Good source for charred oak sticks in the US?

[sounder_4]

I'm aging whiskey in 5L oak barrels from OakBarrelsLtd.com. The barrels are toasted not charred. I want to experiment by adding some heavily charred oak sticks to some of the whiskey to see how it affects the flavor.

I have no interest in making my own charred sticks; I want to purchase expertly made charred sticks from a reliable American supplier. Any ideas on where to look?

I'm also looking for a source of American made charred oak barrels. I've looked at Gibbs Bros but wow they're expensive but supposedly the best. Any other tips on charred new barrels?

[steve2md]

Check home brew stores and home brew websites, such as northern brewer.

[ga flatwoods]

Why cant you char it yourself? A half of a JD barrel at Home Depot for $30 is a lot of oak for little money! Enough to last you a long time and many experiments. Do you know what each char yields in flavor? Heavy does not provide color or heavy/ quick flavors to my liking I prefer medium char.
GA Flatwoods

[woodshed]

You could buy a 53 gallon barrel from Independent Stave Co charred to your liking and chop it up.
$140.00 plus shipping and that's a lot of wood. ISC is one of the largest coopers in the U.S.
This is where I get my barrels we just don't chop them up.

[fendr]

See this company. Oaks sticks, cubes, powder, lots to choose from.

http://oaksolutionsgroup.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[shadylane]

I use Jack Daniels wood chips from walmart. I have an old toaster oven in the shop to get the amount of toast or char I'm looking for.

[sounder_4]

I'm not tracking with those last two posts. The OP said he wanted CHARRED oak not toasted. fendr, your link as far as I can tell is for toasted not charred; shadylane, if you're heating that toaster enough to produce a true char I imagine the toaster would melt pretty quick. My understanding from reading up on the subject is that charring is achieved by applying direct flame to the oak surface for up to 15-20 seconds, until the wood starts to look like alligator skin. I don't see how you get that from a toaster oven.

I too am looking for a source of CHARRED oak sticks or staves...and am not interested in busting up a used barrel to get them, nor making my own. Given the popularity of home distilling, one would think that there'd be a big market for such a product.

[ga flatwoods]

What size do you want? I am sure someone on here needs a buck and wil chop and char all you want. If you have enough $ then someone has the time. UPS large flat rate box costs $16 to ship but that is a LOT of oak and a medium will be plenty.

[Fastill]

All the brewing catologs and wine making supply stuff I have been through I have never seen precharred sticks, Just toasted chips and cubes and toasted spirals. Maybe I've just missed them but I think this might be something you just have to do yourself.

[Kelbor]

The last time I did it I got raped over hot coals at the brew shop for a few of those fancy-pants spiral cut doohickies. I then attacked them with my torch till black. dipped in water to quench then dried them out. How many inches to use is up to desired flavor/color/quantity of likks/etc. Easy Peasy. My three year old could do it if she could light the torch.

[danmiz]

I order some great ones from ebay. 14 bucks and got about a pound of charred American white oak. I like them so I will order more next week. Fast delivery too.

[sounder_4]

Do you have an Ebay link?

[sounder_4]

What size do you want? I am sure someone on here needs a buck and wil chop and char all you want. If you have enough $ then someone has the time. UPS large flat rate box costs $16 to ship but that is a LOT of oak and a medium will be plenty.

OK, OK...so maybe I make my own. I'm a cabinet maker and always have a pile of white oak in the scrap bin...I've thought about making my own but wasn't sure if there was a specific species of American white oak that was used for aging....anyone know? If just plain old everyday white oak, then I'll try splitting up some sticks and throw my propane torch on em....the torch I use for sweat soldering I guess will work, eh? I just don't wanna f__k up a batch of likker, know what I mean? So GA flatwoods, gimme your recipe for charring if you got one and don't mind sharing

[danmiz]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0#shpCntId" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow here you go

[sounder_4]

I found this to be helpful: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/how-pre ... er-287013/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The only question I have is whether the American white oak I use for cabinet making (sourced from the midwest) is the correct species (Quercus alba) for aging alcohol . I'm calling me hardwood supplier today....if I've got the right species, I'll begin experimenting with doing my own charring. The link above suggests toasting the oak first before charring (that's the way commercial whiskey barrels are made).

Dan, thanks for the link...I'm going to order some charred and use it for a control batch for my home made charred experiments.

[Jimbo]

Thanks for posting that Sounder, thats a well thought out and writen up experiment. I like, and agree with his conclusion...

The corn whiskey with the toasted oak stick is much lighter in color, and the aroma is still of the corn cob and husk the white spirit had. The musty corn aroma has definitely mellowed and reduced, but there's not much oak making it into the aroma. The flavor has picked up oak though, and I was surprised by how much it tasted like scotch whisky. The corn character is all but gone from the flavor leaving mostly the light oak flavor you get in scotch. If there was a bit of peat smokiness in there, many would probably mistake it for scotch, in fact.

The corn whiskey with the toasted and charred oak is of course much darker, but the aroma and flavor are where it really shines. The aroma is smooth, sweet and the corn character is gone. In it's place are the aromas of toasted marshmallow, raisins, and caramel. It's pretty great. The flavor is similar. Much smoother than the other jar, and with much more flavor from the oak. It is the hands-down favorite for me.

[ga flatwoods]

Sounder 4 , that is a good read. I use staves from a JDbarrel as it has been toasted already and is easily available at the garden department of the big chain stores. I usually make myself a small fire under 6 or 8 staves stacked tee pee style and make a fire underneath to aid in the charring with a torch. Once I extinguish them I store them up in a five gallon bucket. In addition, prior to the char, I alternate 1/4" drill holes down the length of each stave. It adds area and speeds up the oaking (not the aging!). I add one or two of these to each five gallon ss corney keg I use to age in. It works great. If using qt jars for aging, I just throw in a handful of jd chips and seal it up. Makes nice Jackass Juice (my sweet feed rum) in that manner.
GA Flatwoods

[sounder_4]

thx ga....good info. when you say you drill alternate 1/4" holes down the length what do you mean by "alternate"? Are you drilling on both sides but not all the way through the wood? trying to picture what you're describing. I plan to age in 1 gal glass jugs.....trying to figure out how many cubic" of charred oak stick to put into the jar. I saw a formula somewhere that says to use "x" cubic centimeters of wood for every liter of whiskey. I'll post the link when i find it.

[Jimbo]

53g Barrels are 52 sq inches per gallon wood contact. You can go higher if youre planning to drink in 6 months instead of 2+ years, and/or if youre using used JD barrel staves. I use a 1x1x5" stick cut from a stave, charred all around, per quart. Seems about right for my tastes. Dont touch for 4-6 months minimum. Edit: (Thats 88 sq in per gallon)

[ga flatwoods]

Cutting the manner in which Jimbo suggests is your best method for one gallon glass. They look very neat and are removed easily when draining the bottle. For mine, yes I drill all the way through and stagger the holes alternating sides as progressing from top to bottom. Again, I age bulk five gallons at the time. Some of the new casks have developed this method for quicker curing by honeycomb drilling the inside of the stave and providing maximum surface are contact and easier penetration into the heart of the stave where the camarelization is at. I have a couple of those barrels and they do work quick almost too much so. It also helps to cause the staves to crack across the outside in the drilled portions I wojld guess due to inadequate thickness and a pronounced weak spot. I wouldnt buy them again as I worry about leaks although they havent yet. I think they are made by Black Swan Cooperage.
GA Flatwoods