10 month UJSSM on sticks. Sting?

[KingE]

I’ve had a couple of gallons of uj on sticks at 62% for 10 months. A fifth worth I left white. The stuff that’s been on oak has a sting or burn up high in the back of my mouth. This isn’t present at all in the white. Do any of you all have ideas about this? I proof it down to 40% and the sticks are per TeePee. 4 sticks per gallon jar, ex jack Daniels ~1x1x6 charred with a torch.

Thanks!

[Badmotivator]

Since this question has languished unanswered, I'll hazard a guess. Were your sticks seasoned outdoors in the rain for a long time before you used them? Or were they just plain wood from a lumberyard? Or used barrel staves?

I have experienced the difference between fresh oak and weathered oak, and the difference might be called "sting". I usually describe it as a sharp, tannic, "green stick" flavor. If this explanation sounds possible I can turn you on to some information that might help.

[KingE]

Hey thanks Badmo! They were made from ex jack Daniels staves, so I don’t think they would be unseasoned. It’s not really that bad, I would think it was poor cuts as this is some of my first stuff, except that the white dog from the same batch is completely smooth.

On a happy note, I will start preparing to make some of your barrels soon. I have a woodworker friend who is excited to share in that project We will find some fresh oak to season and I’ll start making some real grain mashes to fill them with. Yay! Thanks so much for documenting your invention. They are great!

Thanks again for taking a shot at my question!

[Badmotivator]

Hey thanks Badmo! They were made from ex jack Daniels staves, so I don’t think they would be unseasoned. It’s not really that bad, I would think it was poor cuts as this is some of my first stuff, except that the white dog from the same batch is completely smooth.

On a happy note, I will start preparing to make some of your barrels soon. I have a woodworker friend who is excited to share in that project We will find some fresh oak to season and I’ll start making some real grain mashes to fill them with. Yay! Thanks so much for documenting your invention. They are great!

Thanks again for taking a shot at my question!

You are super welcome! I’m glad to hear that you are making some barrels. That’s awesome. I hope you’ll share pictures and stories, and help others by sharing your experiences with them.

Because I can’t help myself I’ll offer some unrequested advice on those barrels: practice on some cheap, unseasoned wood. It’ll swell and seal just like seasoned wood willl. You’ll learn a lot about tooling and procedures, and reduce the chance of making an unfixable mistake on some precious wood you seasoned. You can reuse all of the hardware or you can keep the prototypes as a reference. I found it interesting to keep my early (unseasoned) barrels so I could A-B test fresh-vs-old wood. Spoiler: unseasoned tastes like shit.

But more to the point, sorry I can’t offer a better answer to your original question.

[Pikey]

Hi You mention that you "Charred" the oak using a propane torch (same as I do) but you don't mention Toasting it first.

There is a chart on here in several places which shows the effects on flavour which toasting the oak at various temperatures has, and it is helpful.

I have used JD "Chips" but have never "Charred" without toasting first, so if this is what you have done, all I can suggest is that next time you toast the oak in accordance with your preference from the chart.

With regard to your white dog, I assume you mixed all the bottles of "good stuff" together before drawing off your "White dog" ? If not, it could be that the WD is just a bottle from the middle of the run and therefore contains less "Heads" ?

[KingE]

Badmo, advice taken! Thanks!

Pikey, you are correct. I didn’t toast my oak, not knowing whether that would be a REtoast. Whole batch was mixed together so same juice.

So, to clear my mind...let’s say I started with fresh wood and built badmotivators barrels. Season, toast, char, fill, age, bottle. What steps would you guys take before a refill using the same oak lid?

Thanks so much!

[jonnys_spirit]

I might put some port wine or sherry or something else interesting in there for a while and maybe use it in a whisky finishing protocol and/or augmenting with oak fingers for longer term ageing.

Cheers!
-jonathan