Varieties of wood to consider

[Mr_Beer]

I am a newbie and this is a great thread – lots of information and techniques.

I will not attempt to make/use barrels for ageing but instead items of wood that have been prepared.

What I have gleaned is that the wood used should be heartwood, not bark, sapwood, cambium or center pith wood. Is that the consensus?

What seems less clear is the type of wood. This question may be entirely subjective but I would like some notions.

In my forest I have cherry, red oak, pin oak, white oak, and hickory that I think would be useful. Any opinions? Notions of what you prefer or would avoid?

I have excluded all conifers, persimmon, walnut, sassafras, elm, birch, hackberry, ash, sycamore, cottonwood, willows, and dogwood. Is that reasonable?

I am unclear about sugarberry, serviceberry and redbud.

Any advice or notions would certainly be appreciated.

[still_stirrin]

I am a newbie and this is a great thread – lots of information and techniques.

I will not attempt to make/use barrels for ageing but instead items of wood that have been prepared.

What I have gleaned is that the wood used should be heartwood, not bark, sapwood, cambium or center pith wood. Is that the consensus?

What seems less clear is the type of wood. This question may be entirely subjective but I would like some notions.

In my forest I have cherry, red oak, pin oak, white oak, and hickory that I think would be useful. Any opinions? Notions of what you prefer or would avoid? <— My choice would be from any of these.

I have excluded all conifers, persimmon, walnut, sassafras, elm, birch, hackberry, ash, sycamore, cottonwood, willows, and dogwood. Is that reasonable? <— Only hardwoods, or “nut woods” would be best.

I am unclear about sugarberry, serviceberry and redbud. <— Maple might be another one to consider.

Any advice or notions would certainly be appreciated.

You must have a forest in your yard. With such a natural resource, you should be giving us data you’ve gleaned rather than posing queries. If nothing else, look to what the industry has chosen and expound on that.
ss

[Mr_Beer]

Thank you for your answer.
I have many acres -- in my younger years I used to be a USDA 'certified' Tree farmer. Trees and forests are like any other crop -- managed for income and resale.

Just because I have lots of trees does not make me knowledgeable on how to use them for flavors, it only makes me understand how to maximize the growth.

[OtisT]

I agree with what SS wrote. To add to that…..

I like cherry and apple wood. Plum wood was not too bad, but was a little bitter for my tastes. That said, I tested it in rum. It may work better with whiskey. Both cherry and apple are great raw (my favorite) or lightly toasted. I did some tests, and there is a link in my signature to that thread.

I’m ready to try some nut woods. I have some Pecan sent by a friend who likes using this wood. I also have some hazelnut wood to try. Maybe this summer.

Different oaks have different characteristics. I’ve only used American white oak and Oregon oak, and they definitely produce different results. I read somewhere that red and pin oaks are higher in tannins, and not the best. This is just hear say, so give them a real try and let us know how they work.

The heartwood vs sapwood subject I know is applicable to oak. Not sure if it is the same issue for the fruit or nut woods. I have only played around with the heartwood when it is an option, so I can’t compare. Neither cherry nor plum appeared to have a heartwood/sapwood section with the rounds I was working with. (Pics in my fruitwood thread)

I have read about folk who love using sugar maple. I have not tried it.

Good luck
Otis

[Bushman]

Wood from most fruit trees are also a good source.

[Demy]

Another wood that I love very much is chestnut.

[Mr_Beer]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will need several more weeks for the trees to leaf out but then armed with these notions, I will get the chain saw and harvest a variety of trees.
White oak is in abundance. Maples are in abundance as well. Chestnut are more difficult to identity but definitely there.

I will need to advertise for some fruit wood trees since they are essentially domestic items -- lots of folks want them removed for low cost. I can help in that regard.

Thanks again to everyone.

[jonnys_spirit]

One thing to note if it hasn’t been mentioned is seasoning the wood. Cut it into lengths - perhaps about the size of staves - stack it out in the open where it will be exposed to the elements and let it sit for a couple years. Rain, snow, sun, air.

A good source of pre seasoned white oak is used barrel staves. Half barrel planters can be found at Home Depot, lowes, and similar. Break the barrel up and cut into finger sized pieces that you can then toast, char, or both. 2-4 fingers per gallon is good and less is more. Fruit woods even less. I’ve got barrel heads and staves stacked in the yard from four or five years ago. 1/2 barrel cost like $35 and might last me forever? Still picked up 4-5 barrel heads from etsy for some diversity. All different. Chunks of cherry, plum, peach bbq smoker wood. A log of apple a friend gave me. I do want to try some others too

Some folks recommended boiling in water to remove some tannins and accelerate seasoning.

Cheers!
-j

[Mr_Beer]

Thank you jonnys_spirit for great leads on sources.

Being a senior and waiting three years for ageing is probably not practical. The concept of used material just never occurred to me.

I would never have thought about Home Depot or etsy. etsy has plenty of material -- enough stuff that is appropriately aged to satisfy most everyone.

The etsy hint should be part of permanent thread.

[DAD300]

I use Cherry & Maple in my products. Both add sweetness and tons of color quickly!

Toasted cherry sticks in rum is a classic.

This is rum after a few weeks on cherry wood.

Wood from own trees is easy...but cut it up on a table saw to avoid the chain oil from a chainsaw and toast it.

[Bushman]

I use Cherry & Maple in my products. Both add sweetness and tons of color quickly!

Toasted cherry sticks in rum is a classic.

Bottles c.jpg

This is rum after a few weeks on cherry wood.

Wood from own trees is easy...but cut it up on a table saw to avoid the chain oil from a chainsaw and toast it.

I use a bandsaw to cut my strips works great.

[shadylane]

Varieties of wood to consider.

Sugar maple slit into 1/2 inch thick by 1 inch wide strips.
Toasted till vanilla smell, then some of strips lightly charred on 1 side.

[still_stirrin]

I use Cherry & Maple in my products. Both add sweetness and tons of color quickly!

Toasted cherry sticks in rum is a classic.

Red Rum

121A16DE-CD35-429B-9E66-9824234DAF81.jpeg (28.1 KiB) Viewed 842 times

This is rum after a few weeks on cherry wood.

Nice! I gotta’ get me summa’ that. And some oat whiskey too. Love it.
ss