How many charred sticks for bourbon?

[vafarmdog]

I distilled my first bourbon today and it seems to have come out great. Very drinkable right off the still. I have one gallon total in two half-gallon jars, and I purchased these charred oak sticks:

1. How many would you recommend I put in each half gallon jar?
2. Would you age in the jar, or should I be doing something else?
3. If you've made good bourbon style whiskey, how long do you age yours in half-gallon jars?

Thanks for any help!

[Durhommer]

you need breathing room or head space pour some of both jars into another and then oak/age the three those sticks id say 3 per jar

[Durhommer]

id use the google search here on the site tho....prolly tell u more than i could

[OtisT]

+1 to including head space in the jar. I use about 1000 ml of spirits in a half gallon jar.
Personally, I would use two, maybe three sticks tops in that jar. You can always add more sticks and time if it’s not where you like it.

Otis

[cayars]

I'm going to recommend one stick to start with per half gallon filled half to 2/3 full.

The reason I say one stick is that I have a feeling you may not like the taste you get from them. They are heavy toasted and look to me like they were done at very high temps for a long duration and have no char. That will usually bring out almond/nut type flavors that can border acrid or bitter tasting.

Bourbon normally goes into barrels that are toasted around 380 F give or take 20 F. 360ish brings out sweetness while 400ish brings out vanilla flavors which are trademark Bourbon flavors. Of course most bourbon barrels are charred to level 3 while a couple distilleries use level 4 char like Wild Turkey.

Those sticks look better to use for red wine vs whiskey IMHO but that's based on a picture and description only. You could end up being very pleased with them.

So I'd use a single stick for the first batch to see what flavor develops and decide if you like it or not. Be ready to pull the stick if the taste is going a bad direction. If not you can always add 1 or more additional sticks, but it's better to start light.

[8Ball]

+1 to including head space in the jar. I use about 1000 ml of spirits in a half gallon jar.
Personally, I would use two, maybe three sticks tops in that jar. You can always add more sticks and time if it’s not where you like it.

Otis

+1 with Otis. If it was me, I’d fill the jar up to the 1.5L mark. Then, I would set the sticks on a gas burner and get them burning good, then douse them in water overnight. I would use two sticks, one as is and one burned and charred as described. I also use the wide mouth plastic jar lids with PTFE liner discs installed. I put a coffee filter over the jar top, then screw the lid down to a loose fit to allow air exchange. I store outside in a ventilated metal cabinet that sees all the weather temperature changes. Good luck!

[OtisT]

Holy cow. I saw the size of the sticks earlier by looking at the pic with sticks in a jar. Those sticks look fine to me. After reading the post by 8ball I want back and looked at the other pic of sticks in a pile. Those things are way overdone In my opinion and are likely are going to be very acrid.

If yours look like the pile of sticks, black, you may want to try just a small sample of your spirit with this wood before committing your entire batch to it. Maybe half a stick in 300 ml. I personally think that dark stack is way overdone wood. You may like it, but I’m betting not. Otis

[NZChris]

They look nasty. I'd only experiment with them if I already had a stash of drinking likker in the cabinet and wasn't relying on them producing nice drink in a short time frame.

This is how I check out a toast; viewtopic.php?f=44&t=55301

[Twisted Brick]

I'm going to recommend one stick to start with per half gallon filled half to 2/3 full.

The reason I say one stick is that I have a feeling you may not like the taste you get from them. They are heavy toasted and look to me like they were done at very high temps for a long duration and have no char. That will usually bring out almond/nut type flavors that can border acrid or bitter tasting.

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You may be perfectly fine with 2 sticks/litre and ample headspace. Assessments based on a photograph can be questionable, and this may be a perfect example. The Amazon product photo appears to be under-lit and/or under-exposed, and IMO renders an inaccurate representation of the product, whether in error, or intentional. Correcting the exposure of the image reveals a much more natural contrast and tone to the wood grain. Additionally, the source of these sticks, Corbett's White Oak Sticks and Chips states on their website that their sticks are toasted at 350F whereas almond flavors in oak originate between 460F and 550F.

