Apple Brandy Barrel Finishing Project

[clearmoon247]

So, I purchased a 5 Gallon barrel to do a blend of bottles sourced from the local whiskey group. I had enough bottles lined up between myself and others to fill the barrel. The barrel arrived and it seemed a bit bigger than it should be. After measuring, it turned out to be a 15 gallon barrel instead. Rather than going through the efforts to exchange it, I realized this was a great opportunity. 

 

We opened the sign ups for participation and as of now we will have this filled in the next week or so. I am personally adding a few gallons to the blend to make sure that despite angels share, everyone else who participates will get the same amount back that they put into the blend.

 

For those curious,  the blend will consist of only bourbon or rye whiskey and with a minimum proof of 106 or age of 7 years.

 

Also, there was ~200ml excess apple brandy still in the barrel and damn it tastes so good.

I plan to let the blend marry for 6-9 months before bottling.

[clearmoon247]

An update for those curious. We purchased a #11 silicone stopper for easier access to the barrel for tasting & final dumping without destroying the bung every time.

 

I coordinated with the local whiskey community to get bottles from various members to add to the barrel. At this point, the group has contributed 28 750ml bottles and I have added ~32 bottles personally.

 

Earlier today, I added all of the bottles to the barrel and it is resting in our garage with all the other smaller barrels. You could say its our personal rick house.

 

Now to let the blend marry and finish until probably October or November.

 

For those curious, the baby barrel in the background is a 5L/1.23 Gallon barrel.

[fishnbowljoe]

9 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

An update for those curious. We purchased a #11 silicone stopper for easier access to the barrel for tasting & final dumping without destroying the bung every time.

 

I coordinated with the local whiskey community to get bottles from various members to add to the barrel. At this point, the group has contributed 28 750ml bottles and I have added ~32 bottles personally.

 

Earlier today, I added all of the bottles to the barrel and it is resting in our garage with all the other smaller barrels. You could say its our personal rick house.

 

Now to let the blend marry and finish until probably October or November.

 

For those curious, the baby barrel in the background is a 5L/1.23 Gallon barrel.

 

I absolutely love all the projects like this, and am honestly interested in the final outcome. I know I’ve said it before,  but please keep us posted as to how this is going. 
 

Biba! Joe

[gurgalunas]

This is really cool, and great idea to do with a local club. 

 

Could you share info on sourcing the barrel?  

 

Also, would love to see a list of the bottles that were added.

[clearmoon247]

44 minutes ago, gurgalunas said:

This is really cool, and great idea to do with a local club. 

 

Could you share info on sourcing the barrel?  

 

Also, would love to see a list of the bottles that were added.

I bought the barrel from barrelsdirect.com for $158 shipped. It was supposed to be a 5 gallon barrel, but ended up being a 15.

 

Here is a rundown of everything that went into the blend:

Russells Reserve

Russells Single Barrel CNA

Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Makers Mark Cask Strength 

Makers 46 Cask Strength 

Manifest Cask Strength Rye (Master distillers pick)

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B520

Elijah Craig 18 Year

Belle Meade Cask Strength 

Redemption 9 Year Bourbon

Old Scout Single Barrel Rye 

Knob Creek 14 Year Store Pick

Knob Creek Small Batch (old age statement label)

Noah's Mill (2014 & 2020 releases)

Willett Family Estate Rye

Barrell 18 Year Single Barrel

Stagg Jr

George T Stagg 

Blantons SFTB

Weller Antique

Jack Daniels Barrel Proof 

Jack Daniels Barrel Proof Rye

Bulleit Barrel Strength 

 

 

[mal00768]

It’s shame this thing can’t easily be done outside of local. I would have loved to contribute. 
 

very excited for tasting notes. 

[BigSkyDrams]

Wow, impressive list of bottles went in. That should make for a really interesting final product. I echo Joe, keep us updated on the progress.

[clearmoon247]

Tonight, I pulled a small amount of the blend from the barrel to proof and sample it, now that it has rested for a week.

 

The overall proof is ~57% ABV.

 

The flavor is crazy. Its got hints of the apple and caramel with a lovely pronounced brown sugar, cherry, and funk from both wild turkey & makers mark.

 

I can't wait to see how this turns out in the coming months. 

[Bourbon Boiler]

Very surprised to see some heavy hitters on the entrance list.  Cool project.  

[clearmoon247]

Thought everyone here might enjoy an update on this project. 

After a bit of a falling out with the group that helped participate in the project,  I will be cutting the initial finishing short. Instead of letting the blend finish for 6-9 months, I will be pulling their portion at the 3 month mark, which is the minimum amount that I announced for the blend.

 

Thankfully,  I will be adding some additional bourbon to the barrel after bottling their share.

 

Also, I acquired a 5 Gallon/20 Liter Ex-Rye barrel that I've filled with a bourbon blend that ended up at 62% ABV and a minimum age of 7 years.

[LGC]

On 1/25/2021 at 9:45 PM, Bourbon Boiler said:

Very surprised to see some heavy hitters on the entrance list.  Cool project.  

