Great point about allowing a small amount of leakage so not to water down the bourbon. I watched many videos about barrelling at home and yours was one of the most helpful. Well done.
Help me please!!! I have a question i have a 1 liter barrel with a spigot. If i turn the spigot nothing comes out, unless i remove the cork in the bung. Then the liquor flows from the spigot. Is that how it is supposed to be?
Hi Zack, Your barrel is working correctly. Liquid flowing out of the barrel needs to be replaced by air. Otherwise a vacuum will form in the barrel. When the power of the vacuum equals the weight of the liquid in the barrel, nothing will flow. You’ll need to keep the cork loose or remove it when tapping liquid from your barrel. Cheers! Jeff
Bro u soak barrel in ur achoal aka get a towel wrap round it keep 2 cups keep pouring on wood outside towel let it breath but also keep it moist and catches leak but use achoal on out side just lil bit on towel when towel dry add more and humidifier good to round barrels just turn on once in a while not all day
Hey, guys, thanks for making these videos. Really fun and helpful! So, I recently got a small barrel and, following the instructions, I filled it up with water. (Facepalm) it’s been about five days with water in it. Should I just dump the water and fill it up with some cheap bourbon just to get the water out of the wood so future barrel aged old fashioneds don’t get watered down? Thanks!!
Hey! Thanks for your kind comments. No worries whatsoever about having filled the barrel with water. Just drain it out and add your booze. You’ll have no problem at all. Enjoy! Cheers! Jeff
i have been trying to find answers to a couple questions. I plan to get into making mead next year and want to age it for a year in oak barrels. after it is aged, would i then be able to drink it by the glass strait from the barrel until it is empty, or would i be required to bottle before drinking? in total, i will likely be rotating 5 of the 20L barrels, and it would take a respectably long time to empty one of those barrels once i start drinking from it. the reason i want to do it this way is because of simplicity. put the active barrel on the counter and drink as i wish. bottles leave a ton of mess, capping. just a lot of little hassles I would rather not deal with. plus, it would be pretty awesome to roll up to a party with a barrel of mead.
Murray Kitson I love the idea, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much help to you. Though we love throwing cocktails into our barrels, we have no experience with fermenting in them. Sorry. !! Good luck! Jeff
i wasnt going to do the fermentation proccess in a barrel. i intended to use a carboy, and then when everything is done in there, racked once, then transfer it to the barrel for ageing. clean up my supplies and start a new carboy. what i was wanting to know was if i would run into issues of mold or something growing inside the barrel as i start drinking from it. i imagine a 20L barrel would take me a couple months to finish, so would i have bacteria growth in there before i am done?
Murray Kitson Got it! You'll probably be just fine. I would use the Citric Acid rinse between fills just to be safe. The lowest proof cocktail we've thrown into a barrel was 16.5% ABV. I'm guessing your mead will be 11 or 12. ?? For your first runs, I would develop some sort of quality control where you hold the glass up to a light. If there is mold that forms, it will be clumped into tiny spirals in your glass. The dryer your mead (the lower the brix) the better you'll be, as well. The bottom line: though I can't be certain, I'm feeling you'll be good so long as you are fastidious about cleanliness. Let me know how things go. Good Luck & Cheers! Jeff
When you’re ageing a cocktail in oak, do you have to use enough to fill the whole barrel? I’ve a 3 litre barrel but I don’t have enough spare cash to make three litres of negroni
Awesome video, you guys explain this stuff so well! How full do the barrels need to be? Also if I have a recipe that calls for black tea and orange juice would I add it in afterwards or during the aging process?
James Hunt Hey James, You don’t need to fill your barrel completely, but it should be around 1/4 full at the minimum. Tea is fine in the barrel, but it needs to be brewed outside the barrel, obviously. (No tea leaves in the barrel). Citrus is very problematic in a barrel, so just add the fresh OJ into your glass as you’re tapping off the aged component from your barrel. Thanks for your kind words and good luck! Cheers! Jeff
@@cocktaildudes thank you so much! I am attempting to barrel and age the alcohol for a Savannah GA New Years standard called Artillery Punch. I have heard that it is advised to use a high proof alcohol (100 proof or more) in the aging process. Is this necessary or just advised by some?
