barrel programs...can I buy and age my own barrel?

[kbuzbee]

True but... since we are just finishing the bourbon, stability in most areas may be a plus.... Dunno?

Ken

[barturtle]

Very true. I only thought that since the whiskey we would be using here is diluted, it would be nice to slowly try to recondense it. Though in my mind, using anything other than a wooden barrel would be taking it into the realm of the newer "experimental" Canadians, with their rules allowing additions to the final product. Not that some of these aren't fine whiskies in their own right, but definitely not a straight whiskey.

BTW, make sure to post pics, I gotta see this.

[kbuzbee]

BTW, make sure to post pics, I gotta see this.

Absolutely.

Ken

[JeffRenner]

Here's a small-barrel vendor -- but I don't know how you'd go about charring (or even lightly toasting) it:
Thousand Oaks Barrel Co.

There is an auction for a 3-4 liter medium char oak cask by Thousand Oaks Barrel Co. on eBay now. $29.95/Buy it Now $34.95, plus $12.95 shipping. Comes with a stand and spigot.

I think a small keg like this is going to be more of a conversation piece than anything. As has been discussed here, it will probably contribute a lot of barrel character very quickly.

After all, in one way of looking at it, all bourbon undergoes most of its aging in a used barrel. They are only new at the beginning.

I suspect that even very young bourbon rebarreled in a new barrel will have an awfully lot of barrel character - maybe too much. I think it is possible that with enough throughput, as the barrel becomes "used," additional refills might not be too bad.

A friend of mine has an old family recipe for making "bourbon." They don't know much about the mashing and fermentation part (malt extract, sugar and charred corn), but they manipulated the still (converted 10 gallon milk canister) skillfully, and then age it in a new five gallon charred oak barrel. One secret is that they put a bottle of port in the barrel first. (Don't know what quality.)

I had a few nips back a few years ago before I was really into bourbon and I thought it was mighty tasty. I can only imagine what it might be like with a decent sour mash.

Jeff

[koji]

Hi guys
Heres my own barrel at my bar, it is an Independent Stave Company made
new charred barrel 18 liter size, originally with Willet 104proof Bourbon.

I think I had this for 3 or 4 years and I filled it up twice or more, drinking alot
but evaporation is more than 5% a year! I dont know about the math but it
does evaporate pretty fast.

And the taste really changes day to day,
It tends to taste a litte better in the winter, but again day to day change.

Haven't any of you bought barrels at the Festival ground at the ISC booth ?
They sell two sizes every year there. Buy em ! I always take mine on the plane
home to Japan.

Koji

[kbuzbee]

Hey Koji... Cool! Do you recall how much the ISC barrels sell for??

Ken

[doubleblank]

I looked at them at this years booth. They had several sizes....ranged from $30 to $100 as I recall.....didn't buy one though but they were very cool. They also sell a cool tee-shirt for $10. The full size barrels run approx $175 or less ...... but hold 53 gallons.

Randy

[dougdog]

I have a couple other thoughts and questions.

I believe that most bourbons are chill-filtered, am I right or wrong?

Does rebarreling a chill-filtered whiskey, even at higher proof, make any sense?

Are there brands that chill-filter less or not at all?

And, would the wood influence from re-barreling add back any fats or items that would traditionall be removed in the cold filtration process? (or do all the fats come from the raw spirit?)

HELP! Chuck, Gary, Julian, Roger, ken...anybody...

Thanks in advance for any input...

dougdog

[kbuzbee]

There are brands that are unfiltered (Bookers for example). Wild Turkey says they are 'lightly filtered'. I would think having some unfiltered in the mix would be a plus. Personally, I'm not a big fan of chill filtering anyway. It looks pretty when cold, but I drink it at room temp so even if I cared about that, I wouldn't care about that (which I don't) My understanding is the flavor oils come from the distillate, not the wood.

Ken

[Gillman]

Doug, I am not sure whether filtered solids all come from the barrel (some surely do), but I don't think it matters if whiskey rebarreled or double-casked is filtered first. I base this on the evident similarity of filtered and unfiltered whiskey. Filtration is done mainly to avoid a chill haze. Most bourbons are filtered today, Booker's is a well-known exception. Van Winkle used not to filter his higher proof products but now all are filtered (I believe). I don't see this as an issue in terms of rebarreling.

Gary