Flavoring my own cheap oaky 100 proof

[JPK]

I've been playing around trying to make a fairly cheap, heavy oak, some char, 100 proof bourbon for the last few days.

 

The cheapest 100 proof bourbon in my neck of the woods is EWBIB.

….tastes ok by itself too.

 

Went out and bought some JD wood chips.

Took a handful or two and put them in a wire screen colander.

Got out the propane torch and blackened them.

Used 1/2 cup of the charred chips in a 12 oz glass jar.

Poured EWBIB up to the shoulder of the jar.

Nuked it for 1 min and it was at 150˚F

Screwed on cap.

Let sit till room temp

Poured through a funnel into a pint bottle to get the big chunks of wood out.

Then filtered it through a coffee filter into another bottle.

 

It came out very smokey, very oak forward, quite dark and with a burnt marshmallow taste.

I call it my Bonfire Bourbon….I like it for an occasional drink.

 

Then I tried all the above with just the chips straight out of the bag.

The bourbon was actually pretty good with a "fresh" oak forward taste…sorta reminded me of JB Devil's cut.

 

Right now I have a batch cooling off that I used the same measurements except I baked the oak at 425˚F for an hour….trying to get the oak to give out more of a carmel taste.

The kitchen had a wonderful smoked carmel smell after an hour.

 

I'll let you know how it tastes too.

 

!!!!DISCLAIMER!!!!

THERE MAY BE SOME VERY REAL FIRE DANGER MICROWAVING BOURBON.

DO NOT COPY ME WITHOUT WEIGHING THE RISKS FOR YOURSELF!

 

 

 

 

 

[JPK]

Just want to say that I'm TRYING to make a VERY  oak flavored bourbon as I've found I really like the tasting oak.

Many of you might hate this stuff I'm doing....tastes like you're sucking on an oak plank..etc

I've tried JB double oaked, JB devil's cut, and woodford DO and found them OK...but wishing they had even more oak and at a higher proof.

...so that's what I'm trying to make...on the fairly cheap and easy with a 100 proof kick.

 

[JPK]

Well just tried the 425˚ baked oak.

Surprisingly charred flavor with much more carmel/butterscotch than either other attempts.

 

I think trying a 50/50 of oak from the bag and 425˚ might be about right.....trying that now.

[JPK]

Well the 50/50 mix and only letting it sit for about 1.5 hours does it for me.

I've finally found what I've been looking for...lol

 

[lcpfratn]

Sounds interesting, but probably not something I'd pursue on my own without tasting someone else's efforts first...then again, if I get bored someday, who knows! However, there's enough $20 - $30 bourbon out there that meets the criteria you're looking for that I don't really see the point. If you haven't tried Fighting Cock, Old Ezra 101 and even Wild Turkey 101 on the lower price end or Henry McKenna BIB, Elijah Craig (only 94 proof) or Knob Creek at closer to $30, you should give them all a try. They are all pretty well oak influenced, and darn good bourbon to boot!


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[JPK]

I agree with ya...and have tried them all.

Just so happens KC120 is my fav.

 

I'm just going for heavy...as in massive...oak.....

...and I like it...lol

[kevinbrink]

I did an aging project once myself, used "Jack Daniel's" Chips that I put in the Toaster Oven and put them in a Mason Jar with Wray and Nephew Overproof Rum, I thought it came out OK at the time it went from clear to very dark. I also did the same and added toasted Cinnamon Sticks, Dried Hot peppers, Cloves and Nutmeg. It was pretty fun and really spicy, I used it as a floater on cocktails, I still have a 375 of that around somewhere. 

[JPK]

Sounds fun Kevin.

 

[rjg1701]

Another thought, although this would make whatever you put it in a blend, is take Everclear (or substitute high-proof grain alcohol) and let that mingle with a heavy batch of your chips for a few days or a week.  Then add a few drops of your 'oak concentrate' to the whiskey of your choice.

[JPK]

I've thought about that....but I've never seen it around.

...It is nice to start with something that tastes decent though....lol

[rjg1701]

Higher proof pulls better/stronger/more flavors when making infusions, but even a 100 proof vodka could work, just need to give it more time with the wood.

[EarthQuake]

Yeah Everclear is pretty nasty. I've been making a lot of bitters the past couple years, and most articles suggest using Everclear due the the alcohol content. Problem is, that makes disgusting bitters. I went with vodka, and that was sort of better. Finally I ended up using bourbon, and now I actually have made some rather good bitters. The thinking is that higher alcohol content = better or faster extraction, but in practice it's not an issue, ~100 proof bourbon extracts flavors very well.

