How We Make Bourbon Barrel-Aged Coffee at Regent

Some coffee is discovered. Some is created.

A coffee’s origin gives us a starting point: its variety, growing conditions, processing, and the work of the people who produced it. At Regent Coffee, we’re also interested in what happens next.

Our barrel-aged coffee begins with green, unroasted beans. Before roasting, we age them in bourbon-seasoned American oak barrels. Then we roast the coffee in-house in Glendale, California.

It’s one more layer in the way we build a cup: source, post-process, roast, and brew.

What Is Barrel-Aged Coffee?

Barrel-aged coffee is coffee that spends time in a wooden barrel before roasting. At Regent, we use this stage to explore how the coffee’s existing character interacts with oak and bourbon aromatics.

The coffee itself still matters. A naturally processed Ethiopian coffee brings a different starting point from a washed Ethiopian coffee or a darker-roasted Mexican coffee. We want those differences to remain part of the finished cup.

That’s why our barrel-aged collection includes several coffees, rather than one flavor repeated across different origins.

Why We Age Green Coffee

We barrel-age the beans while they’re still green.

During this stage, we rotate and monitor the coffee as its aroma develops. The aging period gives the green beans time to take on character from the barrel before they move into the roaster.

We pay attention to the relationship between the coffee and the wood. Oak and bourbon aromatics should contribute to the coffee without making its original character disappear.

Time is part of the process, but it isn’t the only decision. Choosing the coffee, monitoring its development, and deciding when to roast all shape the result.

Take a closer look at our barrel-aging process →

Roasting Comes Next

Barrel aging is one step in the process. Roasting gives us another way to shape the final cup.

We roast our barrel-aged coffees in-house, considering both the character of the original coffee and what has developed during aging.

Across the collection, you’ll find different expressions: berry and floral notes in Ethiopia Natural, cleaner florals with subtle bourbon character in Ethiopia Washed, and a fuller, darker profile in Mexico Chiapas.

Our barrel-aged espresso blend explores another direction, with black cherry, cacao, vanilla, and oak notes.

Explore Regent’s barrel-aged coffee beans →

Does Bourbon Barrel-Aged Coffee Contain Alcohol?

Our barrel-aged coffees are non-alcoholic.

We don’t add bourbon to your brewed coffee. The whiskey-like character comes from aging green coffee in bourbon-seasoned oak barrels before roasting.

Vanilla, oak, and bourbon-like aromas describe the sensory experience. They don’t mean that spirits have been poured into the finished drink.

From Barrel-Aged Beans to the Bottle

You can brew our barrel-aged beans at home, or explore the same approach through our bottled cold brew concentrate.

For the Bottle, we carry the process further: aging the green coffee, roasting it, brewing it, and bottling the concentrate in-house.

The coffee used in the Bottle rotates. Each batch brings a different combination of coffee character and barrel influence, so the current batch is listed on the product page.

Serve it over ice, dilute it with water or milk, or use it as the starting point for a coffee highball.

Explore the current Bottle batch →

A Different Way to Explore Coffee

Barrel aging gives us another question to work with: what can this coffee become?

We start with the work already present in the green bean. Then we make deliberate choices about aging, roasting, and brewing.

The finished cup carries those decisions with it.

Some coffee is discovered. Some is created.