ABV question for small cask

All styles of whiskey. This is for all-grain mashes.

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Big River
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ABV question for small cask

Post by Big River »

I'm making an AG corn batch and I'm inviting my dad over to watch and provide "quality control" on the process. My question concerns what ABV percentage to put in his custom 2 liter oak barrel. My original thought was cask strength at 60% but I realize I'm not sure for his personal barrel. So I'm reaching out to the group for suggestions.

Thanks for your help

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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by CopperFiend »

I put in at 65% in my 1.5L mini barrels, 60% in my 20L barrels. The smaller ones lose volume and ABV faster. Depends on how long you anticipate leaving it in there. That's not even remotely getting into the different compounds that different ABVs pull out of wood. But that's what I do and I love my product, from both barrels. Certainly different results though.
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Badmotivator
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by Badmotivator »

It looks like this is one of those questions where you will be given different answers from different people. In homebrewing, when you start to worry about the minutiae of recipe or technique, you can take comfort in the knowledge that no matter what, it’s going to turn out “beer” one way or the other. Same thing here: it’s going to turn out “whiskey”. Different one way or the other, probably only a little, but still “whiskey”.

Here’s a good article that shows what I mean: https://www.whiskyadvocate.com/secret-s ... d-barrels/

Cheers!
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8Ball
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by 8Ball »

62.5% is my vote.
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Twisted Brick
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by Twisted Brick »

You might consider matching the ABV of your distillate to the amount of time you plan to barrel age it. Sure, putting whiskey away 'dirty' promises a more complex spirit, but this takes time. Since smaller barrels inherently require a shorter total of time to give up their oak goodness, entering a spirit at a slightly lower ABV would allow for it to match maturities and potentially be consumed sooner. A spirit aged at a higher ABV might need to aged outside the barrel for a goodly amount of additional time. Also remember that distilleries incur a significant expense in barrel costs and its cheaper for them to age a slightly higher ABV spirit than invest in more barrels.
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Big River
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by Big River »

Thanks guys for all the advice - since my dad will probably "tap"into the barrel in about a year I will probably go with 55% ABV - He's 86 and I don't think he wants to wait three years to test.

Big River
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Deplorable
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by Deplorable »

Big River wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 4:22 pm Thanks guys for all the advice - since my dad will probably "tap"into the barrel in about a year I will probably go with 55% ABV - He's 86 and I don't think he wants to wait three years to test.

Big River
Thats good, because in 3 years I suspect there wouldn't be much left in a 2L barrel.
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by HDNB »

Jayzuz. asking an 86 year old to wait 3 years for whiskey is like asking a 13 yr old boy to wait until he's 21 to see a boobie.

2L i'd be tasting every 4 weeks until it was tasty, i wouldn't expect more than 6 months at the outside, it will get too woody.

lower abv will get sweeter faster, higher abv will get tannic faster. time equalizes and balances the two....so if you like sweet whiskey like most bourbon, go low 55-58% if you like a dry whiskey try 75-78%. 6 months will start to balance nicely, especially in that small of vessel...if you plan to go at least that long...62.5%
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NZChris
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Re: ABV question for small cask

Post by NZChris »

You should also be concerned about the amount of time you want it to spend in your small cask. Use the Google Search function on the right of this screen to search the forum for keywords like... small barrel over oaked.
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