Typo - mid grade.

Things like Maker's Mark, Heaven Hill (white label or BiB), Jim Beam (white or black label), Old Crow, Ezra Brooks, etc. are what you'll get the best results from IMO. Most of them need the additional oak and flavor a small barrel imparts, your higher end mid tier and upper end pours don't need anything.

Ah, that makes sense.

And I happened to stop into our local liquor store and discussed this subject with him. And Jim Bean was one of his suggestions too.

Appreciate it schmell.

Thought I would post about my most recent barrel experiment. I've got a 1L oak barrel that I aged some medium bodied sherry in for about 3 weeks before mostly emptying out. The sherry had taken on a little bit of oak and darker color while also smoothing out the sweetness a tad bit. It was mostly to prepare the barrel for a Manhattan cocktail though, which is what I wanted to post about.

I did a 2 part Rye to 1 part Sweet Vermouth mix, and I think the Angostura bitters for 1L of mix turned out to around 1.75-2 oz. Anyways, after about 2 weeks of aging in the sherry finished barrel, it has really started to round into great shape. It's taken on a kind of subtle stone fruit hint from the sherry with a medium oak presence rounding out the peppery notes of the rye.

I really didn't anticipate just how good the result would be, but I would highly suggest this method to anyone who likes Manhattans a lot as it takes it to a whole new level. Just stir with some ice to get a little dilution before drinking, and drop in a Luxardo cherry if you happen to have them on hand.

What else have you guys tried aging recently? I am thinking about doing a Negroni once I bottle this Manhattan to see how that changes the flavor of the Negroni.

Just got my first barrel. 2L from DeepSouth.

Cured it last weekend (one small leak, stopped in the first few hours), and filled with Evan Williams BiB on Sunday night. Really looking forward to the first taste in a few days.

I'm already itching to try new things, kind of wish I'd bought more barrels so I could do more at a time, but I guess it's probably better to keep it simple at first.

Anybody try aging any scotches? Particularly any peated ones?

Quote:

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Cured it last weekend (one small leak, stopped in the first few hours), and filled with Evan Williams BiB on Sunday night. Really looking forward to the first taste in a few days.

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Don't you mean weeks?

BQ78 said:

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Quote:

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Cured it last weekend (one small leak, stopped in the first few hours), and filled with Evan Williams BiB on Sunday night. Really looking forward to the first taste in a few days.

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Don't you mean weeks?

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Nope, going to taste it weekly to see how it changes over time, and be sure to get it bottled before it gets over-oaked, which I was warned can happen rather quickly with the first batch.

That is true but I still think you wil find you need at least a month even in a new barrel. I went two months with the first batch and it was the best batch. I have to leave it in three to four months now and still don't get the finish I got with that first batch.

BQ78 said:

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That is true but I still think you wil find you need at least a month even in a new barrel. I went two months with the first batch and it was the best batch. I have to leave it in three to four months now and still don't get the finish I got with that first batch.

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I don't doubt it, but tasting it once a week or so, and seeing for myself how it changes over time, is a big part of the appeal for me.

That said, one week in a new barrel yields increased oak, and greatly reduced sweetness. It got harsher and sharper. I'll be interested to see how long it takes for that sharpness to mellow back out.

Barrels eventually become inert and pass on zero character. The smaller the barrel the thinner the staves which increases evaporation. An the smaller the barrel the greater the surface area contact and the fast the barrel will pass on character. If you just want to keep using the same barrel look into wine and homebrew stores for barrel sticks or cubes. Add these to your barrel to add flavor. Do not use wood chips, these add character extremely quick, like days, and you can off balance your spirit.

The other neat thing is you can choose between American, French or Hungarian oak in light, medium, heavy toast. So you can really play around with flavors.

Here's *most* of the recipe for my "In-Situ Old Fashioned".

Got a question for some of y'all with more experience using the aging barrels. I bought a 1L barrel and have had some whiskey in there for about 3 months. I poured a little in a glass yesterday just to see how it tasted and it had a lot of small particles floating around. I guess maybe some wood particles. I cleaned out the barrel several times before using it and the water was clean on my last go round. Is this normal? Do you suggest straining the whiskey with a strainer or cheesecloth? Thanks in advance.

I normally strain through cheesecloth.


Edit: I have heard coffee filters work, but I have not tried them.

Put a bottle of Red Handed Bourbon (Treaty Oak distillery (sourced)), 1 ounce of simple syrup, and about 25 dashes of orange bitters in a 1L barrel last night. Interested to see how this turns out!

For those that don't go to the outdoor board... I sell these now!

finally thinking about trying something with my barrel. anyone have any updates from the last year about recent things they've tried, stuff they liked, didn't like, etc.?

Don't age The Brave from Anvil. It makes it worse and ruins that barrel. It's probably a good idea to stay away from any mezcal/sotol cocktails when aging.

Basically a novelty.

Is anyone playing with these anymore or has the fad passed? Im bored and considered giving it another run.

How did your Evan Williams BiB turn out?

Thanks for the bump. I did not realize the it had been 7 years since I started this one.

Just pulled my barrels out about a month ago and they had dried to the point that the bands were falling off. I soaked them again and they are holding water, but it is about time to let them go.