercut of the Sacred Rosehip Cup Bitters. This is a short serve classic for the purists – superb.

Remember; Age isn’t just a number

They say that ‘age is just a number’. And whilst I appreciate the sentiment, and may well lean HEAVILY in to this in the months about to come, I would like to make a case to challenge this slightly.

You see, with age comes time and a maturing process that plays very much to the old adage of ‘aging like a fine wine’ (note that this does not apply to milk, yoghurt or Donald Trumps tenure as president of the USA…). 

My hope is that as I continue to turn the pages of the calendar, much like the Crossbill Barrel Aged Gin, that I too will be seen as having benefited from the maturity and growth that the years impart – though my sitting in a recycled red wine barrel is very much optional.

All I can do now, as I welcome in ‘the big 4-0’, is raise a glass to you all, knowing that good things come to those who wait. Cheers. 

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