MAKING YOUR OWN WHISKEY FROM 1000 OAKS BARREL CO.

[LeoDLion]

My very first 1L, I did not sample until 7 months. I think thats too long. OKDiver1 is on the right track that 2 months maybe a good time. I need some small vials to save the sample so I can compare.

[Deactivated Member]

Okay, tonight the port comes out and the Glen Grant 5yo goes in! Hopefully...

[martin grant]

Okay, tonight the port comes out and the Glen Grant 5yo goes in! Hopefully...

Will all the Glen Grant go in tonight, or do you plan on having a wee sample first. Just to see how it changes with the extra ageing?

Just out of curiousity how much was a bottle of Glen Grant 5yo in Italy? I hear it's a massive brand over there.

[Deactivated Member]

Okay, tonight the port comes out and the Glen Grant 5yo goes in! Hopefully...

Will all the Glen Grant go in tonight, or do you plan on having a wee sample first. Just to see how it changes with the extra ageing?

Just out of curiousity how much was a bottle of Glen Grant 5yo in Italy? I hear it's a massive brand over there.

I've got 2 bottles, so I can fill the cask and have some left to compare with. The bottles are €10 each, which is now around £8 with the worsening exchange rate. It's the standard bottling in pretty much any bar you go into.

[martin grant]

I've got 2 bottles, so I can fill the cask and have some left to compare with. The bottles are €10 each, which is now around £8 with the worsening exchange rate. It's the standard bottling in pretty much any bar you go into.

Cheers Mark.
The Euro is so high just now. I've still got my holidays to look forward, but it sounds like the cost of eating out etc will be a lot more than the last few summers.

Still, I suppose it swings in roundabouts. My good lady heads to New York next week where the Dollar is great for us. I'll be arming her with a wish list for Binnys

[irishwhiskeychaser]

My sherry went in on the 13th of March and is still there. I took out a glass to have a check last month and it did not seem to have changed much. However I'm not a fan of sherry in the first place so I may not have noticed any small differences.

I refilled most of that glass plus about another 50ml I'd say to top up.

I reckon the 1L cask I have actiually takes about 1.2L in total so I'll need to get more whiskey to make sure it is a full keg.

I'll check the sherry another 2 weeks weeks and that will be 2 months than and make a call on it then.

However it is looking good and not too much evaporation

[OKDiver1]

Looking good, there.
Very little evaporation, and a larger barrel than expected .
Did you notice any change in the color of the sherry, if not in the flavor? That's one of the reasons I kept sherry in mine for only 3 weeks. Knowing that these small barrels have a limited life, I did not want too much of the wood + char to go into the sherry, but rather in the whisky later.
What you you going to fill it with?
Please us know as things move forward.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Looking good, there.
Very little evaporation, and a larger barrel than expected .
Did you notice any change in the color of the sherry, if not in the flavor? That's one of the reasons I kept sherry in mine for only 3 weeks. Knowing that these small barrels have a limited life, I did not want too much of the wood + char to go into the sherry, but rather in the whisky later.
What you you going to fill it with?
Please us know as things move forward.

No change in colour so that is why I left it.

My barrel is a plain new barrel and has no charring which is a bit of a worry as it may result in too much oak & vanilla.

I hoping for a good soak of sherry to impart into my plain bourbon barrel cooley. I'm toying with the idea of blending it with Ardbeg almost there as I like the idea of a nicely peated & heavily sherried whisk(e)y

[OKDiver1]

My barrel is a plain new barrel and has no charring which is a bit of a worry as it may result in too much oak & vanilla.

Not even toasted?

[irishwhiskeychaser]

My barrel is a plain new barrel and has no charring which is a bit of a worry as it may result in too much oak & vanilla.

Not even toasted?

Not even sun burnt

I was thinking of trying to char myself but seemed a bit too much trouble

Any ideas on an easy way to toast a pretty much closed mini barrel ???

[OKDiver1]

My barrel is a plain new barrel and has no charring which is a bit of a worry as it may result in too much oak & vanilla.

Not even toasted?

Not even sun burnt

I was thinking of trying to char myself but seemed a bit too much trouble

Any ideas on an easy way to toast a pretty much closed mini barrel ???

