Apple Brandy Barrel Finishing Project

[clearmoon247]

Good evening everyone!

I wanted to give a follow up on a project that's been in the works for over two years.

 

Link to original story:

https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/28161-apple-brandy-barrel-finishing-project/#comment-656590

 

On Jan 17, 2021, I coordinated filling a 15 gallon apple brandy barrel with a local whiskey group. At the 3 month mark, I pulled enough from the barrel to have 2 bottles for myself and a bottle for every person who was involved for the initial project. This was done primarily due to a falling out between myself and a number of key members of the group and I needed to walk away.

 

Once the whiskey was pulled, I took it upon myself to replace it with ~5 gallons of bourbon & rye from my bunker/whiskey library. Since then, the barrel has rested in its place for the past 2 years. 

 

I did pull a single bottles worth from the barrel at both the 1 year and 18 month marks to see how the barrel was doing.

 

Well, yesterday,  I finally got around to pulling 24L from the barrel for bottling. The initial entry proof was 57% ABV. After updating the blend, it increased to 59%. As of today, it is at a very lovely 61.8% ABV.

 

After doing a side-by-side with the 3 month finished, the difference is night and day. Where the OG bottle is bright and sweet, the 2 year bottle is incredibly rich, a lovely oaky/leathery finish and a beautiful fruity hit from the apple brandy. It tastes like a love child of JMCB & Bardstown Collaboration Copper and Kings Apple Brandy, which are two of my all time favorite releases.

 

As a nod to my amazing wife, I created a custom label dedicated to her

 

 

At this point, I have plenty of bottles to personally enjoy for quite some time and share generously with friends.

 

You may be thinking, what's next for the barrel. As a glutton for punishment, I've added another 3 gallons to the 1.5-2 gallons left in the barrel and I'll probably add another 5-6 bottles this weekend after sampling to see what the blend needs and I'll let it go for another year or three before bottling the next batch.

 

I think I've rambled enough for one night.

 

Cheers!