Infinity Barrels - What ya got, how are you approaching?

[n_plains_drifter]

I've posted elsewhere how I got surprised by a barrel that was much bigger than I thought it was (60 l vs 20 l). I filled it with UJSSM over the course of about 6 months. and I'm now about 17 months after topping off. I'm approaching the time frame where I need to watch out for over-oaking. The thought of another 60 l death march isn't appealing, so I came up with another route.

My intent is to pull 1/3 and replace with new make, so I'm into that process right now with a mix of AG and the resulting gumball. I figure that diluting with new make should enable the remainder to stay longer while reducing the potential for problems. I'm going with a 66/17/17 Corn Barley Rye as the AG to add a bit of depth, complexity & spice in this round. I ran with pretty tight cuts on the UJ, so I'm also going deeper into the tails since this will have the advantage of time in barrel.

I know Salt Bush and 8Ball are doing something similar. Any of the rest of you doing this? What sorts of decisions are you making with regards to blending over your generations? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Hoping we can get some good discussion and encourage others to take this route.

Best, Drifter

[Deplorable]

My goal is 3 "forever barrels".
A barrel of HBB, a barrel of rye bourbon, and a barrel of single malt.
Once full and aging, make a batch and start aging in glass. When the barrel is ready, I'll pull some out and top it off with the glass aged stuff and make a new batch to restart the process.
I figure I'll only have to make a single ferment of each every year, plus any ferments that I feel like trying out, but I'll never mix different spirits in a barrel/

[Saltbush Bill]

My barrel of UJ is 94 Litres at roughly 63%.....I take 5L and cut that to about 42% for bottling and drinking.
The 5 L taken gets replaced with stored white dog immediately......the barrel is a X bourbon import....once used when I bought it in a group buy.
I don't worry about over oaking.....I've yet to have it happen.

[Dougmatt]

I have 4 Badmo’s and 3 x 5-7G barrels (ex bourbon or wine). I’ve started heading toward a solera systems for rum, HBB and UJSSM. I thought about do the UJ as an infinity barrel, but became concerned that a poorly cut run would run the barrel / system…. This feels like a process that works great as long as all your runs are spot on, but have a bad one and it could ruin the entire solera.. (one bad apple and all that).

To that end, I’m planning on storing the latest batches in glass for 3 months to confirm them before blending them into the system. Maybe I’m overthinking this, but that’s where my head is right now.

[bcook608]

I have 4 Badmo’s and 3 x 5-7G barrels (ex bourbon or wine). I’ve started heading toward a solera systems for rum, HBB and UJSSM. I thought about do the UJ as an infinity barrel, but became concerned that a poorly cut run would run the barrel / system…. This feels like a process that works great as long as all your runs are spot on, but have a bad one and it could ruin the entire solera.. (one bad apple and all that).

To that end, I’m planning on storing the latest batches in glass for 3 months to confirm them before blending them into the system. Maybe I’m overthinking this, but that’s where my head is right now.

DO THIS!
I had an oopsie with a batch of new make that I combined with my aging stock and I wish I would have let it sit a bit longer

[n_plains_drifter]

I have 4 Badmo’s and 3 x 5-7G barrels (ex bourbon or wine). I’ve started heading toward a solera systems for rum, HBB and UJSSM. I thought about do the UJ as an infinity barrel, but became concerned that a poorly cut run would run the barrel / system…. This feels like a process that works great as long as all your runs are spot on, but have a bad one and it could ruin the entire solera.. (one bad apple and all that).

To that end, I’m planning on storing the latest batches in glass for 3 months to confirm them before blending them into the system. Maybe I’m overthinking this, but that’s where my head is right now.

Great suggestion. I think having a trial aging periodbefore adding it to your big batch is a good idea. The other thought I had was doing a 'test blend' for tasting. Pull some of your current stock, and mix in the new make in the appropriate percentage. This would probably work better using your method rather than new make.

[n_plains_drifter]

My barrel of UJ is 94 Litres at roughly 63%.....I take 5L and cut that to about 42% for bottling and drinking.
The 5 L taken gets replaced with stored white dog immediately......the barrel is a X bourbon import....once used when I bought it in a group buy.
I don't worry about over oaking.....I've yet to have it happen.

SBB, how frequently are you pulling product? I was going to go for a 'bigger-less-frequent' process, once per year or there abouts. Thoughts?

Are you only running UJ as white dog to refill, or are you mixing and matching?

[Saltbush Bill]

I take from and top up on average 2 times a year, occasionally it might be 3 ...depending on many things, how many parties, how much I gift, how many visitors I have and how long they stay. What I take from the barrel is cut to drinking abv , the result is kept in a 20L glass container to mellow .....it is then decanted from there as needed.
As for the blending.....my UJ is a bastardised version of the original....a mix of grains at different times....they include, corn,wheat.malted barley, rye and at times a can of LME.
Recently the left overs from a bourbon experiment were added to the mix.

[jonnys_spirit]

I love this! Ever evolving house bourbon!

Cheers,
J

[n_plains_drifter]

Deplorable:

I think you're right on the money with multiple barrels each with a single grain bill. With skill, there shouldn't be much variation btw each batch of new make, so your flavor drift should be minor, and after a few generations, you should have a consistent house blend.

My challenge was I aspired to a barrel full of AG, but got wedged when I realized that I had a 3X fill. Now I want that flavor drift to move towards the complexity of a real whiskey.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Best, Drifter

My goal is 3 "forever barrels".
A barrel of HBB, a barrel of rye bourbon, and a barrel of single malt.
Once full and aging, make a batch and start aging in glass. When the barrel is ready, I'll pull some out and top it off with the glass aged stuff and make a new batch to restart the process.
I figure I'll only have to make a single ferment of each every year, plus any ferments that I feel like trying out, but I'll never mix different spirits in a barrel/

[n_plains_drifter]

JS,

Indeed. I stole the concept from those who take an empty bottle and then pour bits of other commercial make into their 'house' blend. We have the advantage of being able to work in larger quantities and have more influence on the final outcome. Cheers!

Best, Drifter

I love this! Ever evolving house bourbon!

Cheers,
J