Faux aging anyone?

[ColonialDawg]

Just curious if anyone here has experimented with aging your own whiskey or any other spirit?

I’ve never tried aging bourbon at home but I have done it with rum and the results have been quite nice so far. I bought a toasted oak spiral from amazon and put half a spiral in a quart mason jar with Wray and Nephew White overproof rum and let it sit about 30 days or so. The results is a mahogany oakey Jamaican rum that not only works very well in cocktails (think Mai Tai) but also isn’t a bad sipper (although dilution helps to take way the bite of this particular rum). I haven’t tried any of those small charred oak barrels yet as I just don’t want to pay $50-60, but that’s just me. I know some have gotten great results with them.

What faux aging have you tried at home and did you like the final product? Please share your results!

[HouseHomey]

Check out Huskee posts. I thought he did.

[HawkerXP]

I've been aging for quite some time now. Is denying your age the same as faux aging?

[Spinaker]

If I tried this, the entire state of Minnesota might burn down. LOL

[jfmorris]

I do something similar with a few of my beers, to simulate a beer aged in say a bourbon barrel. I buy these type of toasted oak cubes, soak 2 ounces of them in a pint of bourbon for a week or two, then dump them into a 5 gallon batch of say a porter or stout, to give it the oak/bourbon character of a barrel aged beer. I leave them in the keg or carboy for a few weeks to a month or two, so the beer can soak the bourbon and oak from the cubes. Sometimes I dump the entire mason jar into the keg, but then you have a keg of something that tastes like a boilermaker...

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/nsearch/?q=oak+cubes

They also sell a variety of oak spirals:

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/nsearch/?q=oak+spiral

[Huskee]

ColonialDawg Yes, do it!!! I can't recommend it enough, it is incredible the difference it makes. (If you're patient).

Here's a post Attjack made a few months ago: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...e-some-whiskey
Here's one I made a few months ago which spawned his: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...red-oak-barrel

I have used both the 1L and 3L barrels. For my 1L, I went 2 months and that was plenty. Even 1 month transformed the whiskey into something vastly different. I bottled half at 1 month and half at 2. My wife liked the 1 mo better, I liked the 2 better. Sadly, because it was only a 1L barrel, there was only about 1/3 bottle in each bottling. So I decided for the effort I want MORE! The Amazon seller (drop shipper? Not sure, don't care) I used is named Sofia's Findings. They included seasoning instructions to waterproof the barrel which is handy and a necessity before using. They will customize for free, either on the Amazon site or you can upload a graphic and they will burn it on for free. Their barrels are excellent, no complaints, although I have no experience with any others.

In my 3L (holds four 750mL bottles) I am currently at just over 3 months and I may go 5 or 6, not sure yet. It tastes incredible now, but I know it has more to go.

The smaller the barrel, the more liquid-to-wood so the quicker it goes. Conversely, bigger barrels need a little more time. How much exactly I am still learning.

I have the wood spirals too, my wife bought me some, but I haven't used them yet. I may get a small jug of moonshine and try it.

[Huskee]

Bourbons- Weller Special Reserve & Buffalo Trace. Gins- New Amsterdam & Beefeater. My opinion is that one should age cheaper bourbon and make it into pricier bourbon, so that's what I've been doing. But I start with a cheaper bourbon I already know I love, so that I know I'll love it more after! ColonialDawg

[ColonialDawg]

Ah, never er mind. I read one of your linked threads. I just might have to get one of those barrels afterall.

[barelfly]

you know, as I currently go through my dry-aging process with three various projects, seeing this post pop up......oh...I see a purchase in my very near future!

ahahah!

[ColonialDawg]

Has anyone tried aging with an oak spiral/stave vs barrel and did you notice any differences?

[Huskee]

My wife bought me some, haven't tried them yet. I suspect they're for a really small amount (like a Mason jar of moonshine for instance) or something you only want a slight hint of oak in. Haven't played yet, but will soon enough.

[ColonialDawg]

I’ve used the spirals a couple of times and really like them. Both times they made my rum a deep mahogany color (after 8 weeks). I just wonder if it’s much different than a barrels you recommend. I’m guessing the advantage of the barrel is you can use it multiple times while most say the spirals are single use, although I plan to do an experiment using the spiral first to age whiskey and then rum immediately afterward to see if there is a difference.

[Huskee]

I bet you're right!