When I am done with the next couple of experiments, and having squeezed out the tanins and the sherry, I will try re-charring mine. I will be using one of these lighters with a long tube in front, that are fairly common here to light fireplaces. Far from optimal as you cannot see or control much, especially with the smoke. I am also afraid that re-charring might cause the impregnated wood to burn the sugars and deposits, and possibly create sulphur later. Only time will tell though.
Probably does not help you much, does it?

[OKDiver1]

Maybe the best way is to build a bonfire and stand too close?

You are going to have to stand really close if you want to toast the inside of the barrel. Kind of a terminal experience...

Or you could use it as an ashtray for a couple of years.

[Deactivated Member]

I emptied the port out the cask last night while a friend was round after the pub. He thought the port was delicious (I've no real comparison, but yes it's nice). I filled it with water and left overnight again (just to give it a little rinse) and filled with a bottle and a half of Glent Grant 5yo this morning. The glass in the photo contains some of the water that was put in last night and has gone fairly pink, as you would probably expect.

[LeoDLion]

My barrel is a plain new barrel and has no charring which is a bit of a worry as it may result in too much oak & vanilla.

Not even toasted?

Not even sun burnt

I was thinking of trying to char myself but seemed a bit too much trouble

Any ideas on an easy way to toast a pretty much closed mini barrel ???

The oak barrel manufacturer recommended using a butane burner. I would fit the burner with a long pipe which can be inserted into the bung hole. The spigot must be opened or remove to let hot air out. Just have to work the tip of the burner around the inside of the barrel.

[LeoDLion]

My four 5L oak barrels came last week and they are now filled with water. I am getting ready to fill them up. My plan is to fill one with bourbon whiskey, another with sherry, and a third maybe with tequila. The 4th I will filled with the same bourbon whiskey I used in the first barrel. These are for seasoning the oak barrel only. Eventually I will fill them with SMW.

I will put all of the barrels information in a tabular format and post it here later. So far I have two 1L and six 5L oak barrels. I have been weighing them every week to keep track of evaporation.

[OKDiver1]

So far I have two 1L and six 5L oak barrels. I have been weighing them every week to keep track of evaporation.

No black Suburbans with ATF on the doors and lots of antennas cruising around the neighborhood yet?

[LeoDLion]

So far I have two 1L and six 5L oak barrels. I have been weighing them every week to keep track of evaporation.

No black Suburbans with ATF on the doors and lots of antennas cruising around the neighborhood yet?

Lol, I will be on the look out for them!

Two friends are inviting me to take a trip to Kentucky (or Tenn?) to fetch a bottle of some expensive bourbon whisky. If I go, should I bring a 20L used oak barrel? That should be something isnt it?

[OKDiver1]

So far I have two 1L and six 5L oak barrels. I have been weighing them every week to keep track of evaporation.

No black Suburbans with ATF on the doors and lots of antennas cruising around the neighborhood yet?

Lol, I will be on the look out for them!

Two friends are inviting me to take a trip to Kentucky (or Tenn?) to fetch a bottle of some expensive bourbon whisky. If I go, should I bring a 20L used oak barrel? That should be something isnt it?

Why should the barrel be empty? Make it a full one!
Hey, if you have room for it, and it still can be used later for your experiments, why not?

[LeoDLion]

I need to develop the taste for bourbon whisky first!

[LeoDLion]

Here's a spreadsheet of the barrels I have that are maturing at the moment. I weigh each one every week or so to keep track of evaporation. The weights are in kilograms of the entire oak barrel including the stand.

The evaporation is around 3.3% in #2, 2.1% in #3, and 0.7% in #4.

[OKDiver1]

Here's a spreadsheet of the barrels I have that are maturing at the moment. I weigh each one every week or so to keep track of evaporation. The weights are in kilograms of the entire oak barrel including the stand.

The evaporation is around 3.3% in #2, 2.1% in #3, and 0.7% in #4.

Leo,
Great work!
Strange thing happening for Barrel 1 1L on April 26. Looks like the Angels were feeling guilty.

Taylor Sherry Cream? Nasty stuff. Aging can only improve it. I worry about booze when I can find at at Walgreen's ... Have you tried it?

What's the deal with 2 dead barrels? Get going! You are sitting on empty (pun?) assets. Or maybe you need to raise venture capital for the filling?

[LeoDLion]

Leo,
Great work!
Strange thing happening for Barrel 1 1L on April 26. Looks like the Angels were feeling guilty.

Taylor Sherry Cream? Nasty stuff. Aging can only improve it. I worry about booze when I can find at at Walgreen's ... Have you tried it?

