MAKING YOUR OWN WHISKEY FROM 1000 OAKS BARREL CO.

[mikeymad]

It is suprising that you are getting that much evaporation. A good barrel sound loose maybe 10% a year. But 50% in 7 months. Did you ask the makers about this at all?

Don't want to just give 'all' my beverage away to the angels.

Cheers,

[LeoDLion]

It is suprising that you are getting that much evaporation. A good barrel sound loose maybe 10% a year. But 50% in 7 months. Did you ask the makers about this at all?

Don't want to just give 'all' my beverage away to the angels.

Cheers,

Mickey, I think the wood in the small barrel is thinner than the bigger ones so more evaporation. I did not notice any leak. Their website recommend to fill the barrel to makeup for the evaporation.

[IainB]

I suppose the problem with filling up to counteract the evaporation is that you're adding more unaged spirit thereby also counteracting your ageing process - at what point does the whole thing become counter productive.

Only time will tell I suppose!

[Deactivated Member]

Is it dry where you are storing the cask? I wonder if a humidifier would help (especially in the winter, when it gets very dry indoors).

[LeoDLion]

My two 5L barrels arrived yesterday! I ordered pre-charred with black rings. They look gigantic compared to the 1L ones. So, I rinse it three times and filled it up with hot water for the next 3-5 days.

The question now is what whisky should I fill it with? I am thinking of a blended whisky called Scoresby. Its a 3-year old mellow tasting scotch. I dont know where it comes from originally. For the second barrel, I have a list of candidates like Glen Parker, Lismore, etc. I will need to buy 4 1.75L bottles to fill one 5L one, wow!

I'll post pictures later.

[OKDiver1]

I finally got my 2 liter barrel from mardel souza. Took them about 3 weeks... Talk about aging.

It's curing with water now. Next I will use an amontillado sherry for 3 or 4 weeks. And then, I will fill it with either a Lismore, Tamdhu 10 or one of the McClellands, all cheaper SMS. No blends, for authenticity(!).
Maybe the second time around, but not now.

[LeoDLion]

I finally got my 2 liter barrel from mardel souza. Took them about 3 weeks... Talk about aging.

It's curing with water now. Next I will use an amontillado sherry for 3 or 4 weeks. And then, I will fill it with either a Lismore, Tamdhu 10 or one of the McClellands, all cheaper SMS. No blends, for authenticity(!).
Maybe the second time around, but not now.

Glad to see somebody else is doing what I am doing. Mine only took 5 days to arrive, maybe Texas is closer? Its Fedex.

I think I will play with the sherry during finishing.
I would recommend the McClelland Islay. I tasted some after 7 months and there definitely is improvement all around.

Watch the evaporation. I lost 50% from a 1L barrel from evaporation after 7 months. They recommend to keep the level almost full when loss is detected.

Let us know what happen.

[OKDiver1]

From what I've read, 7 months is really a long time, especially in a smaller barrel. Do you taste at regular intervals?
I expect the maturation to be very steep at first and then only marginally change after a couple of months. Especially if I can control evaporation and not keep adding "new" stuff in it. But again, I know nothing on this subject.

I was not quite sure about using an Islay. I love the peat, but as I will be using sherry first, the combination might be disappointing, or so I think. Should have bought another barrel I guess -- in the interest of scientific experimentation.

Fun project. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[LeoDLion]

From what I've read, 7 months is really a long time, especially in a smaller barrel. Do you taste at regular intervals?
I expect the maturation to be very steep at first and then only marginally change after a couple of months. Especially if I can control evaporation and not keep adding "new" stuff in it. But again, I know nothing on this subject.
...
Fun project. Thank you for sharing your experience.

I did not taste at regular intervals but from now on I will. I was thinking of letting it stay longer for an equivalent of 30 years (whatever that translate into in weeks).

[Deactivated Member]

Okay, the water's in so I'll leave that for a couple of days while I decide what's going in the cask after that.

[OKDiver1]

Okay, the water's in so I'll leave that for a couple of days while I decide what's going in the cask after that.