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to volunteer a bottle of Weller Antique, for a community goulash.

[clearmoon247]

4 hours ago, LGC said:

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to volunteer a bottle of Weller Antique, for a community goulash.

It's only as good as what gets put into it. I get it though

[BottledInBond]

9 hours ago, LGC said:

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to volunteer a bottle of Weller Antique, for a community goulash.

Interesting, as there are at least 6/7 other bottles on the list that I’d be a lot more worried about than a OWA. I’m just not one that worships all things Weller though and if that’s your thing, that’s your thing. I totally respect that we all have different preferences. I’d just be a whole lot more concerned with dumping a GTS, SFTB, several others, personally. 

[mal00768]

57 minutes ago, BottledInBond said:

Interesting, as there are at least 6/7 other bottles on the list that I’d be a lot more worried about than a OWA. I’m just not one that worships all things Weller though and if that’s your thing, that’s your thing. I totally respect that we all have different preferences. I’d just be a whole lot more concerned with dumping a GTS, SFTB, several others, personally. 

There are people out there who have been drinking bourbon for many years and have had many bottles of Weller and GTS. Sometimes you just want to try something different. I think a lot of what we see today is artificial scarcity because of hoarding and secondary markets.

Edited March 7, 2021 by mal00768

[BottledInBond]

I’ve been drinking bourbon pretty consistently for at least 20 years, and have drank tons of Weller of all types and plenty of Stagg. I just still wouldn’t dump Stagg in vat with a random mix to be aged in an apple brandy barrel. Weller 107? I’d have no problem dumping that

[clearmoon247]

8 minutes ago, BottledInBond said:

I’ve been drinking bourbon pretty consistently for at least 20 years, and have drank tons of Weller of all types and plenty of Stagg. I just still wouldn’t dump Stagg in vat with a random mix to be aged in an apple brandy barrel. Weller 107? I’d have no problem dumping that

I'm the kind of person who would happily make jello shots with Pappy 23 given the chance.

 

I know that Stagg is good and is a great addition to any of the vatting I've done before.

 

I always appreciate a good bottle or pour, but I also try to not hold too much value into what is wood flavored corn water. There will always be more well aged whiskey out there. Our experiences are the true scarcity. 

[BadlandsBandit]

Thanks, Joe for linking me this. Lots of good insight and info.  Never even had the notion of going in with a group to share the joy.

[geclbxf]

On 3/7/2021 at 7:17 PM, clearmoon247 said:

I'm the kind of person who would happily make jello shots with Pappy 23 given the chance.

 

I know that Stagg is good and is a great addition to any of the vatting I've done before.

 

I always appreciate a good bottle or pour, but I also try to not hold too much value into what is wood flavored corn water. There will always be more well aged whiskey out there. Our experiences are the true scarcity. 

Since Ohio has given your town our native son football coach, can I come tailgate and get some of those Jello shots?   LOL  

I agree with your point 100%

[clearmoon247]

On 3/13/2021 at 7:30 AM, geclbxf said:

Since Ohio has given your town our native son football coach, can I come tailgate and get some of those Jello shots?   LOL  

I agree with your point 100%

Absolutely 

[clearmoon247]

This weekend, we pulled 5 Gallons out of the barrel, bottled 2 cases for the various people who added to the barrel, and replaced it with an additional 5 gallons of barrel strength bourbon.

 

The blend increased by 2% ABV during that time, which is just crazy! In the coming days, the majority or people involved in the project will be receiving their bottles.

 

At this point,  I will be continuing the finishing for a very select few for an additional 6+ months from now. This has been quite the fun adventure and it will only get better from here.

 

I want to add, I pulled 2 bottles for samples locally.  The first is for now and the second to compare after the 6 months to see how the blend has evolved. 

[0895]

1 hour ago, clearmoon247 said:

 

I want to add, I pulled 2 bottles for samples locally.  The first is for now and the second to compare after the 6 months to see how the blend has evolved. 

 

 

Well, how is it?

[clearmoon247]

7 minutes ago, 0895 said:

 

Well, how is it?

Honestly,  it tastes like a rich caramel apple. The proof can sneak up on you though. At some point, I will do a side-by-side of the blend when it started out vs now to do a deeper dive of what the barrel impact was on the whiskey.

[Bob_Loblaw]

10 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

This weekend, we pulled 5 Gallons out of the barrel, bottled 2 cases for the various people who added to the barrel, and replaced it with an additional 5 gallons of barrel strength bourbon.

 

The blend increased by 2% ABV during that time, which is just crazy! In the coming days, the majority or people involved in the project will be receiving their bottles.

 

At this point,  I will be continuing the finishing for a very select few for an additional 6+ months from now. This has been quite the fun adventure and it will only get better from here.

 

I want to add, I pulled 2 bottles for samples locally.  The first is for now and the second to compare after the 6 months to see how the blend has evolved. 

 Very cool bottles/labels. Barreled one day before my 40th! So close.