I tried this once and while it was good and worth doing again you have to have liquid in the barrel at all times. I let mine dry out for a month not thinking and it is now ruined. it cracked at each seem and the bands fell off
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I've done some aging too but think I need a new barrel. I've done a few different bourbons, ever clear, scotch, unaged rye, and some wray and nephew Jamaican overproof rum. All turned out better than what went in. Then I aged an old fashioned mix... I steeped the whiskey with orange peels for a week, strained it into the barrel, added sugar and bitters. The mix came out good but I think the sugars gummed up the barrel. The next clear liquor I tried never turned brown. I recommend trying aging at home!Comment
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"Wray and nephew Jamaican overproof rum" Our family trips to Jamaica are never complete until we max out our TSA allotted spirits allowunce has been met. Well that and the Blue Mountain coffee. When I went to one of the big name liqueur stores here in town that claimed they can get anything brought in I asked for the Wray and Nephew Gin and they said Jamaica doesn't make Gin... I showed them the pick and they were shocked...
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I was thinking about getting a regular Maker's Mark going in one of these. Maker's 46 is one of my favorites, but I quite enjoy regular Maker's as well. I think the extra aging on regular Maker's might put more of a 46 twist on it, but at a lower cost.Comment
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I made the mistake of pulling whisky from my barrel when I did t his, and once I introduced air into the whisky it evaporated over time. In hindsight I should have let it age and then rebottled it.
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do you have to filter it at all? i know when they harvest the barrels at a distillery they have to filter the goods because it has so much char in it from the barrel.
also - very freakin' cool.Comment
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Thanks! I haven't. When you season the barrel you leave water in it for a few days, and when I'm done with that step I shake it and drain, then rinse, shake, drain a few more times to get any tidbits of wood out before adding the whiskey. I might find out one day I should've filtered, but so far no.
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Nice! Haven't tried gin but cranked out about 3 barrels of Barrel Aged Manhattans. The smoke in the barrel mellowed out and in between batches I started to fill the barrel with sherry vs water to add flavor. So for the gin are you adding aromatics with vodka?Comment
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Update, it's been just over 3 months for the Buffalo Trace in the 3L barrel, and MAN is it good stuff. I've given samples to a couple buddies who are whisk(e)y connoisseurs and they all agree it is fantastic.
On my smaller 1L bottle I have bottled the cheaper (New Amsterdam) gin experiment and since refilled it with Beefeater, which the wife & I prefer as a our mixing gin since it's ballsier than some of the more pricier ones, yet very affordable. The Beefeater has since gone about ~7 weeks as of now. Yum!Comment
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Huskee how are the barrels holding up for you? Reading through it seems you have liquid in them at all times? Is there enough liquid of some sort to fill the entire space to keep it from drying out?
I read the reviews the other night on Amazon, and was surprised at how many people had issues. But, that could be due to not keeping liquid in the space to keep it from drying. People here seem to be a bit more up with doing things more precisely so wanted to ask you and others here how the barrels are holding up over time.
I almost bought a 128 oz beer ukegg the other day to go with my 64oz, but then thought this would actually be a better purchase for me.
Any thoughts..Comment
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Yes I keep liquid in mine at all times, but they're not completely full cuz every month or so I take a sample or three. But what I'll do is I'll rotate the barrel so the bunghole is in about the 1:00-2:00 position or 10:00-11:00, and hold it there for a week or so. That way I keep the top surfaces wet as well. No issues so far, if you take care of them they last well. -
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barelfly This is the one I bought. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...mazingribs--20 Looks like he price went up $5. No problems with it, would buy again. Just follow their seasoning instructions & allow enough time, it takes a couple days if I remember right.Comment
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Huskee, This looks like a great idea. I love bourbon. My gateway bourbon was Four Roses. I prefer a smoother sweeter taste after the first burn. Vanilla notes are always welcome too. Have you tried ageing Four Roses?Comment
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Seagram's in Waterloo used to sell off old oak whiskey barrels, too bad you couldn't get ahold of one of those.
Used to make great swish in them.Comment
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Since these barrels are oak, I assume they could be cut up after they have given up all their goodness and used for smoking?Comment
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I have a 2L barrel that has been aging Evan Williams Bottled in Bond for 2 months now. This is my second batch of EWBIB, the first came out awesome, vanilla, caramel with a hint of oak. The barrel rounded out the bourbon and made it smoother and creamier. I recommend aging a higher proof whiskey. Batch #1 aged for 1 month. I will be bottling this batch this week and refilling it with a high proof rye. With the weather warming up I move my barrel outside (not in direct sunlight) and let it warm up to release more of the caramel and vanilla from the char. The Pitmasters Club is more than I expected, thanks to Huskee and the other members for letting me know about the whiskey section of the forum. I plan on officially joining the club today. Whiskey, grilling and smoking what more can you want.Comment
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Glad you like us and happy you're here, thanks for officially joining! I look forward to talkin' whiskey with you. As mentioned to tmelosi below, I just recently refilled my 3L barrel with Early Times, a cheap but pretty decent BIB bourbon. I can't wait to taste it in Nov. My smaller 1L barrel has had 2 rounds of bourbon, 2 rounds of gin, and now on the 2nd round of tequila. That tequila in an ex-gin/ex-bourbon cask is mighty tasty!
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