Hey Randy Here is another aging tip After putting chips or sticks in heat spirit to 165 via microwave then let cool to room temp Place in freezer 24 hours Take out and pop lid let warm to room temp Put lid back on and put in freezer again 24 hours Do this 3 x’s or till you get what you like:) I believe The idea of popping lid is introducing air to simulate the barrels swelling and retracting
This is always fun, nice work 👍 Don't worry about getting the oak out too quickly, longer is better. It ages so much better with oak. Distillerys leave things barrelled for years 😉
YESSS...been waiting for this for a long time. Chips light one handful per quart, sit for 2 weeks, coffee filter, then age for 6 months. Gets my vote. Let's hear from others on quantity, curing and aging times. Thanks again Randy. PS: No surprise, it's the aging that makes all the difference. Go easy folks. It's impossible to get rid of burnt taste.
Great experiment. I have been trying something similar following Bearded and Board and letting some of my spirits sit on wood for months at a time and letting it go through its various phases of aging and flavoring. Its all very interesting and takes a lot of patience. Enjoyed the video.
Beaver beat me to it. Aging your product on wood with High ABV works better than aging on low ABV. The higher the ABV the more volatile it is when it comes to Hot and Cold temp swings. That's why you see a lot of Bourbon & Whiskey manufacturers age at 70% to 80% ABV. Each distillery/product will be different. But the biggest benefit to aging at High ABV it saves on Barrel warehouse space. That way when it comes to tasting/bottling they can proof it down with water. Cheers Randy!
Great vid Randy. As one who has spent a lot of time with this I would say if you are looking for months in gal jugs go med staves or cubes and let them do their thing. Don't over do it. Chips can over oak really fast. The staves take a bit longer but make a better end product over time.
I found bbq chips made of old whiskey barrel. There not full toast or char so I raze the white part a bit with a torch. I try different levels they all work. I like the final product myself.
after you have the art of distilling down there's not a whole lot of things to do. I've done nuke aging.. heat it up in the microwave and cooling in the freezer. toast and chard. i ran 5gal. of corn and 6row couple of days ago so the fun starts.
Hi there love this hobby. I was wondering what’s your oldest personal Bourbon? And how much wood you you put in a quart for long term storage? Thanks for your time. I like to put some back every run and store it in the basement.
Check your butcher 👍 My butcher sells bags of used barrel squares for smoking meats, they're about 3" squares and perfectly fine to use for oak aging etc. Far cheaper than the stuff brew shops sell plus I can size it how I like.
