Aging in glass how to do it right ?

[Virandell]

Hi I have 8x 1.3 us gallon (5L) demijohns and I am planning to fill them up with whisky and add oak to them unfortunately my flat is to small for a barrel now so that's the only option for aging. What would be the best practice to age in glass ?
I heard filling 2/3rds is good for oxygen. Would opening it 1 time a week for example for 30min would help ? What do you think guys any suggestions ?

[jonnys_spirit]

I haven't figured it out exactly yet either but I have corks for my jugs and jars and keep em just a little loose.

[NZChris]

I think I mostly have don'ts:

Don't overfill. 2/3rds is what I use.
Don't bang the cork in too tight.
Don't over oak.
Don't draw off more than you need. Leave the rest on the wood to age longer.
Don't remove the oak until the jar is empty, even if you think it is too woody or over oaked.

When you empty a jar, move the oak to a younger jar.

[Deplorable]

Im also new at this, but I cut my oak sticks down to about 13mm square and 15cm long, toast them in the oven to a medium toast. Let them cool, then char them. 1 stick per quart/Liter, and fill my jugs about 3/4 full and put a lose cork in. Leave them in the cabinet, and from time to time I open them, blow across the top, put the cork back in and gently agitate them. Then I put them back in the cabinet.

[NZChris]

Another don't.

Don't cut dominoes so big that you can't get them out of the jar when they're saturated.

[Demy]

I mix sporadically but you could simply do not do nothing., time is the trick here. Another thing I advise you is not to use a lot of wood but to find the right balance. I only produce a few small jars but I must say that it is better (less wood + time) than (too much wood - little time).But I must be sincere, sometimes I can't grow old for a long time because I produce little product, the ideal is to produce a lot to grow old (and forget) And take only the necessary to drink immediately, the rest leave it in the wood until the end.

[Yummyrum]

Another don't.

Don't cut dominoes so big that you can't get them out of the jar when they're saturated.

So true . I’ve had swollen Dominoes tie up an empty demi for 12 months while they shrunk enough to come out .

In hindsight , should have just poured more booze in there and used them as finishing oak

[Bushman]

What NZChris and others are suggesting is using the Solarice method for aging. Since you have multiple containers here is how it works. Let’s say you are using 3 different containers. First fill one container and let set for aging. Once the first one is filled then start on the second and third. Make sure you label them so as not to mix them up. When the first container is ready to bottle only bottle part of the alcohol. Then take the second bottle and fill the first back up with part of the second container. Do the same with the third container into the second and then make more and fill up the third. Continue this process and you will always have alcohol close to or ready to bottle. Over time you will have to add or replace the wood chips through the process.

[Chucker]

I use sticks and one gallon jugs. About 4” long, or whatever the wood chunks happen to be cut to, then split so they’ll fit through the neck of the jug. These get toasted/charred as seen fit.
In the jug I leave plenty of headspace and the likker is somewhere between 60-70% when it goes in. The amount of wood used is personal preference and the debates here are endless. I’ve never experienced over-oaking and it is my opinion that any stick or chip method will result in saturation of the wood and extraction of virtually everything it has to offer. Almost anything, after a certain period of time, is going to taste rather woody, until some of those wood flavors get a chance to react and subdue. In my experience it sort of turns from raw white, to an initial, tasty wood influence, to a a heavy tannic presence, and finally to a sweetness with other wood influences. I’ve noticed a very specific breakpoint where it crossed from ‘nope’ to ‘hey now!’ Time is the correction factor, whether you choose to use oak heavily or lightly. I only use the sticks once.
I put the caps on the jugs very lightly and leave them alone. I thought about getting some cork but figured that they might become a chewing target for mice and wasps. I’ve found that at least 4 months is required and more doesn’t seem to hurt. They sit in the garage where it can get quite hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. I don’t take out sticks until I need to reclaim the jugs.
After straining/filtering and cutting I tend to get some haze development. It takes weeks to appear and happens with any water source. I don’t have the issue with vodka. I’ve never seen anything exhaustive about it other than I’m not the only one. A bit of bentonite slurry will floc it out reasonably enough but my theory is that it is something from the wood that is soluble at the higher ABV. Perhaps the next batch will use fewer sticks to see if that holds any sway over the haze.
I don’t know that there are really any “right” or “wrong” answers to this type of question. It’s really all an adaptation to your particular tastes, methods, resources, climate, product, and goals. For the above description it’s been about whisky. I don’t think I’d do it quite the same for rum. Quite differently, in fact. The first batch of that should be ready in the next few weeks. I just keep learning as I go and find that that there are few absolutes, regardless of what you think about this or that method or recipe. Hopefully you keep making something that you find pleasant enough along the way while you evaluate and make adjustments from what you’ve learned as you grow in this.

