different woods for aging

[zaph1]

Someone posted about black walnut whiskey and it got me wondering. What kind of woods, other than oak, are used for aging? How much flavor difference would be found if I charred some pear, apple, walnut, maple, etc.?

[Prairiepiss]

Walnut wood is actually considered poisonous. As are some other woods. So they are not good choices. The walnut brandy was actually made with green nuts.

There have been quit a few threads about different woods posted recently. You mite have a look through them.

[King Of Hearts]

Wasmunds is made with apple and or cherry. I didn't like it. Just my 2 cents. IMO, nothing beats toasted & charred Quercus alba, American White Oak. If you want to get fancy finish with used Sherry or Cabernet barrel wood.

[fatman]

Are there any tree experts on here?

I have several acres of timber in norhtern missouri and it has several types of oak trees.
I had read somewhere that most of Jack Daniels get the oak for the barrels from missouri?

I can tell the difference from my red oaks and the white oaks we call Burr oaks, would my burr oaks be the same thing the staves are made from?

I guess if no knows for sure i could cut a chunk and then have my buddy cut off the chainsaw oily portion and cut me some sticks with his band saw to toast and char, then try it, if it wasn't good i could rerun the wiskey thru reflux?

[King Of Hearts]

Are there any tree experts on here?

I have several acres of timber in norhtern missouri and it has several types of oak trees.
I had read somewhere that most of Jack Daniels get the oak for the barrels from missouri?

I can tell the difference from my red oaks and the white oaks we call Burr oaks, would my burr oaks be the same thing the staves are made from?

I guess if no knows for sure i could cut a chunk and then have my buddy cut off the chainsaw oily portion and cut me some sticks with his band saw to toast and char, then try it, if it wasn't good i could rerun the wiskey thru reflux?

I'm no expert, but you should be able to tell from the leaves. And you will have to let the wood season/dry for 18 months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_alba" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[fatman]

If someone has a picture of the correct type white oak leaves please post it?

I have even looked at the missouri conservation web site and missouri university extension site and they kinda just lump them all together as "white oaks". would be nice if they said which trees jack daniels bought for staves!

[fatman]

I found this:
White oak [Quercus alba] is sometimes confused with the swamp white oak, a closely related species, and the bur oak. The white oak hybridizes freely with the bur oak, the post oak, and the chestnut oak.[3]

I did see a picture on wkipedia that might have helped me?

I think the white oaks for stave making are the white oaks i call widow makers! They have large diameter, low branches that prevent the tree from falling over when cut down. the bur oaks are less limbs and taller before any branches.

Does this sound right? If so i only have bur oaks, but my friend has 3 huge widow makers that blew down this summer!

[Buccaneer Bob]

I started a thread a few days ago entitled "Oak vs. Other Woods".

I've been using apricot wood with very good results. It rounds out the flavor of my rum rather nicely and gives it a beautiful amber color in a matter of days.

And I started to experiment with plum wood, except that my rum started taking on a deep burgundy hue that didn't seem to suit rum, so I bailed out on the experiment before completion.

However, I think plum wood might have a lot of merits for something like blackberry brandy, plum brandy, cherry schnapps, that kind of thing. I think the burgundy color would give those liquors a lot of bottle appeal.

[501outlaw]

I used some granny smith apple dried and charred wood My step dad was very very impressed with it

[Steep-n-Rocky]

I have worked with white oak, swamp white oak, and burr oak and all have really good flavor. If anything, white oak has a very sweet smell straight off the stump but the others really come through nicely once charred or toasted. I am curious about mixing woods. Would that produce a more complex taste?

[Steep-n-Rocky]

Clarification, I was wondering about mixing different species (mulberry, apple, pecan, etc.).

[Buccaneer Bob]

I'm pretty sure there would be advantages to mixing different woods. The trick is figuring out which ones, the proper ratios, times for each, and so on. I think there's a whole realm of possibilities for folks willing to give it a try.