Brazilian Wood for Aging Cachaças

[OtisT]

I recall several folks looking for wood types available in Brazil to use in aging cachaças. I just read an article in Popular Mechanics which listed some of the local woods being used for aging this sugar cane based spirit.

The article states that many of the first wood aged cachaças were aged in French Oak barrels. Then it describes more current trends using local woods.

“and now there are cachaças aged in resinous Brazilian woods such as amburana, bálsamo, tapinhoã, and jequitiba rosa. Unlike oak-aged whiskeys and cognacs, these spirits get their flavor from the oils and saps of the woods. “The barrels aren’t toasted,” says Nevenglosky. (Also, they’re 15 feet tall.) “

Can’t seem to copy a link for this article. The title is “The Best Booze Since Whiskey Comes from Brazil - Popular Mechanics”

Enjoy. Otis

[LWTCS]

Thanks for posting Otis

[Kareltje]

Maybe this works:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/scienc ... ca-brazil/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Although it has a different title, it seems to have the text you cited.

[DetroitDIY]

I have a bottle of Bento Velho, which is aged on jequitibá rosa and jatobá, but as I'm not to familiar with good cachaça, I can't say that I can distinguish what the woods are doing for it.

[WithOrWithoutU2]

I discovered Cachacas about 12 months ago at a Brazilian Steak House. Love it! To me, it is a cross between really good rum and tequila. Personally, a good caiprinha drink showcases the Cachacas at it's best. Simply muddle 1/2 a lime with 2 tps of sugar in a shaker. Add 2 oz of Cachacas and ice. Shake well. Pour over rocks. Love it.

I've considered trying to make Cachacas but just not really practical as getting real sugar cane juice is too costly. For those that live in areas where sugar cane grows naturally, I love to hear if you are making any yourself and how you do it.

[nerdybrewer]

I tried Brazilian Rosewood.
I'll save you some time and trouble.
Just don't.

[DetroitDIY]

Thanks Nerdy. I've got a bit of Brazilian Rosewood. Been making wooden kitchen utensils out of it. Hadn't thought about using it to age things. I also have some Massaranduba, and again hadn't thought of using it. I'm a bit afraid of aging on the vibrant colored (Massaranduba, not Brazilian Rosewood) woods as to my knowledge, the more vibrant, the more toxic. Don't know that that's always the case, but my limited knowledge rule of thumb.

[nerdybrewer]

Thanks Nerdy. I've got a bit of Brazilian Rosewood. Been making wooden kitchen utensils out of it. Hadn't thought about using it to age things. I also have some Massaranduba, and again hadn't thought of using it. I'm a bit afraid of aging on the vibrant colored (Massaranduba, not Brazilian Rosewood) woods as to my knowledge, the more vibrant, the more toxic. Don't know that that's always the case, but my limited knowledge rule of thumb.

Rosewood was endangered after it was found that you could make a pretty powerful drug from it, by distillation of course.
There was a large scale decimation of the species so that socialites could have the latest craze.

When I put it in my rum it transferred a lot of color very quickly, that's when I thought I might be in trouble.
It tasted strange and made me feel a bit sick so I dumped it.
I believe it was half a gallon, so no great loss.
Best to try things in small batches out on the bleeding edge.

[warp1]

I discovered Cachacas about 12 months ago at a Brazilian Steak House. Love it! To me, it is a cross between really good rum and tequila. Personally, a good caiprinha drink showcases the Cachacas at it's best. Simply muddle 1/2 a lime with 2 tps of sugar in a shaker. Add 2 oz of Cachacas and ice. Shake well. Pour over rocks. Love it.

I've considered trying to make Cachacas but just not really practical as getting real sugar cane juice is too costly. For those that live in areas where sugar cane grows naturally, I love to hear if you are making any yourself and how you do it.

