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I ran across some JD Oak barrel chips used for smoking while barbecueing. Has anyone seen these or used these? I found em at the supermarket and, well, you know what i thought. havent made a sour mash or whisky yet, but after seeing these, really made me reconsider, seeing as how white oak is hard to come by out here in the boondocks!!


EDIT: Shoulda done a search before makin a post. its all there before me. Thats what i get for taking a break from the HD website!

toofless wrote:Thats what i get for taking a break from the HD website!

I know.........Where ya been toof?

occasionally lurking in the background. have been doing sugar washes successfully and just doing my thing. kinda like i learned how to walk, now i dont need mom and dad to hold my hand....HOWEVER! I have been doing alot of thinking about corn mashes lately, so im sure you all will be seeing me again! I dont have the copper working skills (or copper working budget!) to post up new projects every so often like some of the talented folks here, so that may contribute to my absence as well! good to be back though. i miss it.

I've used that oak before and it tastes fine. It's much cheaper than buying oak from the brewshops.

I'm assuming that the barrel stave's are run through a chipper. Assuming that this is the case, what if the outside of the barrel was treated with fungicide or paint? Anything that was on the outside of the barrel will be on the inside of your jar.

I'm not comfortable using them because I don't know how or if JD treats their barrels.

rubber duck wrote:I'm assuming that the barrel stave's are run through a chipper. Assuming that this is the case, what if the outside of the barrel was treated with fungicide or paint? Anything that was on the outside of the barrel will be on the inside of your jar.

I'm not comfortable using them because I don't know how or if JD treats their barrels.

The Essencia oak has JD oak in it.

That's good to know NO1DLR.

Do you happen to have a link with any info?

Thanks RD

Edit. I found it http://aussiebrewer.com.au/index.php?op ... cle&id=183" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I'm still not convinced so I'm going to keep looking If anyone has info on how these chips are processed or if the barrels are treated I would like to know.

I've actually gone to the jackdaniels distillery and can safely say that the wooden barrels have no preservatives in them what so ever. They are trying to make a good whiskey so why would they add anything that might make it bad in or outside the barrels. The guide that led us around said that they simpley run the barrels through a chipper and package them taking the metal off obviously. I've never used them but I'm planning on it as soon as I get done withy new still.

Seems to me that if the barrels were treated with paint or chemicals it'd be illegal for jd to sell them for use in food preparation

The Essencia oak is better but it's over 4 times the price of the JD oak.

Have just put 3L of 40% on 500g Essencia chunks,just over a day on them so far and nice colour and smell.will be trying a couple of different things with the finished product.Will let it soak for 8 days or so then filter it off.Will soak another 2.3L on the same chunks and let sit for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes,may add an essence to the second lot,see what happens i guess.

2-3 weeks is not enough, you need at least a couple of months for that wet stick taste to dissapear and the smooth vanilla taste to appear.

OD

Just got me a bag, twice the size of the oaking products in my brewstore at a third the price.

No I would be money there is no harmful chemicals added to these barrels, after all they have to "breathe" and why would jack take the chance of some harmful chemical leaching through into their whiskey, that would be all the need to ruin their rep. gotta use a little common sense sometimes.

marc83 wrote:Have just put 3L of 40% on 500g Essencia chunks,just over a day on them so far and nice colour and smell.will be trying a couple of different things with the finished product.Will let it soak for 8 days or so then filter it off.Will soak another 2.3L on the same chunks and let sit for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes,may add an essence to the second lot,see what happens i guess.

You'd be better off buying a seal-able 10L bucket and putting 500g of oak in that and then fill it up with neutral. Leave it for 2 or 3 weeks and it should be mint.

I've tried these chips made out of used burbon barrels and have to say that I am impressed, I know they are a little pricey but just had to try em and I'm glad I did. MM http://www.milehidistilling.com/Product ... Code=85200" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

went to an ACE hardware store where they were supposed to sell the JD chips. they were out of em but when i was leaving i saw huge piles of firewood out back. i asked what kind of wood it was and they told me it was red oak. anyone tried using this? i still havent been able to find white oak anywhere but homebrew shops and its expensive!

red oak is very "tanic" not the sweet Caramel most are looking for.

Where are you at Irishmike ?
I could send you a stick of 2 year old white oak.
I cut some up recently, charred it , and used it in a all-grain bourbon. this is what it looked like after a couple weeks. Cheers, NChooch

my god NC thats beautiful! Im in Va Beach. you in NC i assume?

irishmike wrote:went to an ACE hardware store where they were supposed to sell the JD chips. they were out of em but when i was leaving i saw huge piles of firewood out back. i asked what kind of wood it was and they told me it was red oak. anyone tried using this? i still havent been able to find white oak anywhere but homebrew shops and its expensive!

Having the same problem here. Took the plunge and bought some of these. Aint free but better'n nuttin.

irishmike wrote:my god NC thats beautiful! Im in Va Beach. you in NC i assume?

Thanks Irish, I'm pretty proud of that color myself.

WalkingWolf wrote: Having the same problem here. Took the plunge and bought some of these. Aint free but better'n nuttin.

Thats not a bad deal Wolf, 10 bucks and he did all the work for ya. ... I recon Carolina white oak makes a better drink though.

cheers,
NChooch