Toasted pecan.....

[jog666]

I split the wood in all sorts of random sizes. Really just a test to see if it would be something I liked or not. All the pieces were in the oven at 400* for just over 2 hours. Went through them & sorted them between light, medium & dark. Into the jars with 100p & alternated between outside at night, which many nights were well below freezing. Then during the day, the jars were by or 1/2 on a heater vent.

One month & two days gave me this:

Smells and flavors are out of this world. The sweet, buttery nut taste blew my mind. There are a few other smalls & flavors in there but I was to tired to sit there & break it down. The dark toast is rather rough "around the edges".

I know I could work it to find something that I would love but not sure if it will be worth it in the end. I cant drink store bought whiskey anymore. Part of that is the heady taste that I didnt find out after running my own. The other I believe is the oak ageing. The smell & flavor just turns my gut.

Something else is the jars didnt breath over the last month. The clear aired out before I had this idea. Maybe I need to let them set in the house to air out for a week. Im thinking if I do this again, let them sit in the cellar with a cork or wood seal/lid for months.

[OtisT]

Nice. How long was the soak with your toasted pecan wood?

[jog666]

Nice. How long was the soak with your toasted pecan wood?

Went in Jan 16 & opened up Feb 18.

[OtisT]

Nice. How long was the soak with your toasted pecan wood?

Went in Jan 16 & opened up Feb 18.

Only a month. No wonder they still need to breath a bit. Are you planning to let some jars soak longer or is this done?

[jog666]

Im going to let these air out and probably check them weekly.

Im probably going to keep this going, just for something to do (another damn project). If airing them out helps alot, I will probably make plans to make some wood seals/lids so I can put them up for longer & to allow to breath.

[6 Row Joe]

I was going to try toasted pecan but never did. It's good to hear that it's enjoyable. Something for me to do for sure. I can't seem to leave any "on oak" alone long enough for it to get really good and complex except for my first oak barrel. I have had some Uncle Jessies in there for 6 months now. I didn't notice much change until I started moving it from the cool basement to the warm kitchen and back again. The last time I tried it it is close to many $50 a bottle commercial spirits I have tasted. I have since bought (2) 5 liter barrels for oaking and I plan on leaving them alone for at least 6 months. You may want to leave the dark char one alone. It is harsh now but may mellow with time. I have also found that 125 proof works good for oaking.

[jog666]

2 week air out update:

Light, Medium, Dark

Appearance: The liquid level is lower was the first thing I noticed right off the bat. Once I got them out in the better light on the counter I thought they looked darker. After looking at the picture from 2 weeks ago, they are all darker.

Smell: I can clearly tell the "bite" of the 100 proof is gone. The dark has the, I guess, deepest woody smell. Medium is really close with the same smell. Light has really mellowed out. More of a sweet smell. Maybe the woody smell went away & mixed with the sweet smell of the sweet mash. Medium seems like a "diet" version of dark. Almost the same but just a bit different.

Taste: Dark is still rough tasting. Burnt is about the best way I can describe it. Medium is drinkable where dark is not. Still has that sweet, buttery nut/wood taste. I think it would be decent for sipping. Light, which was the one I liked the most when I opened them, is the worst. Has that bite of cheap whiskey with flavors so mellow, they cant be placed. Tried several blends of the three, all were pure shit. Couldnt find a happy mix for any of it.

Conclusion: Im not sure I want to spend anymore time or likker on this. Even if these pints are flawed due to the age of the wood (cut in 2018), Im not sure a well weathered piece would do good.

[OtisT]

Jog666

I’m curious about your experiment, and personally don’t think you should give up so soon.

Did the whiskey taste good to you before soaking with wood? Most new make whiskies are not something I would drink white. When aging on oak, many of my experiments don’t start tasting even remotely drinkable for 5-8 months. In fact, many taste worse after only a month or two before they get better.

So where I’m going with this is to suggest that maybe you should not expect your whiskey on pecan wood to mature and taste wonderful in less than two months. Unless you need the jars, I suggest you let them sit for at least a year, venting monthly. You don’t need to vent if you make those breathable caps you spoke of earlier. Also, how much wood did you use per jar? You will need to put some of that wood back in there too to give the spirit something to chew on. I’m not sure how much wood you used per jar, but maybe start by cutting the amount in half for the long soak.

I’ve not used pecan wood myself, so maybe I’m all wet, but I hate to see a good experiment abandoned. Especially one I’m interested in.

Toast level question.
I have a question for anyone who has used toasted pecan wood. What temp do you prefer to toast your pecan wood at? I like a 400 F toast on my oak, and prefer a 360 toast on my fruit wood. Oak toasted at 490-500 tastes burnt to me. I’m curious if the bad “burnt” taste from this experiment is rooted in a too hot of a toast?

Otis

[jog666]

Pecan experiment.... Im not going to give up on the species of wood. Just these jars.

Oh yes the white tasted good. Not my best, but something worth talking about.

The wood from these jars are trash. As in they got tossed by accident while cleaning. The amount that went into each pint was different, both in weight & size. I could judge the amount if I had more in front of me.

Im thinking about doing it along the lines of how another member did a big test on here. Not to the massive scale they did but focus on just one wood & a couple of toast levels. It even cross my mind to smoke some next time I have the smoke fired up.

[OtisT]

Glad your not giving up on the pecan. Keep up the good work. I’ll be following your progress here.

Otis