Try panella....concentrates sugar cane juice....reasonable price. Used to be a contact on here that you could get it from

[nerdybrewer]

I discovered Cachacas about 12 months ago at a Brazilian Steak House. Love it! To me, it is a cross between really good rum and tequila. Personally, a good caiprinha drink showcases the Cachacas at it's best. Simply muddle 1/2 a lime with 2 tps of sugar in a shaker. Add 2 oz of Cachacas and ice. Shake well. Pour over rocks. Love it.

I've considered trying to make Cachacas but just not really practical as getting real sugar cane juice is too costly. For those that live in areas where sugar cane grows naturally, I love to hear if you are making any yourself and how you do it.

Try panella....concentrates sugar cane juice....reasonable price. Used to be a contact on here that you could get it from

Anyone want to add anything?

His handle is Sugar Daddy.

[Oldvine Zin]

Has the quantity issue been resolved? Still the best deal on panella



OVZ

[Windswept]

I have a bottle of homemade cachaca from my visit to Brazil. I don’t know that I’ve ever tried it above once! I’ll have to rectify that!

[OtisT]

Has the quantity issue been resolved? Still the best deal on panella

OVZ

Hi OVZ. Are you referring to the small bits of brissel I found in my first panela ferment? If so, that was just my issue. One of my cleaning brushes started coming apart about that time. I got back to Nerdy about it and he told Sugar Daddy it was my bad.

Otis

[nerdybrewer]

Has the quantity issue been resolved? Still the best deal on panella

OVZ

Hi OVZ. Are you referring to the small bits of brissel I found in my first panela ferment? If so, that was just my issue. One of my cleaning brushes started coming apart about that time. I got back to Nerdy about it and he told Sugar Daddy it was my bad.

Otis

Yes Otis, I apologized to Sugar Daddy.
The "quantity" issue you mention could also be the weight of the bags so I'll address that, they have switched to Kilo's so 25K = about 55Lb.
Otherwise no issues, the new stuff ferments up just like the last shipment.

[DetroitDIY]

Yep, I had a group buy about 3 months ago. Great stuff, but definitely buy in 25 kg increments. It'll make things MUCH easier on giving people what they ordered, and I don't think Sugar Daddy's in the business of shipping partial bags. Smells great, I have yet to get any fermenting. It was too much for the pecan pie I made over the holidays.

Best aspect of buying from Sugar Daddy (other than the price) is that it comes ground up, rather than in a rigid block like what you might buy from your local Hispanic market.

[nerdybrewer]

Yep, I had a group buy about 3 months ago. Great stuff, but definitely buy in 25 kg increments. It'll make things MUCH easier on giving people what they ordered, and I don't think Sugar Daddy's in the business of shipping partial bags. Smells great, I have yet to get any fermenting. It was too much for the pecan pie I made over the holidays.

Best aspect of buying from Sugar Daddy (other than the price) is that it comes ground up, rather than in a rigid block like what you might buy from your local Hispanic market.

One of our issues with our last GB was that previously it had always come in 50Lb sacks.
So I got all the requests from our group in increments of 50Lbs and then found out it was 25Kg bags.
A bit of rejiggering of the orders and amounts due but it all worked out in the end.

Yes, it's great stuff isn't it?

[MichiganCornhusker]

If I may make an on-topic comment...
I've used Amburana and Canary Wood for aging rum made from panela and they both were more potent in the jar than white oak.
I did some experimenting with toasting and charring the wood, and also aged some of the same batch with oak.

The canary wood started out giving the rum a yellowish color which evolved into more of a rusty orange over time.
The amburana gave it a nice brownish burgandy color, but also turned it cloudy.

After reading this article, I would like to try it again sometime without any toasting or charring. And also try using smaller chunks in the jar.

I see this in the article and can certainly confirm it as my experience as well: "amburana-aged cachaça, which has flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and banana bread"
The canary wood, the last time I tasted it, was giving off a bit of a bright citrus note and was quite different from the amburana and oak.

I'll have to dig the bottles out next time I'm near them and come back with an update.

[8Ball]

I use toasted pecan for aging my pure cane syrup rum. I like it.

8B

[Kamil]

Barrels and wood for cachaça.
http://www.tanoariamesacaza.com.br/

[dovregubben]

I've used Amburana and Canary Wood...