Let us know what you decide to use. Yours is a 1L barrel, correct?

I received mine (a 2L) a couple of days ago. I rinced it with boiling water a couple of times first, and now it is curing. There were a few leaks for about the first 12 hours, but no drainage since. I think it is saturating nicely -- I had to top it off with less than a teaspoon of water this morning.

The only problem I see so far on mine is the bung. Very flimsy, and not tight. I might replace it with a cork when I fill it with the real stuff.

[LeoDLion]

I filled one of the 5L with Famous Grouse and the other with Scoresby. I did not see any leak while curing. The spigot flow is very slow but I guess one need to be patient.

[LeoDLion]

The 1L on the left has McClleland Islay for the past 8 months. I am getting ready to bottle it. The other has McClleland Highlands and it was just started a week ago.

[OKDiver1]

Very interesting, thank you for posting. Pictures are always nice.
I think I will buy another barrel for another experiment. Maybe Port instead of sherry. And maybe another for direct scotch maturation, like you.
When I am happy with the final result(s), I'll make a few samples available for those who are interested.
O.

[Deactivated Member]

Okay, I'm going to pick up a bottle of Port on the way home tonight and swap the water in the barrel for that.

Pics and stuff to follow...

[OKDiver1]

Big celebration last night: after 3 days I dumped the water (which had turned a pale yellow), and filled my barrel with a De Soto Amontillado sherry. Not really a bad sherry to begin with, it should be much improved in 3 weeks.

No leakage to report this morning. I will keep an eye on the level every 5 days, so as to make sure the wood is fully saturated and ready when I fill it with whisky at the end of this sherry period.

[Deactivated Member]

I just got a bottle of Taylor's Reserve port for half-price in Somerfield which I'll put into the barrel tomorrow night. No time tonight.

[Ras Mazunga]

How much did the shipping cost?
Can't find an easy answer on the site.

[OKDiver1]

How much did the shipping cost?
Can't find an easy answer on the site.

If you are interested in the 1000 Oaks Barrel company, you might want to send them an email at this address: shipping @ 1000oaksbarrel.com
(I added spaces before and after the @ symbol).
Good luck.

[LeoDLion]

I find the oak barrels from mardel souza cheaper than 1000 oaks. Their link is

http://www.mardelsouza.com/

and email address is admin@matpage.com

Ask Alex the cost of shipping.

[LeoDLion]

matpage.com
Spooky or what?

Oh my gosh, I have been buying my oak barrels from Matt !!!

[OKDiver1]

I find the oak barrels from mardel souza cheaper than 1000 oaks. Their link is

http://www.mardelsouza.com/

and email address is admin@matpage.com

Ask Alex the cost of shipping.

I bought mine from Mardel Souza as well, and it is a great, cheap barrel, but the reason why I submitted a 1000 oaks link is that I had serious problems with Mardel Souza's shipping -- took 3 weeks, wrong tracking number, which ended up with an admission that my barrel had not been shipped at all, and I am here in the USA. Therefore, while my difficulties might have been isolated, I did not want to recommend this supplier to a potential overseas customer.

[LeoDLion]

I have no complaint on the delivery. Mine took about 5 days or so, by Fedex. The barrels were wrap in sarap wrap. All was there. The spigot on one came loose but I just put it back and whack it with a wooden mallet and its in there tight. I was trying to smell inside from the bung hole for burnt odor but couldn't tell either way.

[OKDiver1]

Leo,
I am pretty happy with mine too, and I think their prices are very good for what you get. Feels nice and sturdy. Mine was also wrapped in saran paper, but no loose part. The bung is a little flimsy, but I soaked it in water for a while, and there is more of an interference fit now. The thing is not to push it all the way in -- at least for mine. Did not really smell like anything either (I was ready for some big time burnt wood smell) until I got it wet.

[LeoDLion]

OKDiver,
The only thing I can think of why it took them 3 weeks to deliver yours is they dont have the barrel in stock. When I was ordering they said the one I wanted was not in stock and it will take some time so I selected one that is available.

