jvd99 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 This is my second Badmotivator (“Badmo”) barrel project. Here’s a link to their website: https://badmotivatorbarrels.com For those of you that don’t know, the base Badmo barrel is about 1.8 gallons and the wood to liquid ratio is roughly equivalent to a 53 gallon barrel, so you can age for years at home. The wood is properly seasoned and charred new American oak. My first Badmo barrel was filled earlier in 2023 with BT wheated white dog and will sit for 4-6 years, hopefully yielding some sort of Weller equivalent. My new project involves what Badmo describes as an “Experimental Infinity Barrel.” Instead of a bung in the front wood panel that requires considerable effort to smash out with a mallet, it has a welded neck and cork stopper, making it much easier to frequently open and close to add to the blend. The idea is that instead of having the infinity blend in an inert bottle, you’ll be able to barrel age the infinity blend, adding an extra layer of flavor and uniqueness all your own. Badmo did a limited run of 44 infinity barrels. As to quality, it’s top notch. The seal on the wood to the barrel has no leaks, the wood seams don’t leak, the spigot doesn’t leak and the weld on top looks nice and even. My only issue is the cork because it failed immediately. The cork itself didn’t break, the glue just gave way from the wood part, but I easily fixed it with some epoxy and vise; and Badmo immediately sent a backup stopper no questions asked. All of my worries center on the cork. First, I worry about evaporation from the cork seal. Second, having put the cork in and out several times with just water in the barrel, it forms a pretty tight seal that does take some torque to get loosened. I’m afraid I’ll break the cork itself below the epoxy fix I made and then it’ll be stuck in the opening which would be a big problem. My solution will probably be to not seat the cork so firmly and parafilm it in between top-offs. Overall, it’s really a cool idea, but that’s a lot of booze for an infinity project, over seven (7) 750 ml. bottles worth! Luckily for me, when I started down the bourbon black hole, I bought several hundred 2 oz. Boston rounds and sampled out 4 oz. of just about every bottle I drank. That endeavor lasted for two or three years and then I gave up, but ended up with a ton of samples squirrelled away. Over the years, I drank some, gave a bunch away, and the rest eventually just collected dust in the basement. Out of sight out of mind, until now, because this is the perfect vessel to help me get rid of most of my remaining samples. I ended up choosing about 45 samples (still keeping some of the really good ones for myself), then added a 4R tasting set, and two 750 ml. bottles worth of some fillers I had open. Eyeballing my chart (see below), seems like it’ll average out to around 100 proof, right in my wheelhouse and not too overpowering for guests. So at the end of the day, this really is a true infinity blend of my past and present. I’ve ordered a hydrometer and will test the ABV at a later date. After its all blended together, I’ll probably sample out 2 oz. every few months so I can have a vertical one day to see how things have changed. Of course, I also plan to drink out of it so I can keep adding from future bottles. If it’s good, I’m planning on making a 375 available in the next go around of the SB fantasy football league which should have about a year of age on it. I think the infinity barrel will be easy to maintain and fun to interact with as opposed to just filling a regular barrel and then staring at it for a few years, which can really test one’s patience. Would love to hear any comments, suggestions, etc. Cheers! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Here's what actually went into the barrel today (it's green b/c I needed to keep the format and the color can be read on a black background) NAME VINTAGE PROOF OUNCES ADDED DATE ADDED Weller 12 2023 90.0 8 01/10/2024 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A123 2023 125.6 8 01/10/2024 Old Scout 5 yr. - Gold Eagle Pick 2023 120.0 8 01/10/2024 Chattanooga BIB Spring 2019 2023 100.0 4 01/10/2024 Barrel Bourbon 15 yr. Grey Label 2023 100.58 2 01/10/2024 Maker’s Mark - Kenwood Pick (Stave Finish) 2023 108.8 2 01/10/2024 Jim Beam Double Oak 2023 86.0 8 01/10/2024 Wild Turkey 2023 81.0 8 01/10/2024 Blanton’s 2023 93.0 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OBSV 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OBSK 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OBSO 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OBSQ 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OBSF 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OESV 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OESK 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OESO 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OESQ 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Four