Barrel Aging Pipe Dream

[EarthQuake]

So here is my pipe dream. I would like to buy a 53 gallon barrel's worth of new make from Buffalo trace, Four Roses, MGP, etc, and age it in my basement or garage for let's say up to 20 years. I would try it occasionally to see how it is progressing and bottle a small amount each year to catalog the aging process. I think this would be a very interesting experiment.

 

I'm only sort of half serious about this, I expect the cost to actually do it would be more than I would be willing to pay. Still though, I'm curious if this is something that I could even do? Would a distillery sell me a single barrel? Would I need some sort of license even if I do not intend to sell or distribute the whiskey?

 

I've considered brewing/distilling my own new make, but due to various legal and safety issues, plus the fact that I don't have any clue how to make a decent mash, I've decided that's a bad idea.

[jshleffar]

I think in this whiskey climate the big companies would have no reason and wouldnt want to sell their distillate to a random person, they wouldnt want that story getting around and they already sell everything they can make at this point as fast as possible. My cousin has a charred 53 gallon and this spring we're going to get my grandpa's 'water purifier' going and see what happens. They live in an area with a very hot summer climate.

[Butch_Coolidge]

Just do it way back in the woods, preferably near a stream. Look out for revenuers. But seriously, it would be cool but perhaps too many issues could come up. It’s not exactly like beer.


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[gurgalunas]

After touring distilleries in KY, it crossed my mind too.  I'd love to have someplace to go and experience the "rickhouse heaven" smell.  Problem is the potential fire hazard.  The distilleries go to great lengths to eliminate sparks and fire potential.  Maybe there wouldn't be enough angels share from one barrel to make a difference.  I definitely wouldn't put it in the house.  

[BottledInBond]

Super illegal for a distillery to sell a consumer a barrel. Also super illegal for you to distill and fill yourself. You could get a barrel and buy a bunch of the white dog product at retail legally, but that would be expensive. 

 

If if you could pull it off it would be cool, but not in your basement for a couple reasons. Safety first, but also the whiskey won’t really age nearly the same if it isn’t exposed to seasonal changes in the weather

[Whiskeythink.com]

11 minutes ago, BottledInBond said:

 

If if you could pull it off it would be cool, but not in your basement for a couple reasons. Safety first, but also the whiskey won’t really age nearly the same if it isn’t exposed to seasonal changes in the weather

How about storing it in the garage? I would think the climate here in Chicago would be great for this, as long as its doesn't get tainted by car exhaust.

 

 

[BottledInBond]

7 minutes ago, Whiskeythink.com said:

How about storing it in the garage? I would think the climate here in Chicago would be great for this, as long as its doesn't get tainted by car exhaust.

 

 

Fire hazard so you wouldn’t want any sparks nearby

[Whiskeythink.com]

2 minutes ago, BottledInBond said:

Fire hazard so you wouldn’t want any sparks nearby

True, but couldnt precautions be taken for this? Perhaps build some kind of firewall around the barrel? Or would the fumes from one barrel be too prominent to cause concern when starting the car? A smaller barrel might be another option. Or just building a small outhouse for the barrel in the backyard. And the question is moot if you cant get a barrel anyway. Tho maybe you could barter services or something with a craft distiller, something off the books to avoid the legality stuff.

 

[BottledInBond]

18 minutes ago, Whiskeythink.com said:

True, but couldnt precautions be taken for this? Perhaps build some kind of firewall around the barrel? Or would the fumes from one barrel be too prominent to cause concern when starting the car? A smaller barrel might be another option. Or just building a small outhouse for the barrel in the backyard. And the question is moot if you cant get a barrel anyway. Tho maybe you could barter services or something with a craft distiller, something off the books to avoid the legality stuff.

 

I had pondered all of this. I had decided I was going to make a little gazebo type thing to hold a barrel or two in my yard. I have done a lot of home brewing beer in the past so certainly could make some mash, and one of my friends has access to a still. Getting a charred barrel isn’t that hard. But eventually I decided that even if I went through all of that, there’s no guarantee of a good product. Because big distilleries have the luxury of choosing between thousands of barrels, some really good and some not good. They get to sell off the bad ones or mix them into big batches of bottom shelf labels. If you or I had one barrel and it turned out to be in the bad end of the spectrum we would be screwed and would’ve wasted a lot of time, money, etc. Now I still think it would be fun but I don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of crap. 

 

I think ink at this point I’m going to pick up a few used barrels to make some cool patio tables with or something fun like that, and I’m going to split a barrel pick with one of my local stores. Go together to do the selection (I go to KY regularly anyway), and I’ll take half the bottles and the store will take half. That way assuming we find something I really like I’ll have a big stash of it, can probably get my name added to the labels if it’s FR, and can give them out as gifts over several years. That’s just me though. 

[gurgalunas]

1 hour ago, BottledInBond said:

Super illegal for a distillery to sell a consumer a barrel. Also super illegal for you to distill and fill yourself. You could get a barrel and buy a bunch of the white dog product at retail legally, but that would be expensive.

It would have to be handled like a PS barrel is.  Got to have a LS willing to be the legal go-between for legal sale from Distiller to distributor to licensed retailer.  Still not sure how the law would treat it "in the barrel" vs bottled, with all the labeling requirements. 

 

Or form a NDP company to get around the consumer status. 

 

I've got a barn if anybody wants to store a barrel in the highly variable Kansas City climate.  Rent would be liquid, not paper...

[Fishin49er]

See if the distiller will include the barrel if you do a PS then buy all the bottles from the liquor store and dump them back in the barrel. Crazy idea but probably the only way you could get it from a major distiller.