...I'll have to dig the bottles out next time I'm near them and come back with an update.

Did you ever dig those bottles out, MC? I'm interested to hear your results. I just picked up some amburana lumber. I want to make the best use of it, so I'm looking for a good jumping off point. Information on the topic is scarce. I've read about people toasting it, but you seem to be saying that might be a bad idea. Any additional light you can shine on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

[6 Row Joe]

I've used Amburana and Canary Wood...

...I'll have to dig the bottles out next time I'm near them and come back with an update.

Did you ever dig those bottles out, MC? I'm interested to hear your results. I just picked up some amburana lumber. I want to make the best use of it, so I'm looking for a good jumping off point. Information on the topic is scarce. I've read about people toasting it, but you seem to be saying that might be a bad idea. Any additional light you can shine on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

I just picked up some Amburana chips as well. I plan to do some experimenting with some immature barrels I have. Starlight Distillery finishes in those barrels and they call it their "Cigar Batch" and it is quite delicious.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Did you ever dig those bottles out, MC?

Well, thank you for the reminder, dovregubben, I did.

First of all, my canary wood experiments were a failure.
Hot, bitter, tannic, and citrus pith. Did not like!

I had three bottles labeled Amburana, two that read “toast” and one that read “toast and char”. But one of the toast bottles is a super light golden color, and I’m pretty sure it was simply a stick of raw Amburana, no toast, no char. And that was my favorite bottle.

The toast bottle was similar but muted, tasted kinda bland, and the toast + char was actually my second favorite, having flavors similar to what I think was the raw Amburana, but a bit more blended, and a bit woody in a nice way.

As for the flavors, they are pretty powerful, but sweet and candy-like. Cinnamon, orange crème, and cherry cordial. I think it could make a great tiki cocktail.

But, some of this is coming from my base rum, a one and done panela rum, which is also sweet and has a strong milk chocolate / molasses character to it.

By comparison, the oaked version has recognizable caramel, vanilla and oaky notes, but the rum flavor still cut through. There would be no mistaking it for a whiskey.

I would definitely recommend trying the Amburana if you have it. I’d use less than I did, maybe a 3/4” x 3/4” x 2” or 3” stick in a quart jar. That would be about half what I did.

I would use it raw, or go with a toast and light char.

I’d love to hear results if you do it, keep us posted.

[6 Row Joe]

I recall several folks looking for wood types available in Brazil to use in aging cachaças. I just read an article in Popular Mechanics which listed some of the local woods being used for aging this sugar cane based spirit.

The article states that many of the first wood aged cachaças were aged in French Oak barrels. Then it describes more current trends using local woods.

“and now there are cachaças aged in resinous Brazilian woods such as amburana, bálsamo, tapinhoã, and jequitiba rosa. Unlike oak-aged whiskeys and cognacs, these spirits get their flavor from the oils and saps of the woods. “The barrels aren’t toasted,” says Nevenglosky. (Also, they’re 15 feet tall.) “

Can’t seem to copy a link for this article. The title is “The Best Booze Since Whiskey Comes from Brazil - Popular Mechanics”

Enjoy. Otis

I picked up some Amburana chips (more like shreads) from E bay. They are delicious smelling! Starlight Distilling has coveted cigar batch that is finished in Amburana. It is stellar! I can't wait to toss a few pieces in a quart and see what happens.

[dovregubben]

Well, thank you for the reminder, dovregubben, I did....

Thanks for the update, MC!

The way I found out about amburana was from Plantation Rum. They do this double and triple aging stuff that seems really gimmicky to me, like they age it for five or ten years in American oak barrels, then ship it across the Atlantic and age it in French oak for a year or two.... But some of them are finished for a year in amburana casks, and they taste great! I think the amburana is doing the heavy lifting.

I bought amburana lumber with the intention of making Badmotivator Barrels out of it. I have enough to make at least six barrels. I'm beginning to have second thoughts though. Maybe I should just stick with the tried and true oak for the barrels, and just throw some amburana sticks in toward the end? I dunno. I'm thinking it over.