[OKDiver1]

I suspect you might be correct.
According to Alex, "my" barrel was in stock when I ordered. After a week (which is normal, according to Alex, and underlined on their ebay listings -- which I did not use), I got a FedEx tracking number, indicating that the electronic paperwork had been submitted. After another week, the package still had not been made available for pick up. After another 5 days, I complained to Alex. The following day, I received a new tracking number, and my barrel was here 3 days later.

[OKDiver1]

Here is a summary of my setup, for those who are interested:
1. Bought a 2L barrel from Mardel Souza (Brownsville, TX - USA). US$26 including shipping.
2. Day 1:
* Rinsed it 3 times with boiling water. Only a few wood particles came out.
* Filled it with water and cured it for 4 full days. I had a minor leak for about the first 12 hours, but nothing after that.
* I topped it off a couple of times - a reasonable amount of water (5 cl) was absorbed by the wood by the end of Day 1, and less by Day 2. Level did not change significantly on Days 3 and 4, perhaps 1/2cl.
4. Day 5:
* Dumped the water, and let drain for an hour or so. Water was a weak yellow in color, and smelled like... wet wood with a little smoke.
* Filled it with Tio Soto (Jose de Soto) Amontillado Sherry, US$8/bottle.
* Laid the barrel and its stand on a white plate (to detect possible leaks), and put a few very wet folded-over paper napkins on the bottom of the plate (underneath the stand).
* I then placed the whole thing in an old 1ft x 1ft x 1ft cardboard box, closed. The purpose of this is to maintain a relative degree of humidity, as well as shade.
5. Day 8: no leaks on the plate. Topped off with about 1cl of sherry, and re-moistened the now-dry towels. I was surprised by how little had evaporated/been absorbed by the wood so early on in the process.

I will edit this post as the experiment moves along, and add a picture or two.

[Deactivated Member]

I tried hard to find a funnel to buy from somewhere so I could pour in the port tonight, but alas I am funnel-less. I'll have a look around tomorrow. I should probably empty the water that's been in it for three days and replace it.

[OKDiver1]

I tried hard to find a funnel to buy from somewhere so I could pour in the port tonight, but alas I am funnel-less. I'll have a look around tomorrow. I should probably empty the water that's been in it for three days and replace it.

I had the same problem at first, but found one since. What I did was use aluminum foil that I folded and wrapped into a cone shape. I don't think the sherry was in contact with the foil long enough to oxidize -- pouring it took me a couple of minutes at most.

[Deactivated Member]

I have time to look around the shops tomorrow, but if not then I'll try that. Cheers!

Oh, a work colleague last night bought a couple of casks off the 1000oaks site because they had a BOGOF offer on. It had vanished by the time he told me about it this morning. Did anyone else see it???



Also, I see people talking about some leaks. Mine hasn't leaked a single drip at all. Those 1000oaks ones are good!

[Willie JJ]

I tried hard to find a funnel to buy from somewhere so I could pour in the port tonight, but alas I am funnel-less. I'll have a look around tomorrow. I should probably empty the water that's been in it for three days and replace it.

Whassamatter? Shaky hand?

[Deactivated Member]

I tried hard to find a funnel to buy from somewhere so I could pour in the port tonight, but alas I am funnel-less. I'll have a look around tomorrow. I should probably empty the water that's been in it for three days and replace it.

Whassamatter? Shaky hand?

It's a really small hole, said the bishop to the actress...

I don't really want port all over the place.

[Deactivated Member]

I went to my local hardware, well hardware and junk, store which I couldn't get to during the week and lo and behold - funnels of every size. I got a wee one for the barrel and a bigger one for pouring things back into bottles.



Still not filled the thing yet. Oh, well. One step at a time...

[OKDiver1]

Congratulations on your purchase of a much needed funnel. Bravo.
Now, go and fill that barrel. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll be able to sample your own beverage. Trust me, this is wasted time, and you'll get impatient and remorseful later on in the process...

[LeoDLion]

I feel lucky. I went to a WalMart store and found a set of 4 funnels in different sizes. It only cost about $1.50 for the set. Thank you China.