aging cognac

Treatment and handling of your distillate.

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neil
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aging cognac

Post by neil »

Next harvest I want to ferment some apples and grapes and make cognac and calvados out of it.
I was wondering what kind of barrelsI should use for that. French oak obviously, but with a char, toast or just plain wood.

Does anybody know how the french use to do it?
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der wo
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Re: aging cognac

Post by der wo »

European oak, toast, but no char.
Some links with good info and pictures:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... -chile.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://woodenbarrelwarehouse.com/cooper ... el-making/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://wineandbarrels.com/gb/category/t ... arrels-34/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
In this way, imperialism brings catastrophe as a mode of existence back from the periphery of capitalist development to its point of departure. - Rosa Luxemburg
MDH
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Re: aging cognac

Post by MDH »

I'm going to keep posting this link everywhere

http://www.pediacognac.com/en/le-vieill ... lissement/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
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der wo
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Re: aging cognac

Post by der wo »

Excellent link. Thank you MDH!
In this way, imperialism brings catastrophe as a mode of existence back from the periphery of capitalist development to its point of departure. - Rosa Luxemburg
neil
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Re: aging cognac

Post by neil »

Thank you. Those are some very helpfull links. :clap:
Although I still can’t find the right kind of toast that is used for cognac. Heavy or light toast, it doesn’t say…
MDH
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Re: aging cognac

Post by MDH »

I personally would choose a middle ground beneath medium and dark.
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
heartcut
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Re: aging cognac

Post by heartcut »

Nice. Thanks, MDH.
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neil
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Re: aging cognac

Post by neil »

MDH wrote:I personally would choose a middle ground beneath medium and dark.
And it takes a new barrel with that toast to make it I presume?
MDH
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Re: aging cognac

Post by MDH »

As mentioned in PediaCognac, yes, new French barrels... Unlike charred barrels you cannot retoast as easily because you are working with darkened oak that still has integrity. With charcoal you can scrape it away to rechar for second use.

In Cognac, the barrel size matters. They will move it from small barrels to larger and then to demijons to stop the oak from overriding the subtle flavors of the grapes.
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
rager
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Re: aging cognac

Post by rager »

Again im always learning something new here. carry on
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