I was thinking of trying canary wood until I read your last post. Thank you for steering me away from that!

I'm looking forward to trying amburana with rum, but I also want to experiment with whiskey as well. I'll post my results here.

[6 Row Joe]

Please post your results.

[OtisT]

I use toasted pecan for aging my pure cane syrup rum. I like it.

8B

Sweet 8B. That is next on my list of woods to try. I’m sitting on both seasoned Pecan and Hazelnut, just waiting for more Panela to make more rum.

If you don’t mind a few questions regarding your seasoned pecan you like: What size are the hunks of wood that you toast, what temp, and for how long?

Otis

[OtisT]

I recall several folks looking for wood types available in Brazil to use in aging cachaças. I just read an article in Popular Mechanics which listed some of the local woods being used for aging this sugar cane based spirit.

The article states that many of the first wood aged cachaças were aged in French Oak barrels. Then it describes more current trends using local woods.

“and now there are cachaças aged in resinous Brazilian woods such as amburana, bálsamo, tapinhoã, and jequitiba rosa. Unlike oak-aged whiskeys and cognacs, these spirits get their flavor from the oils and saps of the woods. “The barrels aren’t toasted,” says Nevenglosky. (Also, they’re 15 feet tall.) “

Can’t seem to copy a link for this article. The title is “The Best Booze Since Whiskey Comes from Brazil - Popular Mechanics”

Enjoy. Otis

I picked up some Amburana chips (more like shreads) from E bay. They are delicious smelling! Starlight Distilling has coveted cigar batch that is finished in Amburana. It is stellar! I can't wait to toss a few pieces in a quart and see what happens.

Start small, maybe one chunk or even just a half of one. You can always add more. I’ve been surprised how little raw wood it takes to add color and smell/flavor to light spirits. I hear this stuff is oily, and the distilleries use big barrels with very low SA/V ratios.

[dovregubben]

I hear this stuff is oily, and the distilleries use big barrels with very low SA/V ratios.

MC's experience of his spirit getting cloudy seems to confirm its oiliness.

As for SA/V, the amburana aged rums I've tried were finished for a year in 245 liter casks. That would put the SA/V around 91cm²/L (54in²/gal), not much lower than a Bourbon barrel. I have a suspicion those casks are used over and over, though I have been unable to confirm this. Cachaça, on the other hand, is aged in ENORMOUS casks. There's nothing in this picture to give a definitive scale, but those must be well over 1000L, putting the SAV in the neighborhood of 40-50 cm²/L (25-30in²/gal).

Also, that is one dirty distillery! My filthy garage looks like a hospital room by comparison.

[6 Row Joe]

I recall several folks looking for wood types available in Brazil to use in aging cachaças. I just read an article in Popular Mechanics which listed some of the local woods being used for aging this sugar cane based spirit.

The article states that many of the first wood aged cachaças were aged in French Oak barrels. Then it describes more current trends using local woods.

“and now there are cachaças aged in resinous Brazilian woods such as amburana, bálsamo, tapinhoã, and jequitiba rosa. Unlike oak-aged whiskeys and cognacs, these spirits get their flavor from the oils and saps of the woods. “The barrels aren’t toasted,” says Nevenglosky. (Also, they’re 15 feet tall.) “

Can’t seem to copy a link for this article. The title is “The Best Booze Since Whiskey Comes from Brazil - Popular Mechanics”

Enjoy. Otis

I picked up some Amburana chips (more like shreads) from E bay. They are delicious smelling! Starlight Distilling has coveted cigar batch that is finished in Amburana. It is stellar! I can't wait to toss a few pieces in a quart and see what happens.

Start small, maybe one chunk or even just a half of one. You can always add more. I’ve been surprised how little raw wood it takes to add color and smell/flavor to light spirits. I hear this stuff is oily, and the distilleries use big barrels with very low SA/V ratios.

The note on the bag says 1.5 -2 oz per 5-6 gallons

[OtisT]

I think that is about 2g/liter. Sounds about right.