aging with different kinds of wood?

[sttifyd35]

Has anyone aged their likker with woods other than oak? I know that white birch isnt poisonous at all. Has anyone tried with white birch?

[Snackson]

Check out this thread, http://ww.homedistiller.org/forum/viewt ... =4&t=33487" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[FullySilenced]

I have tried many types but i skipped over yellow and lighter pine.... if you would give those two a try and report back to the group... i could take them off my list then...

happy stillin,

FS

tried: apple, white oak, french oak, cherry, plum, hickory, pecan, JD Chips

[sttifyd35]

Yeah i think i want to give it a try. Its something different. If it comes out great, then awesome!

[Swedish Pride]

I like apple, not sure if it is because I've loads and am a cheap cunt or if it's nice

[Bushman]

My son gave me a downed plum tree I have used and mixed with oak with nice results. Just make sure (and I am sure it is mentioned in the link to the other thread) you use the heartwood from the tree. Probably the person that has done more testing on this subject and written more about it is Darek Bell owner of Corsair Distillery.

[Hilltop]

I have tried every type of oak on my property, I like the post oak with the long slender acorns by far above just plain white oak. I've also tried hickory and cherry which I didn't like.

I cut a small 1 to 2 inch size tree shave the bark off with my Case " cuts ass so easy" yellow pocket knife and char them black on my grill over charcoal. I put them in my undiluted liqueur with two cups of long grain white rice for three days then filter it through 6 inches of activated charcoal in a stainless pipe. It makes a smooth drop.

The post oak and that may not technically be the right name but an examination of the leaves show it's in the white oak family, these dont have many branches and grow straight up and do not live as long as a white oak, leaves a slightly pink ting to my golden liqueur unlike straight white oak which is a straight golden color.

I have found most store bought oak chips are made from the outer rings of the tree, using a whole tree from heart to outside rings by choosing trees that are small make the best oak.

I pour the 20 or so 4 inch long shaved charred oak pieces and rice back through a strainer bag and the activated charcoal takes the rest of the dissolved rice and tiny charred bits of oak out.

I think why some have to age on oak so long is the outside rings just don't have as much oak flavor you need the heart of the tree. My oak is still warm from the grill when I toss it in.

More than a week and it turns a dark dark color and is way to oaky. 3 days for me.

Now when I used store bought oak it took me two months to get the same type flavor. Fresh oak verses old oak sitting in a bag on a shelf from God knows what papermill or wherever is not a contest, give me hot fresh oak.

The rice tip was something I picked up here. I forgot to mention I grind that rice in a blender to a powder. Somehow it seems to mellow the liqueur out, not sure how it works but it does.

A week after I make corn-rye all grain with this method, my taste testers are in it like beer. I literally have to hide the jug, or else I won't have any. I have to watch em too or they get drunk as skunks because the smooth hides the 120 proof which Is where I like my liquer.

[Hilltop]

I have tried many types but i skipped over yellow and lighter pine.... if you would give those two a try and report back to the group... i could take them off my list then...

happy stillin,

FS

tried: apple, white oak, french oak, cherry, plum, hickory, pecan, JD Chips

Never use yellow pine, it is way to sappy, your liqueur will taste like turpentine.

[Mike6090]

I have tried many types but i skipped over yellow and lighter pine.... if you would give those two a try and report back to the group... i could take them off my list then...

happy stillin,

FS

tried: apple, white oak, french oak, cherry, plum, hickory, pecan, JD Chips

Never use yellow pine, it is way to sappy, your liqueur will taste like turpentine.

I recon so. That alcohol will cut that pine sap like a razor and make a distinctly poor product. Same with junper and any other evergreen trees.

I wonder about mesquite.

[Hilltop]

You gotta figure them old timers tried every tree in the woods and settled on hardwood and fruit by trial and error.

[Smokee]

I put some 120 proof on some cherry I toasted from a tree in my yard and forgot about it for 2 years. I found it Christmas eve and Santa couldn't of given me a better gift, it was unbelievably good. I thought it would of been too much time but it was perfect. I had it in a mason jar with 2-4"x1/2"x1/2" strips.

