Pitching toasted and charred wood whilst it's still HOT

[Fidget]

Like it's been out the oven 5 minutes, charred a bit....any advantage to pitching it in ASAP whilst still hot, would it be similarly useful like nuking is?

Thanks!

[bellybuster]

dunno.....

[dstaines]

I wouldn't do it, because I soak my toasted and charred wood in water first and I feel that it's important. I've had some jars of spirits ruined when I first started charring my own wood before i learned about that step. They came out tasting bitter and ashy after just a few days on the wood. Soaking the wood in water for a week or so and changing the water out every few days washed out the ashy taste. But I don't just toast in the oven, I take a torch to the oak after it's been toasted and get it down to a black alligator char. So YMMV

I DO quench my oak dominos in water while they are still hot though. I read that caused the wood to open up micro-cracks which let the spirit penetrate more deeply. Not sure if it's true, but it does make a fun sound.

[bellybuster]

They came out tasting bitter and ashy after just a few days on the wood.

how was it after 8-10 months?? I've never soaked or even rinsed for that matter. Different strokes I guess

[dstaines]

how was it after 8-10 months?? I've never soaked or even rinsed for that matter. Different strokes I guess

I chill filtered it to get rid of some of the bad taste, which worked to a degree. So I guess we may never know really. But I put the oak back in for a few more months after that, came out... alright. A little more tannic than I would have liked, but I probably should have left it sit longer than I did.

--end of thread hyjacking, lol

To the OP

Did you ask this because you were sitting with the oven door open, looking at some hot oak, and needing an answer pronto? I hope not, but I gotta say the mental image gave me a laugh. If you try it out, let us know what you thought!

[heartcut]

Never have water soaked charred oak. Read that oak bourbon barrels are sometimes steam quenched after charring to crack open more surface area. If you try adding hot wood, take care that still glowing charred embers don't ruin your experience (if the alcohol flashes).

[Jimbo]

I read somewhere, I believe one of the barrel companys, that soaking the barrel/wood first does several important things, including removing some of the objectionable tannins (it's oak lactones we want not the tannins) and somehow prepares the pores to better to accept the alcohol. That was good enough for me, been soaking forever. When I char them I toss them in a pale of water. When all done charring the sticks, I rub them together under water. Helps knock off the loose black dust and crust that will serve no other purpose than turn your drink black. After an hour or 2, or overnight, I drop them in my quarts.

[shadylane]

I use the toasted wood as-is.
The charred is set a fire and put out with misted water, then soaked and rinsed for a hour or two before use.

[Fidget]

To the OP

Did you ask this because you were sitting with the oven door open, looking at some hot oak, and needing an answer pronto? I hope not, but I gotta say the mental image gave me a laugh. If you try it out, let us know what you thought!

Yes....wood was in oven as I posted

Didnt try it hot with the intended whiskey , but mid oven bake I did take out, quench in some white brandy for 10 mins, then put back in oven for the other half of the bake.

Later I toasted, then cleaned up in cold water, before drying and dropping in to the whiskey.


BUT, the shot of brandy I had used to quench whilst hot, had turned a lovely colour and gained a bit of interesting flavor. BTW Of note was that this was cherry wood not white oak.


Thanks for the responses all, More experimentation needed!