Question on oak

[wildman1983]

I was at my uncles house and seen he had alot of white oak cut up for burning in his heater in building.can I use this to age my shine if I cut it up in strips. And if so does it all have to be the heart of the oak or can u use everything but the bark.it has been setting in his building three months how long does it have to dry out thanks.

[Tater]

Its been covered .Try a search on charring oak

[okie]

I thought it needs to be aged longer than three months. Like a year in a dry environment. Look up barrell making I'm sure it's covered there but fresh oak will have some nasty tasting stuff that needs to go away.

[rtalbigr]

First of all you need to make sure you have heart wood and not sap wood. Second, yes, it needs to be seasoned, at least a year, two is better.

Big R

[Jimbo]

firewood is fine, but you need to toast the heartwood strips in the oven at 400-450 for a couple hours and then char the outside with a torch.

Jack Daniels barrels are toasted at 450 for 4 hours, then charred on the inside. Raw wood will make your hooch taste like shit. Read Oaking 101 in New distiller forum, good stuff there From NCHooch