my first score of white oak

[frdlturner]

Yesterday was a friends birthday so I wrapped a bottle of apple pie shine and took it to him for his birthday.
This morning he and his wife came over to tell me how good it was and thanks for the present.
well we was talking and he asked how did I get the amber color in my whiskey I told him about J.D. chips but said my son said I had a white oak down in the woods and we was going to cut it up for this. He asked what size do you cut it to and I told him 3/4'x3/4'x4' he said ok.
Well they went home after thanking me again.
Well he just dropped off some white oak all cut up for me I asked how much he said nothing I had some end left over pieces from a table I made. he made me 57 of them said let him know if I needed more
here's a pic of them

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[still_stirrin]

Are those "aged" dominos?
ss

[frdlturner]

he said they where from wood that was several years old

[Badmotivator]

What a score!

Those sticks are like merrains, the cut-but-not-shaped pieces of oak that will later be made into barrel staves. If I were you I would stack those out in your back yard just like they do in the yards of the cooperages to season. I have seen numbers between 4 months and five years of just weathering to remove or mellow out the tannins and make other flavors more available to the spirit.

http://www.lapassade.com/en/barrel-merrain/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.dargaud-jaegle.com/en/the-wood" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.tonnellerie-allary.com/coope ... orage.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.drinkingcup.net/understandin ... he-detail/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

That last link has this meaty quote: "According to experienced American barrel broker Mel Knox, not even the stave width or thickness is as important to a spirits final flavour profile than well seasoned oak."

[Mikey-moo]

If they were originally kiln dried you might find some acrid flavours in there, but otherwise great result

[frdlturner]

my friend came by today and I asked him if the white oak was kiln dried he said no he has 200 acres and he cuts and mills his own wood and this oak he gave me was cut into boards a couple of years ago and put in his barn. He took a piece and planed it down on 2 sides to 3/4" then cut them to be 3/4"×3/4"×4" pieces for me. So should I let them set longer before toasting and charring them

[Mikey-moo]

Toast a few now and see how you get on, put the rest outside, stacked up to be rained on for a while, you should see the tannins leeching out of them after a while. Good score though

[Badmotivator]

I agree. Even just as it is now you can get a lot of great flavors from it. I strongly believe (from experience) that un-weathered oak has a harsh tannin component that you will be glad you got rid of by weathering. I see an experiment in your future.

[frdlturner]

so it would be better to sack the little pieces on the back deck and just leave them there for a year or more

[Mikey-moo]

so it would be better to sack the little pieces on the back deck and just leave them there for a year or more

Play Jenga with it from time to time to make sure all the surfaces get exposed

[TDick]

Thought I throw this out with a request for input.

After too many delays I have 4 gallons of Jimbo's Wheated Bourbon mash and another 8 gallons of the gumball sitting as well.

I don't know how much product I'm going to get of the Bourbon but my original plan was to nuke half and put half up.

I finally got over to a small lumber yard today looking for oak.
It was right at lunch time and looked like everyone was clearing out.
An older gentleman in his jeans work shirt and boot. was standing in the middle of the gravel lot.
"Yes sir, something I can help you with?"
"Yes sir, I need some untreated white oak."
"Yep we got some. Walk on over here and take a look. How long do you need."
"Not long. Really just a couple of feet"
"What you gonna use it for?"
For whatever reason I said," Aging whiskey."
He looked over at me and I said, "I'm not MAKING it. I'm just trying to make it better. It's for Christmas presents"
"Oh,
well this here's what you want."
He showed me a stack of 1" x 4" 6 ft and picked one up and handed it to me.
"That should do. How you gonna cut it? Long time ago I cut some in blocks about yeah big and put it in that old Wildcat Whiskey."
He measured out with his hands about 4 x 4 inches.
"Oh. Was that for like a gallon?"
"Oh nooooooooo. That was to put in big old barrels. But like I said that was a LONG time ago."
"Yes sir, I've read to cut em up 1 x 1 about 4-5 inches long to put in a quart."
"Yeah, that'll probably work."
I asked and he told me the board would be $3.00 and I handed him a $20.
Pulled out his wallet looking through bills and said "Oh, don't look like I got change for that."
I said, "I'm sorry I only have 20s. Are you Mr. (Smith)?"
"Yep" I told him my name and he asked where are you from.
"I'm from here and you're almost old enough to know my Daddy. He was (Joe Jones)"
"Oh yeah I sure did."
We talked a while about that and asked if he could just trust me to bring the $3 back.
"Sure. Or you can just bring me one of those Christmas presents."
"You got it Mr. Smith"

So the question now is if there's a way to speed up aging as this stuff feels pretty heavy and green. Or are these going to have to wait until next year?

[Chixter]

stuff feels pretty heavy and green

Yep, next years stock. Should let it cure outdoors for at least 6 mos. I buy mine from a guy on ebay selling 3/4 x 3/4 x 12". They are untreated but air dried. He sells primarily to wood turners for pen blanks. Leave outside for 2 months, and these are GTG. I cut them to 4" so I get 3 out of a stick. Toast and char and they are the perfect size for a qt. mason jar. I bought enough to last me a good while. Have aged some UJSM and some barley whiskey with them. I posted this find a while back with a link to his ebay page. He may have some. In a pinch you can use them as you get them. I did with my first quarts of UJSM. Performed fine.

[TDick]

Thanks Chixter.
It hurt my feelings but I bought a bag of JD chips at the Wal tonight to use until these are done.

[jonnys_spirit]

I got a 1/2 JD barrel planter. Charred inside. $30. Broke it up and stacked outside. Cut up a stave into fingers and toast/char as needed. This barrel was already used once so it’s certainly already seasoned. Cutting it up exposes plenty of new wood and 4h @ 400* gives a nice heavy dark toast all the way through. I’ll char one or two per gallon for five total. Also fill a couple quart jars full of em and top off with wine, sherry, bourbon, port and use a select finger for finishing wood.

Takin a break from drinking for a little while so should be able to get my reserves stocked up too and recalibrate. He he he.

This stuff is so good it gets real easy to drink and even easier to share.

Ciao!
-j

[WIski]

I have expedited the seasoning of oak boards by soaking submerged for a day or two and then drying outside for several days. Repeat this process about 20 times and your going to be golden. Maybe not as good as old fashion sittin outside for 2 years but will definitely get rid of those acrid tannins. YMMV