Dougdogs' Whiskey Rebarreling...

[Rughi]

Doug,

Don't go gettin' all Texas on us with that Mesquite stuff. You gonna make "Doug Dogie's Western Roundup Red Likker" or "God's Honest Bay Area Kentucky Bourbon", in the good old Lawrenceburg-Fresno tradition?

Roger "Don't Mess with Texas" Hodges

[barturtle]

Actually I was considering that a possible thing to watch out for(i.e. an unwanted flavor)- The used up JD charcoal would not have much wood flavor left over while still working well as a filtering agent.

I believe that a good Kenifornia Bourbon in the Frankno tradition is the goal

[barturtle]

Going back to the point of refilling it to keep it from drying out and leaking. I'm not sure about how you actually feel about the semi-solera system that this sets up, but if you're not entirely happy with that and would like to just let that batch mature on its own without any outside interference, you might want to ask Ken Weber what it is the leak chasers use to seal up leaks on their barrels(in case any develop). Though this might be more practicable on the bigger barrel when you get to it, as the samples taken out will reduce the volume by a smaller pecentage each time, allowing for longer aging(and more samples)before it is empty.

Not that I think the solera system is bad, it could work quite well. Just trying to give any other options that are available.

[doubleblank]

Hey Doug.......Have you ever tried Prichard's Double Barreled Bourbon? I don't know if its available anymore, but my recollection is that the Prichard Distillery bought barrels of bourbon, cut it down in proof, and then rebarreled it into "small", new charred barrels. I have a bottle but haven't opened it. They use 15 gallon oak barrels for ageing their rum......my guess is they used the same size for their bourbon. There never was much discussion about it on this site.....just a couple of threads and minimal comments regarding taste. The bottle says 9yo, but I don't recall any distiction between age in the first barrel and age from the second barrel. Again, my guess is that it didn't stay in the new barrels very long......they needed cash flow.....and it also makes sense as discussed herein.

Randy

[kbuzbee]

Doug I think the gold coffee filter idea will work just fine. You would get (maybe) a better filteration putting some of the char into the gold filter but (I suspect) char falling out of the barrle will accomplish this in short order.

Ken

[Gillman]

Just roll the barrel around (or shake it) a bit once in a while, that should take care of any drying out issue. Distillers sometimes still roll barrels around in warehouses, to rotate, and for those who don't (most), the leaking problem seems controllable - otherwise they wouldn't have given up rotating the barrels.

Gary

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

One thought on the coffee filter. If I were you I would wash it out with vodka first, to get out any flavors that alcohol might leach out of it before you run any of your precious bourbon through it. Dito for any charcoal you might use.

Ed

[dougdog]

Ok...

I'm planning on using a paper coffee filter...not gold, the holes are too big.

I'm thinking that the mesquite charcoal would be used to influence/mello the flavor, not act as a "filter", just filter/trickle the whiskey through it. yea, JD does it in maple wood charcoal...mine would have a different slant...if it came out close to anything like McKendrick's I'll quickley give that idea up for good.

As for topping off after taking samples...even after 8 50ml reductions, I've compromised less than 2% of the intergity of the experiment.

More later...

Keep the input coming!

Thanks Roger! LOL

dougdog

[TNbourbon]

Hey Doug.......Have you ever tried Prichard's Double Barreled Bourbon? I don't know if its available anymore, but my recollection is that the Prichard Distillery bought barrels of bourbon, cut it down in proof, and then rebarreled it into "small", new charred barrels. I have a bottle but haven't opened it. They use 15 gallon oak barrels for ageing their rum...my guess is they used the same size for their bourbon...Randy

You are correct about the process, Randy. And make that two unopened bottles to compare with Ken's when he brings his to the Gazebo .

I believe the erstwhile Jacob's Well "micro-distilled" Beam bottling also was rebarreled.

[TNbourbon]

...I'm considering two ideas at this point in time, first is to just run it through a coffee filter to remove all the big chunks. Second is to take some of the Mesquite charcoal that I use in my BBQ, crush it, and run some of the bourbon through it as in "Charcoal Filtered"...

Doug, go out and get some McKendric Western Style Whiskey, try it, and then forget that mesquite idea.

[dougdog]

Here are the items that I have so far to help me manage my little barrels.

Hydrometer

Pipette with bulb for extraction.

Two part funnel

Coffee filters (paper)

[dougdog]

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[dougdog]

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[dougdog]

With this arrangement, I am able to put charcoal in the top and still keep the big chunks out of the bottle

[JeffRenner]

Hydrometer

Doug

You might want to consider getting a refractometer to test for alcohol level. This requires only a drop or two.

You can get them on eBay, although most of them have a scale for sugar (Brix) or salinity. But occasionally, one that measures alcohol shows up, and I suspect that the regular sellers kept them in stock. You'd have to ask. Should be able to get one with automatic temperature control for around $50, I'd think.

Or, if you found one that reads out Refractive Index (RI), you can easily convert that to per cent alcohol. I have a chart for that somewhere, and they are easily available. The chart, that is.

I love my refractometer for brewing and will never go back to a hydrometer.

Jeff

Here is a typical one, not necessarily the kind you want:

[RedVette]

"Doug Dogie's Western Roundup Red Likker"

[dougdog]

First and foremost, I’d NEVER chill-filter a whiskey-whisky...NEVER!

(That's why William Larue Weller Is SO appealing to me)...can't wait to taste some!

Second and of more importance, I'd never, NEVER, chill-filter a whiskey-whisky...I hope I'm clear on this.