@@nicola3540 Hi Nicola, So long as you have alcohol in your barrel the citrus will not spoil. The problem arises when the pulp settles and clumps together in a mass and clogs the tiny tap. This can be remedied by a good shake of the barrel and a wire or a tiny wire brush (a bottle brush). The aging pulp will turn a grayish-brown color. Not unappetizing, but not fresh-looking. The taste is fine. You can strain your juice through a fine mesh sieve before adding it to your barrel, but unless you clarify your citrus, pulp bits will get through and glom together. Cheers! Jeff
Hey Justin, As you know, most wood dust, chunks, & splinters find their way into the barrel when the Fill Hole and the Tap Hole are drilled into the constructed barrel. We've found that the best way to get rid of these is by rinsing the barrel well with water (in & out of the Fill Hole) before the initial fill. If you've already put your cocktail in the barrel, I'd strain the output through a fine mesh sieve as you tap it so as to remove the dust. Cheers! Jeff
Hey Skeets, The barrel will impart an amber color to your Everclear. Depending on the proof of the Everclear you choose, it will leach flavor from the barrel (the higher the proof, the more effective it will be. You should expect a subtle flavor of char alongside notes of woodsy vanilla. It won't be a flavored vodka like you'd buy off of the shelf, just subtle notes. Of course, the longer it stays in the barrel, the deeper the color and the flavoring will be. Cheers!
+mlm7298 Dear mlm7298, We have no experience with aging wine in charred barrels. Sorry. As an avid wine consumer, however, I know that the lighter the char, the more the oaky and tannin notes are transferred from the barrel to the wine. Some of the greatest Burgundies use heavily toasted barrels, but I wonder if a heavily toasted small barrel might give your wine a roasted or charcoal taste. The barrels we use are "medium-toasted." If you're making a red wine, my guess is that you will have more luck using a medium-toasted barrel that if you're making a white wine...??? I say give it a try! We pay about $40 for our 3-liter barrels. Maybe get that or a 1-liter trial-sized barrel and test a portion of your batch. Regardless, let us know how things turn out! Good Luck & Cheers! Jeff
javier villagrana Hey Javier, You certainly can top off your barrel when it's half empty. In fact, our Negroni barrel has never been empty as we throw in more booze all the time. I think it adds, subtly, to the complexity of the cocktail. Cheers! Jeff
Hey Javier, You certainly can top off your barrel when it's half empty. In fact, our Negroni barrel has never been empty as we throw in more booze all the time. I think it adds, subtly, to the complexity of the cocktail. Cheers! Jeff
Yes do this it's called a solera whiskey company glenfiddich do a 15 year solera they empty half the barrel to sell then refill and wait another 15 year and repeat process
A few years, yeah. Not 10, as the liquid inside will slowly evaporate through the wood. Barrels we fill 1/2-full with water and store in the closet while not in use will be mostly dry after 3 years. Cheers! Jeff
@@cocktaildudes That’s why I was thinking such a high proof alcohol just like the distilleries they even cut it with water when they’re done because it’s still too high of a proof
Hey Daniel, We have gone on to reuse some of our dried-out and long-forgotten empty barrels and though some of them leaked copiously at their seams, they all expanded and tightened up and became water-tight within a week. If your leak is coming from around the tap, smack it with a hammer. If the tap itself is dripping, you need a new tap as those do fail. If your leak is coming from the seam at the end of the barrel or a gap between the staves, then I would have the barrel company send you a new barrel. The wood on a 3-liter barrel is not super thick and it should definitely be well plumped with water after 10 days. I’m sorry for your frustrations, and good luck! Cheers! Jeff
@@cocktaildudes lastly could I just sit the barrel upright to save the liquor while waiting for another one or does it have to be horizontal while aging?
Hey Daniel, So here is what I’d do. I know you’re anxious to get started, but I would put the barrel in your kitchen sink and let it drip for another week. Keep it filled with water and it will eventually stop. It always does. (If the barrel is constructed properly). I have no experience with waxing a barrel, but it should work. And tipping the barrel on its end will keep your countertop dry, but may not solve the underlying issue. So, I would give it another week. If it is still dripping, then I’d try the wax or a food-grade sealant on the outside of the barrel. Or tip it on its butt end. Keep me posted! And hang in there!! Jeff
