aging in pickle bottles; suggestions for Cap

[ArcticTern]

I would like to age some neutral stuff i have accumulated but do not have access to genuine mason jars; I do have old pickle glass jars however.

The problem is that, no matter how much i sterilize/clean the bottle cap; they still have the Pickle odour; and am hesitate to use them as they have some type of paper wax covering. these I do not want to use.

Would any of you's have a suggestion for an alternative cover? aluminum foil...not sure; Saran plastic wrap...not sure. I could prolly' scrap the heck out of one and see; but then it would be aluminum; and very labour intensive.

any thoughts?

been running Birdwathers tomatoe wash; works for me cuz i aint got much for supplies in this lil' wee town.

thank you

arctictern

[Dnderhead]

make a wood cover? it whould "age" as well as flavor.

[Tater]

On jars that I use for storage that don't have lids I either cover with cloth to keep bugs out or just sit a small plate over top.I store mine in a controlled environment (in the house) so not much lost to evaporation.

[ArcticTern]

Thats' great guys; thanks alot!

a'ight, i was a little tentative using the materials i mentioned and thought i'd loose alot to evaporation and figured i needed em sealed pronto.

wood kinda sounds interesting, i's have some hole saws and/or a band saw that i can make some tapered plugs to fit over the jars; and it is certainly great to know that i can just place a plate over the jars (i's tonnes a plates, family of 6 children, mind you 2 of em are off to college, so thar's extra)

i dont do much; and i have abit stored in an old crown royal bottle; but would like to do another run in the next few weeks and aint got none to store with proper lids.

i do appreciate your help

arctictern

[Dnderhead]

Do you have a drill press and "fly" cutter?

[ArcticTern]

I do have a drill press; but aint sure what a fly cutter is..

Is that an adjustable "drill bit"?...where it has a center drill bit with an "outside" adjustable cutter?

I was thinking of a hole saw, cutting thru some 3/4" oak plank that i have laying bout; and sanding the edges with a belt sander to create a chamfer, then plugging the 3/16" hole (made by the pilot bit) with a dowel.

Aint planning to age no more then a couple weeks (or less depending on how thirsty i's get from looking at it...lol) would be planning on aging with heavy and medium charred oak i have on order.

ArcticTern

[punkin]

I do have a drill press; but aint sure what a fly cutter is..

Is that an adjustable "drill bit"?...where it has a center drill bit with an "outside" adjustable cutter?

I was thinking of a hole saw, cutting thru some 3/4" oak plank that i have laying bout; and sanding the edges with a belt sander to create a chamfer, then plugging the 3/16" hole (made by the pilot bit) with a dowel.

Aint planning to age no more then a couple weeks (or less depending on how thirsty i's get from looking at it...lol) would be planning on aging with heavy and medium charred oak i have on order.

ArcticTern

That's exactly how i do my plugs for the 50 litre stainless beer kegs, cept for plugging the pilot.

If you adjust your pilot bit so it only just pokes out past your hole saw, then drill till your hole saw is making contact with the wood and has made a shallow circle a millimetre or two deep, then remove the pilot drill from the hole saw...

Then drill back through, you only have a small 5 or 6 mm dent from the pilot.. i just screw a bit of aluminium channel (or a bit of oak) on then to act as a handle and it has never penetrated to the bottom...

Put a bevel on with a belt sander/linnisher and it's finnished.

[Hawke]

Aging neutrals on toasted/charred oak is going to give you 'Wet Campfire' vodka.

[ArcticTern]

dang...wadda ya mean Hawke?

I'll read up abit more on aging and flavouring then. I usually am drinking with either Sprite (like 7 up but seems like less sugar) and/or with some type of frozen juice concentrate; it's fine the way i like it. but thought aging in charred oak would give it abit of color (like caramelized sugar); and was hoping for a different flavour. If the end result will be like wet firewood; i aint gonna go this route. Mind as well just age for a week covered with a plate.

much appreciated.

arctictern

seems bloody warm today last week it was minus 39 with out the wind today minus 17

[goinbroke2]

Gotta love northern Canada eh? Lab city? I'm in the maritimes and it's still not bad here, -9 this am.

I would think that if you store upright in glass, it doesn't much matter what the lid is as there will be no contact. I could be wrong but the alcohol vapours shouldn't effect a wax paper cover with the metal lid screwed on. If it was laying down or shaken repeatedly there might be an issue, but sitting on a shelf??...for a few weeks??

[Hawke]

Yes, it will taste like wet firewood. It takes the flavor of the grain/fruit to balance out the flavor imparted by the wood.

[ArcticTern]

a'ight; tks. Hawke, makes sense to me. maybe i'll just try some store bought flavouring if need be. much much appreciated; you helped me not waste any of my precious hootch..lol.


negative 'goinbroke2'; west side of Hudson's bay...cheers to ya bye.

tks. again Hawke.

arctictern

[HookLine]

Aging neutrals on toasted/charred oak is going to give you 'Wet Campfire' vodka.

Not in my experience. Tastes good to me.

[ArcticTern]

i sure do appreciate all of you's imput. Ya know; maybe using only toasted oak for a slight age; with, what i'm planning; just a dried oak cap.

maybe i'll go in between Hawke and Hooklines comments and I's gonna try a single 500 mil. jar in the coming weeks, with toasted oak; and a dried oak for a cap. shake it daily for a week.

i'll be ready by the end of the month for this experiment.

I have tried some charred oak; that i burnt with a torch; but did not Wash the oak strips prior to placing them in a jar for 2 days. It did taste slightly, well maybe more then slightly...lol... like burnt wood; but that was my fault, burnt em too much and did not rinse. I aint a connesiour for tasting; but one of my fav's is crown royal...and no, i's no patience for 12 years.

much obliged sirs'

arctictern

[junkyard dawg]

Tern, I'd try aging some with wood. A small amount of toasted or charred oak is alright with most spirits. You can certainly overdo it and end up with the flavor hawke is talking about, but you can also end up with some fine flavors. Just go very slow. Don't add too much wood! Start slow and learn what happens... no other way to learn about how oak flavor affects your likker...

Oak is just a flavor... Its best when its offset with strong grain and yeast and fermentation flavors.... but its easy to overdo it. especially with neutral. Good luck and be sure to update this with what happens...

[Dnderhead]

back off on the heat when you do the wood you want to "carmelize" the sugars , if to hot you just burn the out side of the wood and you will have the
burnt wood taste.