Aging bourbon input

[mendozer]

My brother got me a decanter for Christmas and I thought about making a home "blend". I found Henry McKenna 10 yr at costco for 30 bucks and its 100 proof and darn smooth, maybe a good base for this project. I thought about adding a few coffee beans, vanilla bean, maybe citrus. I'm unsure about quantities or ratios

[still_stirrin]

Can do.

Coffee beans will hit it hard, so go very, very gently, if at all. And the coffee will get astringent too, ending up with a "dry finish". I don't recommend using coffee beans in a bourbon, especially at 100 proof.

Vanilla bean would be nice. It will compliment the bourbon nicely. Unfortunately real beans are expensive. But, don't "cheap out" here. Get a real Madagascar vanilla bean, split it lengthwise and poke it into the bottle. Over time it will add a very nice and smooth quality to the bourbon. I would only use 1 bean and leave it as long as you can.

Citrus...in a bourbon? I don't know. It doesn't sound good to me. Bourbons tend to taste sweet from the corn mash. And oat or wheat bourbons are very smooth texture on the tongue. Rye bourbon will be a little spicy from the rye malts. But still, the sweetness predominates. Citrus, either lemon or lime doesn't sound appropriate to me. But, your tastes may be different.

However, I have been known to mix a few whiskey sours, which do have citrus in the sour mix. But, I consider that a mixed cocktail. I wouldn't put the citrus in the bourbon, rather I'd add it to the glass over ice. Again, YMMV.

These are just my "opinions"...and everybody knows, "opinions are like a-- holes, everybody's got one".
ss

[OtisT]

I have one more personal opinion for ya. I recently polished one of my barrel aged bourbons with small bits of toasted fruit wood. I tried Apple, Plum, and Cherry. I think each turned out to be a nice unique twist on bourbon. I only used a small amount for a short period of time. Details on the amount of toasted wood per volume are in my thread “learning about fruit wood for aging”.

Otis

[still_stirrin]

Perfect Otis.

I like the addition of fruit woods (and nut woods too). They add a bit of the fruit's essence without overwhelming the delicacy of the bourbon.

Thanks for the input.
ss

[mendozer]

I like both tips. For the citrus, I was just thinking that since we add orange peel to our OFs, maybe it would go well. But hell I'm guessing.
I'll definitely try a vanilla bean and some toasted wood. I just picked up a Elijah Craig small batch 94 proof at Costco today. It's...cheaper, so maybe I'll age that instead haha. I have oak chips for my winemaking and brewing so i can easily char the chips and toss it in there. I'll probably have to taste it weekly as I don't want it to get over-oaked. I want to mellow it out. I know there's technically no way to "speed age" and there have been many write ups about accelerated aging, but I want to make that 8-12 year blend taste like 16-20 smooth. I'll see if I can get some fruitwood. I have smoking wood pellets that I could use. I only say that because the brand I use is 100% hardwood without glue binders. I could char the pellets. Or i guess I can get a small bag from the hardware store in their BBQ section too. Less....trashy.

[OtisT]

It’s hard, if not impossible to char chips and pellets. A proper char will turn thin materials into char coal, with no wood remaining. You need something thicker before you take a flame thrower to it. I recently charred some toasted barrel scraps I had that were a bit under 1/2” thick and over an inch wide, and that was about as thin as I would want to go myself. I only charred one side and I had to use a very light touch and douse them quickly so not to ruin them.

Otis

[mendozer]

You're charring on a griddle right? I was thinking careful butane torch application. But on a note about charcoal...wouldn't that mellow it out? Gentleman jack is essentially JD filtered a couple times through charcoal and it's definitely smoother

[OtisT]

You're charring on a griddle right? I was thinking careful butane torch application. But on a note about charcoal...wouldn't that mellow it out? Gentleman jack is essentially JD filtered a couple times through charcoal and it's definitely smoother

I toast on a griddle. (Hot plate with metal slab on top).

I char with a flame thrower. This one attaches to my big propane bottle that I use on my BBQ grill. 25-30 seconds for a nice light alligator char. They sell these at Harbor Freight for about $30. About $20 w/o the starter button.

Flame thrower

These are a few small hunks of toasted wood I charred up on one side for use in jar aging.

Small hunks of charred wood

Otis

[mendozer]

ok i gotcha. So you're 'toasting' them first to a certain level of darkness, then char one side, presumably for the mellowing aspect?

[OtisT]

ok i gotcha. So you're 'toasting' them first to a certain level of darkness, then char one side, presumably for the mellowing aspect?

Yes, I toast wood first, which can take hours, then I char it in seconds if that is what I want. There is nothing wrong with charring multiple sides of wood but these small pieces I had were so thin, a little less than 1/2”, that if I charred both sides there would not be much toasted wood left. Char does mellow some aspects of a spirit over time, and it also adds a unique smell and taste that is not always what I am after. Best way to learn what it does for you is to age two jars of the same product. One with toasted wood only, and one with a piece of toasted and charred wood.

PS on charring. After you torch it for 25 seconds, douse it immediately with clean water to stop the burning process. Be careful handling the wood after that so you don’t knock off all the bits of charcoal you just made.

Some folks like to soak their freshly charred wood in water for a day then let it dry out. That is supposed to take away some of the off smells.

Otis

[mendozer]

very interesting. I'm going to get some "cheaper" stuff to play around with like say the Kirkland Signature bourbon. I will be able to test multiple wood types at once with small mason jars. What's a good dosage, I haven't been able to find that, or is it just experimentation?

[OtisT]

very interesting. I'm going to get some "cheaper" stuff to play around with like say the Kirkland Signature bourbon. I will be able to test multiple wood types at once with small mason jars. What's a good dosage, I haven't been able to find that, or is it just experimentation?

The short answer is Yes, you need to experiment.

Lots of different threads where folks talk about the amount and shape of wood they use per volume. You will be working with an already aged/blended product so my guess is that you will want to work with less than what you would use for a new make product. For a pint of new make, I personally use a piece of oak that is 3/4”x3/4”x2.5”. For a quart, the stick I use is twice that long. When I want a charred stick I only char one side, unless it’s a bourbon, in which case I char from two sides. That is just my preference. I would probably start with half my normal amount or less if I were to try and enhance an already bottled product. It’s going to get a lot of flavor/smell quickly and it may take some time to mellow. This is just my guess and opinion.

Many of my first batches of whiskey were split into many jars with various levels of toast and char. After a year or more there were many jars I just did not care for. I poured out the worst then mix the remaining jars together and threw that mix into a barrel for a year to mellow. Very sweet, lots of vanilla, not offensive, and just meh! I bottled this stuff and it became my “mixing whiskey” for folks why like coke in their whiskey.

Otis

[mendozer]

Thank you for that info. I need to get to building my still so I can play with this. The only reason I wanted to trial with ready made was for what flavors I like in terms of toasting, wood type, etc.