[still_stirrin]

Don't cut dominoes so big that you can't get them out of the jar when they're saturated.

Wise advice. I learned this the hard way. It cost me an “aging vessel”.

Always anticipate expansion (swelling) of the chunks when soaking in the spirit. Unfortunately, they don’t shrink back to their original size when you remove the liquor from the jar.
ss

[zed255]

I can't say what I do is right, but then again it works for me.

I use large swing top jars (most of mine are Fido 5L with a few smaller ones). I remove the gasket and use several layers of paper towel or cheese cloth until the lid will close firmly. This lets things breath a little without allowing the angels to run off with all your spirit, though over enough time you will loose a little.

I leave a fairly generous headspace and do open then periodically to check progress.

I use one or two ~3/4" x 3/4" x 5" prepared oak pieces, one if it is first use and two if the oak has been used before. More time and less oak is the way, get impatient and you get oak tea or something too much like bourbon.

Solera style. I do this mainly for my rum. The bulk sits in a glass carboy that feeds 3 swing tops. I withdraw what I need from the last swing top and the rum is moved between the vessels and ultimately replenished in the first swing top from the carboy. Each vessel has used oak of different toasts. Very Cuban or Dominican style but scary smooth, the way we like it.

Like NZChris says, it's easier to list the do nots than to say what is best.

[River Rat]

Just to reinforce what has already been said, it doesn't take much oak so don't over do it. I age whiskey in 1 gallon glass jugs and a single piece of oak 1"x1"x5" is more than sufficient for my taste.

[S-Cackalacky]

All good advice! Some people mentioned aeration and airing for a period of time. For this, I leave some head space and give it a good shake every week or two. I also rubber band a paper towel to the top and let it sit for an hour or two. I use 1 gallon Pickle jars. If you can figure a way to get some heat/cool cycles to it, that would be good too.

[NormandieStill]

If you can figure a way to get some heat/cool cycles to it, that would be good too.

A good solution to this is if you have a ventilated, uninsulated loft (attic) space. Come the summer it'll get hot during the day and then with the ventilation, will cool down over night. You could easily see 10C-15C temperature swings (depending of course on your climate).

[Deplorable]

If you can figure a way to get some heat/cool cycles to it, that would be good too.

A good solution to this is if you have a ventilated, uninsulated loft (attic) space. Come the summer it'll get hot during the day and then with the ventilation, will cool down over night. You could easily see 10C-15C temperature swings (depending of course on your climate).

I age all my booze in the garage. Temp swings average 15 to 20°F daily. More in the summer, up to 40° variation. This summer has been magic on barrel.

[S-Cackalacky]

Well, I don't have either a garage or an attic. I was thinking more along the lines of a heater of some sort controlled by the Inkbird temp controller I use for fermentation heat control and a timer to periodically turn the process on and off.

[Virandell]

Thanks alot guys for all the suggestions I will defenetly do everything what you guys saying and hopefully in the future I can get myself barrel
With the temperature thing quite Shi** as in my flat is quite constant temperature I might get big heating mat

[NZChris]

Temperature swings might not be as important in glass as it is in barrels, so I don't do anything to make that happen.

Most of my rum is in an old fridge with a heater set to a tropical 86F, 30C, so that's the coldest they can get.

[Deplorable]

Temperature swings might not be as important in glass as it is in barrels, so I don't do anything to make that happen.

Most of my rum is in an old fridge with a heater set to a tropical 86F, 30C, so that's the coldest they can get.

I agree with Chris, I've read opinions from both sides on this. While my very limited experience with a barrel has been the observation of increased rate of color change with the hotter weather, I can say that the same has not been true with my product aging in glass.
I suppose if someone wanted to to a controlled experiment with a few jugs, and sticks, you could use a heating pad and cycle the heat on a jug or two while aging a jug or two of the same spirit in an area where the temp is constant.

[NZChris]

Color change isn't much of an indicator of age. You can quickly color it up by nuking, but that only makes oak tea and doesn't give it any age.

Age takes time, but is hurried along by temperature. Chemical reactions occur faster the higher the temperature is. That's why rum ages faster in the tropics than whiskey ages in Scotland, and is why I don't give my rum cool cycles.

[S-Cackalacky]

+1 NZChris, I believe temperature is important to the length of time it takes to reach maturity. Also important is the introduction of air into the spirit. There has also been a lot of experimentation with aging reactors that emulate many of the processes going on during maturation to speed things along a bit. Maybe "aging" isn't the best term for describing the maturation of a spirit. Sure, it takes time, but it would seem that we might have a significant amount of control over how much time.