Madrone bark + oak = winning combo

[Bro-sephus]

After living up in the Great Northwest for several years, I discovered the Pacific Madrone tree (arbutus menziesii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbutus_menziesii" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow) and did some experimenting. The bottom line up front is that madrone bark is an excellent aging ingredient when used in tandem with charred oak. I've aged ujssm and nchooch's bourbon with madrone bark and charred oak sticks and thoroughly enjoyed them both.

The native tribes in the PNW ate madrone berries (which are ripe from Nov-Jan), used the leaves as poultices, and made tea out of the bark. Madrone tea has the earthy flavor of the forest and peculiar but delightful undernotes of cinnamon and spices. You can actually make a nice brandy out of the berries, which I posted on another thread under fruits. The best bark for tea, as I've found, is the thin light curls that peel off the smaller branches, whereas for whiskey you should use the darker, thicker bark near the base of the tree which is about 1/8th inch thick. I've used one or two pieces about 1" wide by 2"-3" long with one or two medium char oak sticks per quart mason jar to get the effect. My latest batch of whiskey I distressed aged between my freezer and garage and it has the best flavor I've been able to produce so far.

If you live I the PNW or have friends that do, try it out and let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Brosephus