Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Treatment and handling of your distillate.

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Malthead247
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Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Post by Malthead247 »

First off, here in NZ it is very hard to find affordable casks. There is nothing toasted or charred available.
We typically go to wineries to purchase wine finished french oak, or purchase expensive small barrels that are not charred.

I have a winemaker friend who has offered cheap as all hell 230l French oak barrels that are currently being emptied at his winery.
I have access to a big ol blow torch and was keen to get stuck into refurbishing and charring a few barrels.
Unfortunately my distillery is a little undersized to fill 230l in the near future, but I figure I can put down 20l of spirit and keep the barrel hydrated and top it up over time.

My concern is the wine residue in the oak being charred... Will it cause off flavours? Or will the charring just remove the wine influence in the process.
I know White Oak is more commonly charred for bourbons, this leaves me wondering - is french oak not charred for a particular reason?

Pretty excited to get a barrel or 2 for the garage, it will be cool to have a few different products maturing!
Rum Agol
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Re: Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Post by Rum Agol »

Im no expert but 20l in a 230l barrel leaves a lot of airspace inside. I imagine it could cause problems with losses due to evaporation and posssibly staves drying out

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Malthead247
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Re: Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Post by Malthead247 »

It does indeed, the idea is to simply keep the barrel hydrated. It will be rolled regularly.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Post by Saltbush Bill »

What is the biggest barrel you have filled to date?
Unless you have the right equipment it going to be a huge amount of work to fill a barrel of that size.
Ive filled a 98L barrel so have some idea of whats involved.
If you do go ahead Id suggest you start with a minimum of 50-100L.
Angels will drink 20L in a barrel that size in about 10 miniutes flat i reckon.
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Re: Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Post by Jstroke »

Malthead,

Not here to kill the dream, nor any idea of your set up. However, that much oak if you take that barrel apart will give you lots of wood for aging. I realize it’s not as sexy, it doesn’t have the Wow factor. However if you dig around there is plenty of info on aging with oak in other ways that might make better use and give you a lot less headaches. YMMV.
If in doubt leave it out.
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SaltyStaves
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Re: Wine barrel refurbishment and char (making do in NZ)

Post by SaltyStaves »

I bought a quartered french oak barrel that had been used for Syrah.
The French cooperages are quite upfront (proud) of disclosing the source of oak and the types of toasting and lasering it right on the barrel, so a bit of research should help you cherry-pick a suitable barrel.

What I was looking for, was a light, or very shallow toast. This means that I can take a stave and shave off the small wine and heavy toast layers, which leaves me with a lot of virgin wood. If you get a barrel that has a deep toast, then you might find that by the time you've done your char or additional toast, you have a lot of very heavy toast in contact with the spirit. That is great if you like the taste of roasted coconut husk and not much else...

Personally, for single malts/whiskies and rums, if I'm going to use french oak, then I'll use it at a ratio of 1:2 with American white oak (for 1st fill). I've used it at 1:1 and the drying astringency of the french oak is too much. Even if I could, I'd never consider filling an entire 220L FO barrel with my hard-made spirit. Not until that barrel was on its 2nd or 3rd fills at least.
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