Aging single malt whisky in a 5 lts barrel

[MadAlche]

Hi All !

I have 4 lts of a single malt whisky aging for 4 months so far in a brand new 5 lts oak barrel. I think it is getting too much wood-oak flavor ( at least to my palate) but it is not smooth enough to enjoy drinking.

I have diluted it from 65 % to 55 % proof to try to get less tannins extraction but I don´t know if this way it is going to avoid getting too much wood flavor until it is ready to enjoy.

The barrel is at a 68 F temp in an average wet room. I was thinking to take this whisky out of the barrel to pour it into a glass growler and let its lid loose.

What do you guys advise me ?

Thanks for your time

Many greetings from Argentina

[Celis]

4 months is already quite long for a 5 liter barrel, 4-6 weeks usually is plenty for a first fill. Your plan to take it out of the barrel to let it age further in glass sounds good to me.

[Expat]

Useful table for maturing in barrels

[6 Row Joe]

I see 12 months in a 53 gallon barrel? Commercial whisky in the US is usually maturated for at least 2 years. I have a few 5 litres on oak and at 3 months it i starting to get good. It is now starting to pick up some nice carmel and vanilla flavors. Leave it in at 120 proof or so. 15 year old whiskey out of a big barrel is a beautiful thing. 1 year old out of a 5 liter would be good as well.

[MadAlche]

Another month has passed since I have posted the first post. I took a sample yesterday and have noticed the wood flavor has increased to a level that I think is too much to my palate but still having a harsh alcohol bite in tongue. It needs more time.
So I took the whisky out of the barrel and poured into a glass container covering only with a mesh bag(hop bag) to try to let angels fly away without getting any further wood touch.

Do I have to be concerned in regards of too hard of an evaporation?. The glass container is in a relative cold room( 50 ish F) with average wet environment.


Best regards from Argentina

[still_stirrin]

...I took the whisky out of the barrel and poured into a glass container covering only with a mesh bag(hop bag) to try to let angels fly away without getting any further wood touch.

Do I have to be concerned in regards of too hard of an evaporation?. The glass container is in a relative cold room( 50 ish F) with average wet environment.

Yes. You need to be concerned.

Alcohol is hygroscopic, meaning it will “soak up” moisture from the air. And at 50*F, your relative humidity will have plenty of water in it. So, your proof will nose-dive quickly.

Also, if you made bad cuts and you have a lot of heads in your jar, then you are approaching this from the wrong direction. Fresh off the still, volatiles will evaporate quickly. Similarly, putting the spirit into a cask would likewise cause these volatiles to evaporate. But, if after removing the spirit from your cask after 6 months and it still is too “hot” from the congeners, then trying to air it out probably won’t help much...only water it down as the alcohol sucks in water from the air.

Rather than let that happen, I would suggest blending this batch with another batch in hopes that you’ll “average ou” some of the heads in the spirit. But, you need to make better cuts on the new (and all subsequent) batches.

Or, you could bottle it and label it and set it on the shelf for 6-10 years. When you come back to it, it may be very nice. Time has a way of smoothing imperfections out.

Either way, I wouldn’t let it open in the jars in your basement environment....you’ll be sorry if you did.
ss

[NZChris]

Leave about 1/3rd headspace in the jar and put a cork in it. Personally, I like to have wood in the jar with it as I think it ages better with, than without and find that any woody astringency abates in a couple of years.