 

If you were to create some sort of concentrate, I would start with a decent high proof bourbon. Maybe something like OGD 114? If you're doing a larger batch, I would suggest keeping the flavoring batch separate from the main source, so that you can blend the flavoring in as needed. It's easy to overdo otherwise.

 

Also, I'm curious to know why you're microwaving the bourbon? Surely that would result in alcohol evaporation (alocohol evaporates faster than water) and loss of aromatics? I've done some similar experiments with chared oak (which you can buy in bulk on Amazon), and heat isn't necessary. Just plop the whiskey in a mason jar with some chips and wait a bit. If you want more/faster oak extraction, increase ratio of oak to liquid.

 

Would also recommend trying some different wood, like cherry, cedar, etc.

Edited December 11, 2017 by EarthQuake

[JPK]

I was thinking the heat would help dissolve the flavors out of the wood faster.

[EarthQuake]

32 minutes ago, JPK said:

I was thinking the heat would help dissolve the flavors out of the wood faster.

Yeah I'm sure it does. That said, it doesn't take long for a small amount of bourbon to pull flavor out of charred wood chips, because the liquid to surface area ratio is really high.

 

I guess you could do a quick experiment to see if heating has any adverse side effects. Heat X amount of bourbon to the desired temp, let it cool, and then do a blind tasting vs the regular stuff. If there is a noticable difference in flavor you're probably burning off some of the alcohol/flavor compounds.

Edited December 11, 2017 by EarthQuake

[kevinbrink]

Heating probably does speed things up but it is definitely not necessary, the longest I aged any of my projects was a few days because otherwise they get too dark. 

[JPK]

You're right...I should try that too.

[EarthQuake]

I would recommend looking into those mini oak barrels too, you can find them on Amazon in 1,2,5,10 liter versions. I've used a number of the 1 liter versions (about $40). It takes longer (a week or two) than wood chips but I find you get a more natural flavor from it.

 

I like filling them with port or Madeira for a couple weeks, dumping, and filling with bourbon or rye (or a batched cocktail) for a week or so to get interesting finishes.

[JPK]

would be fun.

Looking for cheap thrills right now...though $40 for a L size isn't that bad.

[JPK]

Well after a few bottles of experimentation...

heating..then letting cool the EWBIB didn't change the flavor...(thank you for the though that it might be...good to knock out that question)

 

I made quite a few variations by baking the oak at different temps.

straight from the bag gave a lot of fresh oak.

370˚ made quite a nasty taste..I was expecting to get some vanilla w/o much toasty flavor..it just seemed to add a weird bitter oak flavor.

425˚ gave a nice toasty oak flavor.

Heavy charred pieces gave of course a charred smokey flavor...but I did realize that char is where a lot of cinnamon flavor comes from.

1/2C of chips of any kind in a 12oz jar seemed too much...just an oak bomb..I liked them...but more for a novelty.

 

The best I found was a slightly heaped 1/4C of a pretty even mix of the straight from the bag chips and the 425˚ with a couple very charred pieces.

Put the chips in the jar.

Nuke for 1 min.

Put the lid on.

Let cool to room temp.

...enjoy.

 

 

[kevinbrink]

4 hours ago, JPK said:

Well after a few bottles of experimentation...

heating..then letting cool the EWBIB didn't change the flavor...(thank you for the though that it might be...good to knock out that question)

 

I made quite a few variations by baking the oak at different temps.

straight from the bag gave a lot of fresh oak.

370˚ made quite a nasty taste..I was expecting to get some vanilla w/o much toasty flavor..it just seemed to add a weird bitter oak flavor.

425˚ gave a nice toasty oak flavor.

Heavy charred pieces gave of course a charred smokey flavor...but I did realize that char is where a lot of cinnamon flavor comes from.

1/2C of chips of any kind in a 12oz jar seemed too much...just an oak bomb..I liked them...but more for a novelty.

 

The best I found was a slightly heaped 1/4C of a pretty even mix of the straight from the bag chips and the 425˚ with a couple very charred pieces.

Put the chips in the jar.

Nuke for 1 min.

Put the lid on.

Let cool to room temp.

...enjoy.

 

 

I'm thinking about your use of the microwave and I think it's interesting especially since they tend to cook things from the inside out rather than the outside in.  I used a toaster oven when I did my experiments with chips.

[kaiserhog]

I think EWBIB stands by itself just fine.  However, Bourbon should be drank however you want.

[flahute]

1 hour ago, kaiserhog said:

I think EWBIB stands by itself just fine.  However, Bourbon should be drank however you want.

If you read his original post, he says that EWBIB is fine on its own. This is all just an experiment for fun.