Roses Tasting Set OESF 2023 104.0 1.6 01/10/2024 Elijah Craig 23 2012 90.0 2 01/10/2024 Elijah Craig 18 2015 90.0 4 01/10/2024 Elijah Craig 12 2014 94.0 4 01/10/2024 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 5 134.8 2 01/10/2024 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12 A117 2017 127.0 4 01/10/2024 Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary 2012 93.0 2 01/10/2024 Wild Turkey Master’s Keep 17 2015 86.8 2 01/10/2024 Wild Turkey Master’s Keep “Decades” 2017 104.0 2 01/10/2024 Wild Turkey Rare Breed 2015 107.0 2 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OESO 11 yr. 8 mo. Kenwood Pick 2014 109.4 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OESV 9 yr. 6 mo. Kenwood Pick 2015 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OBSF 9 yr. 2 mo. Kenwood Pick 2016 126.6 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OBSF 9 yr. 2 mo. Kenwood Pick 2016 127.0 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OESK 9 yr. 2 mo. Kenwood Pick 2016 116.2 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OESQ 8 yr. 2 mo. Kenwood Pick 2015 121.2 4 01/10/2024 Four Roses Single Barrel OBSK 9 yr. 8 mo. Binny’s Pick 2015 120.6 4 01/10/2024 Weller Special Reserve 2015 90.0 2 01/10/2024 Weller 12 2015 90.0 2 01/10/2024 Blanton’s 2016 93.0 2 01/10/2024 Blanton’s Gold 2016 103.0 2 01/10/2024 Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel 2016 130.6 4 01/10/2024 Knob Creek 2001 Batch 1 2016 100.0 4 01/10/2024 Michter’s 10 2016 94.4 4 01/10/2024 Stagg Jr. Batch 4 2015 132.2 4 01/10/2024 Stagg Jr. 2016 130.0 4 01/10/2024 Colonel E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof 2017 127.2 4 01/10/2024 Ancient Ancient Age 10 2012 86.0 4 01/10/2024 Eagle Rare 10 2016 90.0 4 01/10/2024 Eagle Rare 17 BTAC 2015 90.0 2 01/10/2024 George T. Stagg BTAC 2013 128.2 2 01/10/2024 Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel 2015 100.0 2 01/10/2024 Noah’s Mill 2015 114.3 2 01/10/2024 Angel’s Envy – Binny’s Pick 2015 86.6 2 01/10/2024 Elmer T. Lee 2014 90.0 2 01/10/2024 Old Fitzgerald BIB 2011 100.0 4 01/10/2024 Old Forrester 1920 2016 115.0 4 01/10/2024 Booker’s 2016-5 “Get off your Rocker” 2016 129.7 4 01/10/2024 Henry McKenna 10 BIB 2015 100.0 4 01/10/2024 Smooth Ambler Old Scout 10 2015 100.0 4 01/10/2024 Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 2015 113.2 4 01/10/2024 Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 2014 113.4 2 01/10/2024 Jim Beam BIB 2014 100.0 2 01/10/2024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWIndy Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Good luck! You are starting with some great bourbons and top notch equipment. Will be interesting to hear how it all blends over time. Only question/suggestion I have is around temperature fluctuations. Are you planning on exposing the barrel to ambient (i.e. outside) air? The temperature changes drive the juice in and out of the oak. Cheers. VW Indy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 I’ll be keeping the barrel inside in the pantry. Since I live in the Chicago area, the humidity changes from season to season are enough to let the wood sufficiently interact with the liquid. I don’t think Badmo recommends storing the barrel in the garage or attic, they’re pretty much for inside use I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM818 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I checked these out and I would like to get my hands on one of these. I know they’re sold out. I like the idea of emptying a lot of bottles into the barrel to help me “reset” my open bottles. Then having one spigot to pour from sounds fantastic! Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 14 hours ago, MM818 said: I checked these out and I would like to get my hands on one of these. I know they’re sold out. I like the idea of emptying a lot of bottles into the barrel to help me “reset” my open bottles. Then having one spigot to pour from sounds fantastic! Good luck! Shoot Christopher at Badmo an e-mail - he's really friendly and responsive. Hopefully he's got more in the pipeline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Have you been tasting the first one along the way? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berto Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Sounds like a fun and hopefully tasty experiment. You definitely put some quality in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 16 hours ago, flahute said: Have you been tasting the first one along the way? Not yet. I filled the first one on July 26, 2023, so it's only been less than 6 months. I'm going to weigh it at 6 months just to make sure there's no issues with the barrel, which I don't expect because it looks pristine on the outside indicating no seepage through the wood, seals or bung. Ill probably try some after 2 years when it's unofficially a straight bourbon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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