[thecroweater]

Plum is good in brandy, not tried it with grain spirit.

[CaptainCanuck]

I'm curious where you source your alternative types of wood.

I only seem to be able to find smoking chips when I search for anything other than Oak.
Maple and apple are both ones that I am particularly keen on trying.
I'm hesitant to just pick up something at the hardware store.

[OtisT]

I'm hesitant to just pick up something at the hardware store.

Your instincts serve you well.

Typically you want a wood that has been seasoned, as least when it comes to oak you do. Seasoning involves letting the wood breath outside in the weather for a year or so. Wood from the hardware store is kiln dried, and has not been able to release some of the less desirable compounds in it, so I'm told. Otis

[Hilltop]

I'm curious where you source your alternative types of wood.

I only seem to be able to find smoking chips when I search for anything other than Oak.
Maple and apple are both ones that I am particularly keen on trying.
I'm hesitant to just pick up something at the hardware store.

Making your own is easy. Do you own a fireplace or grill? Every town has someone that supplies firewood if you do not have access to it. I see several people who do not have fireplaces use their oven.

[DSmith78]

Well I'm going to attempt to wake this thread up... I've recently purchased a couple of slices of cedar wood, intended for smoking fish etc. It was cheap so I grabbed it, figuring at worst rate I could use it to smoke grain or indeed use it for its intended purpose. However I would obviously rather flavour my booze with it but any research seems to take me round in circles! Some say it's toxic but I also read that a Japanese distillery uses it. Is it species dependant? I'm lost....

[goose eye]

Is it red or spanish . take a look see an go from there.

So I'm tole

[OtisT]

Well I'm going to attempt to wake this thread up... I've recently purchased a couple of slices of cedar wood, intended for smoking fish etc. It was cheap so I grabbed it, figuring at worst rate I could use it to smoke grain or indeed use it for its intended purpose. However I would obviously rather flavour my booze with it but any research seems to take me round in circles! Some say it's toxic but I also read that a Japanese distillery uses it. Is it species dependant? I'm lost....

Good luck.

It’s important to know thy wood. There are various types of cedar out there, and most “cedar“ in North America is not actually a species of cedar but rather a conifer that smells like cedar. Just a minor nit, you got what you got, but it’s important if you are going to rely on the accounts of others, and visa versa. Folks in regions with actual cedar trees may have different results than the cedar like wood commonly available in the US.

To get some idea of what it may taste/smell like in your spirit, make a quick tea out of some of your cedar wood and drink it. (Shave or chip up the wood into small bits and drop into some boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes.) If it tasted bad as a tea there is not much hope of something that tastes good in liquor.

I have only tried one descent spirit aged on cedar and it was an anomaly. A friend once made spirits aged on local cedar, trying various wood preps and amounts of wood. Only one jar out of many tests was worth drinking, and while I tried replicating it myself several times I did not have luck. The one good jar he had was one using a very small amount of lightly toasted Port Orford Cedar. It was a very delicate and balanced spirit with a beautiful light floral nose and a slightly sweet taste. The good jar was an outlier, with all the other jars made with slight variations of the same wood deemed undrinkable due to the taste. POC is a very light in color and has a lighter floral cedar smell. Very different from what sells as red cedar.

I tried twice replicating this spirit, but apparently never found the right toast temp/amount and/or the correct amount of wood to use so I gave up. I wish you luck.

Otis

[Bushman]

To get some idea of what it may taste/smell like in your spirit, make a quick tea out of some of your cedar wood and drink it. (Shave or chip up the wood into small bits and drop into some boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes.) If it tasted bad as a tea there is not much hope of something that tastes good in liquor.

I have read this before and think it’s a great suggestion Otis!

[DSmith78]

Thank you Otis! The tea idea really is a great suggestion which I will do this evening when I get in from work.

[DSmith78]

So I found out it's untreated Western Red cedar (it's from Germany). I made the tea as recommended and left for ten minutes - very mild wood shop flavour. I left for another ten minutes and was actually quite pleasantly surprised. The water had a very delicate wood flavour but a very surprising amount of sweetness! I may well give it a go!