Paradox Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I think its to enhance the aging process. For example, in the winter, they can raise then lower then raise then lower the temperature thus creating more expansion/contraction to continually occur within the barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 All of the distilleries that have heated masonry warehouses have experimented with forced cycling, although there doesn't seem to be any consensus about its efficacy. The theory is that below a certain temperature the whiskey is essentially dormant, so the winter months are wasted as no cycling occurs. ("Cycling" is the term for the expansion of warm whiskey into the wood of the barrel and the subsequent contraction out of the wood as it cools. In the warm months, such a cycle occurs daily with the whiskey reaching its maximum expansion in the heat of the day and its maximum contraction in the cool of the night.) In the winter, they will heat the warehouses up to some appropriate temperature (higher, I believe than the normal room temperature of 72 degrees), hold them at that temperature for some number of hours, then turn off the heat and let them reach the ambient temperature before repeating the cycle. Buffalo Trace has discussed this more than some of the other distillers, but I know Brown-Forman also has done it at the Early Times plant. Whether or not it really "works" is still a subject of some debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Brown-Forman also has done it at the Early Times plant. If memory serves me, I believe Chris Morris told us in 2002 that they heat cycle at Labrot& Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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