As for the re-ageing, I figure the "double wood" influence is what I'm aiming for...I'm looking for the fuller, richer, bigger mouth-feel type experience. I'm hoping that the barrel proof will increase in time. (Part of the "Base-line" in this project is to see what will happen to proof. If proof doesn't rise significantly, I'll go to work on ideas for increasing proof. Those might include starting with something like Wild turkey 101 or a WL Weller 100 proof from Buffalo Trace for the 5 gallon barrel)

I'm always interested in the tasting notes of others who mention the bigger wood influences or in some cases the "over-wooded" tasting note in the whiskey they are commenting on. I seek these out to experience the most flavors the barrel has to offer...I've not found an over wooded whiskey yet...I guess I like those barrel notes!

Given that the barrel will be checked regularly, should it become over wooded I believe that the whisky could still be used for not only cooking, but to mix with other whiskies to "Gillmanize" them. So, with this in mind, I really don't see a down side.

Ken at BT has really got me thinking about his "double barrel" experiment he's got going on since posting the information he gave above. Particularly his emphasis on the word "Rich"....Hmmmmm....what could that mean? I think I'll PM a note to Ken and try out a couple of ideas that come to mind...I digress.

The new-filled barrel is prone to some recent leaking at the bung. This is noted happening when the afternoon sun hits the barrel around 3-5 pm in the afternoon/evening. I suppose the wood is expanding/swelling from the first full fill along with the expansion of the contents from warming.

The thermometer has had a 33 degree hi-lo temperature swing noted in the last 4 days. I will draw the first sample and re-set the thermometer tell-tales tomorrow (Saturday, 11-26-5) and post results.

Until then...keep the thoughts and comments coming.

Best regards, dougdog

[dougdog]

Randy...

I have not tasted Prichard's, don't even know what the bottle/label looks like.

Didn't even know about it...I don't get out much!

It sounds interesting...one question....was this product widely available in it's day? and if so, do you know what areas of distribution, particularly if it ever was seen in California? (Ok, so that might be three questions)

Would you mind posting a picture of your bottle?

Thanks!

dougdog

[doubleblank]

Hey Doug.......I don't think it was widely distributed...I got mine in KY. I'll post a few pics on Monday.

Randy

[robbyvirus]

Randy...

I have not tasted Prichard's, don't even know what the bottle/label looks like.

Didn't even know about it...I don't get out much!

dougdog

Doug, I think the stress of bourbon hunting is finally catching up to you. I brought some Pritchard's Double-Barreled Bourbon to the SB gathering at Jim Butler's house this summer, and you, me, and Roger gave it a try. As I recall, you liked it quite a bit.

The bottle I had came from a liquor store in Nashville, Tennessee a couple of years ago. I've only seen it in that one store...never in California, or anywhere else for that matter.

[barturtle]

Here's a pic and label text from that "other" bourbon site.

http://bourbonenthusiast.com/forum/DBvd.php?id=249&task=displaybottling

[dougdog]

Robby,

You wrote:

Doug, I think the stress of bourbon hunting is finally catching up to you.

And you are probably spot on...

That "stress", together with CRS has caused the Prichard's to fall off my whiskey radar screen...

BTW...CRS is an ailment that I suffer from in my old age, translated it is the shortened, PC version of "Can't Remember Shit"

I'm sorry for not remembering!

I brought some Pritchard's Double-Barreled Bourbon to the SB gathering at Jim Butler's house this summer

Jim who?...........................

Robby, that would be a good bottle to bring over to study group some time to re-investigate and become familiar with again...certainly, the "double barrel" aspect would be interesting for comparative purposes with my re-barrel project. Someone else mentioned Jacobs Well as double barrel bourbon, and I have a bottle that we can open for part of that study.

Just kiddin' Boss!...(Really, I do remember Jim, wasn't he the guy runnin' around at a hundred miles and hour, fixin' REAL tasty treats on the BBQ with cooking tongs in one hand and a cordless drill in the other?)

I hadn't forgotten the great hospitality and great food we had that day! I think Jim just needed a third hand to allow the bourbon glass to be held in closer proximity at all times.

[OneCubeOnly]

I believe the erstwhile Jacob's Well "micro-distilled" Beam bottling also was rebarreled.

Wasn't there something weird about the rebarrelling of Jacob's Well? I vaguely remember some discussion about it, and IIRC the conclusion was they really didn't do a straight rebarrel, it was more like they topped off existing ones...something unusual like that!?

[bobbyc]

they really didn't do a straight rebarrel, it was more like they topped off existing ones...something unusual like that!?

That is something that is being done a lot more than you'll hear about.

[dougdog]

Last evening, (11-26-5) I had guests (Tim TMH and wife Aya) over for dinner and to sample some whiskey-whisky. After dinner we sampled many types of bourbon and finally got around to opening the little barrel. We took out 20 ml’s for each glass and filled a 50 ml bottle for the archive. Then, from the original 1.75 liter plastic bottle we poured a small amount into a glass for comparison and filled a 50ml bottle to archive as well. The balance of the plastic bottle was used to top off the barrel.

We compared the color of the two bottles…it seemed that there was no noticeable change…

Then we went to the glasses and that is where the change was easy to detect…Just nosing it, you could already tell that the whiskey was softer, rounder, sweeter and mellower. When tasting it, my palate was rewarded with fuller, richer flavors. Tim agreed. I could still tell we were drinking Ancient Age and thought the differences were not overwhelming; it was clearly evident the barrel had been workin’ on the whiskey. Satisfied that there were some good changes in just one week’s time, we’ll look forward to checking this again in the future.

It is time to put the barrel up in the attic and get it into the cycle of larger temperature swings; I’ll post pictures when it is settled in.

The temperature this week in the bonsai studio has ranged from 71 degrees for the high and 38 degrees for the low...about a 33 degree swing. We’ll see what the attic does.