Vafarmdog, I would venture to guess the toast level of the oak you receive will be fine and you might even elect to char a few sides. It would be interesting to see a photograph of your sticks taken in open sunlight to help assess their actual toast level and hopefully get Otis's knowledgeable thoughts.

The oak sticks in the exposure-corrected file look conspicuously like the ones I have, which came from wine barrels and have contributed their caramels oakiness to my bourbons nicely.

I currently have three batches of bourbon aging in glass (2 sticks/liter) and the one over a year has developed a smooth, complex flavor and rich color. I’m kicking myself for not leaving it alone and it’s almost gone. Try to age yours for a year minimum. As you have probably already surmised, the condition and type of oak one gets can be highly variable and requires scheduled sampling.
A barrel is your best aging solution, but sticks in glass is a close-ish second. My bourbon has benefitted from periodically opening the bottle and shaking vigorously.

Congrats on your first bourbon!

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Amazon product file

Exposure-corrected file

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[cayars]

Thanks for looking that up Twisted Brick. I just did the same and found their blog at http://toastedoakchips.blogspot.com/

"We purchase our white oak lumber from W.D. CLINE LUMBER CO. in North Georgia. Our White Oak Sticks and Chips are made from purchased kiln dried lumber that has never been used for any other purpose. We then "chip" the lumber by hand to a fairly uniform size of about 2" X 1" X 1/16" to 1/8" for our chips and for our sticks we chop them by hand, using a hammer and chisel, to a uniform size of about 4" long buy about 3/8 to 1/2" square.. The white oak chips are then "toasted" in a 350 degree oven for one hour for the chips and three hours for our sticks. The toasting process brings out the deep toasted white oak flavor you will find in any good wine or whiskey."

So kiln dried lumber cut up and toasted at 350 F for 3 hours. With some charring these should work pretty well.
Wonder why they call them "Heavy Toast"?

PS They do look a lot better when the exposure is corrected!

[vafarmdog]

Thanks everyone for the great tips! Mine do look pretty similar to that exposure-corrected file. They are dark/charred, for sure. What I've done is move all the bourbon into quart jars with about 2-3 inches of headspace in each. I put one stick in each jar. But right now I'm researching nuclear aging and I'm thinking of taking one jar and running it through a few cycles of heating to 140 degrees, chilling in a freezer for an hour and repeating. Not sure if anyone here is tried anything similar?

[cayars]

If you want something to drink fast the nuclear aging helps. I typically do 155 F to drive off some of the heads. I'd use one stick because it will oak up quickly after a few nukes.

But I wouldn't do this if you plan on aging for a longer term as you want the heads (assuming proper cuts) in it to help develop proper taste.

1 jar from the batch is a good idea.

If you do this make sure you have something reliable to measure the temp of liquid with go slow the first time in 30 second intervals or so to get an idea how fast you microwave warms this up. No metal of any kinds on the jars as you want no sparks or potential problems.

I typically try to get the liquor spinning in the jar before I put it in the microwave so while it's heating up it's moving but this is just me. I normally just open the door after it's done and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes because it's hot and if you did happen to over due the temp it can flash and burn you. You'll notice vapor coming out of the jar which is likely mostly heads evaporating so leave the lid off for a good 30 minutes before sealing the jar.

[Durhommer]

make sure your jar isnt shit rapid heating and cooling.....at least make sure they are canning jars

[cayars]

Yes good point. It's best to let the temp of the jar come to room temp before putting it in the fridge/freezer.

[vafarmdog]

Thanks. Yes, they are heavy duty canning jars...I have about a thousand (we do lots of canning) and I'll do in 30 second increments and use an instant read thermometer.

[Durhommer]

just be safe and most importantly have fun with what you are doing or else why do it at all