What's the deal with 2 dead barrels? Get going! You are sitting on empty (pun?) assets. Or maybe you need to raise venture capital for the filling?

I picked the cheapest sherry in the store which is Taylor at $8 per 1.7 liters. I tasted a bit and it taste like sherry but I did not like the coloring- looks too violet.

The two empty barrels, I plan to transfer the bourbon and sherry from #5 and #6 after a month. Should I do this or just buy brand new bottles?

#1 barrel is strange. Maybe I did not tare the scale.

[LeoDLion]

Another thing I am thinking about is how to stack the barrels. Normally barrels are stored horizontally. I suppose its easy to open the bung and take samples. And all of the barrel's surface area is use specially when rotated.

But what if they are stack vertically? No need to rotate them. And no need for a bottom support.

What do you'all think?

[OKDiver1]

Another reason why they are stored horizontally is that they can be rolled!

I do not see why you could not stack them vertically. But I would still flip them over from time to time.

[LeoDLion]

Another reason why they are stored horizontally is that they can be rolled!

I do not see why you could not stack them vertically. But I would still flip them over from time to time.

The spigot is in the way. But I think there may be a way. I will experiment later.

[OKDiver1]

Another reason why they are stored horizontally is that they can be rolled!

I do not see why you could not stack them vertically. But I would still flip them over from time to time.

The spigot is in the way. But I think there may be a way. I will experiment later.

Oops. Good point. Maybe 2 at the bottom, and a 3rd one upside down, pyramid-like and rotate like that.

[LeoDLion]

Another reason why they are stored horizontally is that they can be rolled!

I do not see why you could not stack them vertically. But I would still flip them over from time to time.

The spigot is in the way. But I think there may be a way. I will experiment later.

Oops. Good point. Maybe 2 at the bottom, and a 3rd one upside down, pyramid-like and rotate like that.

Yeah exactly like that. It also may take less space.

[Deactivated Member]

I took a little sample yesterday after a week of the whisky being in the cask:





It smelled and tasted like whisky mixed with port. It obviously needs far longer in the cask for everything to mix and mature together, but I'm wondering if maybe the port will be too much for it given the small amount of whisky. Time will tell...

[Willie JJ]

I took a little sample yesterday after a week of the whisky being in the cask:

Your patience is astounding.

[Deactivated Member]

Well, as a wise old man once said...

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I casked mine on the 13th of this month after 2 months of holding sherry.

I did notice that the sherry had changed in taste much after a month but seemed to change a bith after the second month.

However I found that the sherry is quite disgusting in taste to me. Way too sweet and the 2 months in wood just seemed to make it more woody

However my brother likes the odd tipple of sherry so I'll give it to him and ask his verdict as I've also some sherry also left over that did not go into the cask.

From what I have left it looks like that about 200ml of sherry from 1200ml used evapourated in 2 months.

Going to leave a couple months before I even taste.

[OKDiver1]

Irishwhiskeychaser,
I am not really a big sherry fan either, especially the sweeter ones, which is why I picked an amontillado for my experiment -- which is drier. I really liked the difference aging made to the original product though.
If you really do not know what to do with yours, you can use it in sauces, or even cut some vinegar with it.

Are you now using the Cooley as originally planned?

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Are you now using the Cooley as originally planned?

Kind of .... I reviewed the cooley and I thought that even though the cooley was young is was quite sweet for it's age so I've decided to cut it with Ardbeg still young to give it a bit of an edge. About 80% Cooley & 20% Ardbeg seemed to be a mix that worked so looking forward to tasting the results. I really like a peated sherry cask every so often so I hope it works. If not nothing lost really as I did not enjoy the ASY in the first place.

[OKDiver1]

Looks like your final product will have a nice pedigree. Most of us have been reluctant to put too much of the "good stuff" in our barrels -- but again if the ASY was not what you were looking for, chances are it will very likely improve. I hope you will be pleased with it.

[LeoDLion]

I am getting ready to cask two 5L oak barrels this weekend. I seasoned one with bourbon whisky and the other with sherry cream. Its been there for 4 weeks. I will vat Scottish Leader and Ballantine at 2 to 1 ratio into one barrel and the other will have McClellands Islay. The spent bourbon and sherry I will transfer to two other barrels which are waiting to be seasoned.

That makes the total six 5L oak barrels and two 1L barrels.