What a difference a day (or 6) makes!

[Steve Broady]

Same spirit, same wood, same volume..

This is a whiskey which spent about 10 months in a BadMo, after which I moved it into two glass carboys. I added toasted maple syrup barrel staves to both, as equally as I could manage. The only significant difference between them is that the one on the right was held at 67C for 6 days, while the other has stayed at room temperature.

The plan is to let these sit for another year or so, probably with quality control at the 1,3,6 month marks. I want to see if they start to converge at some point, or if they will always be significantly different. I’ve also got some that I saved white, for comparison.

[LordL]

Very interesting! How did you manage to keep a stable high temp that long?
Sous vide?

[Steve Broady]

How did you manage to keep a stable high temp that long?
Sous vide?

viewtopic.php?t=89472
I tried sous vide, which worked well, but I made a very simple heated cooler in which I can hold a couple gallons for as long as I like.

[LordL]

How did you manage to keep a stable high temp that long?
Sous vide?

viewtopic.php?t=89472
I tried sous vide, which worked well, but I made a very simple heated cooler in which I can hold a couple gallons for as long as I like.

Wow! Have gotten the time to try them yet? Is it worth it?

[Steve Broady]

The spirits I’ve put through it are definitely better than what went in. I can’t compare them to something ages for years, but they’re good.

[Dancing4dan]

How did you manage to keep a stable high temp that long?
Sous vide?

viewtopic.php?t=89472
I tried sous vide, which worked well, but I made a very simple heated cooler in which I can hold a couple gallons for as long as I like.

Hey Steve, I have done a similar method but using a large tub of water with an adjustable fish tank heater as heat source. Then place my jars or jugs of product in the tub of water. It did help along the aging and oaking process. I haven't done it for a while but it was a worthy effort as far as end product goes.

[Steve Broady]

Dan, did you ever compare something that had been rapid aged versus the same spirit that had not been? That’s something I hope to learn from this.

[shadylane]

I don't trust glass carboys.

[still_stirrin]

I don't trust glass carboys.

And they’re lousy tap-dancers!
ss

[Steve Broady]

These have been sitting in the back of my aging shelf for about 7 months now, getting the occasional shake when I think about it. I took them down last night to have a proper taste. Here they are, with two glasses proofed to 40%

The color difference isn’t as stark as it was in February, but it’s still easy to see the difference. What I find really interesting is that they taste significantly different.

Remember, theses are literally the same product, which spent about a year in a BadMo barrel. It was divided in half and, as closely as I was able to manage, they each got identical wood. Thus the only difference between them should be that one was held at 67C for 6 days, while one was not.

The unreacted spirit tastes a little bit of heads, a little bit hotter, and has a definite dark chocolate note to it. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. In contrast, the reacted spirit is smoother, a little sweeter, and a good bit more complex. The chocolate notes are still there in the background, and the grain notes (especially oatmeal) seem to be coming out more. It’s all around a far more enjoyable drink.

There’s no reason not to let this experiment keep going, which is what I’ll do. But I wanted to share an update, in case anyone was curious. If I had to make a decision right now, I would say that reacting anything that I’m aging in glass would definitely improve it. We’ll see if that changes over time.

[Dougmatt]

Interesting test Steve.

[NZChris]

I'm tasting a 2014 UJSSM that I reacted in 2016 using temperature and UV.

It was quite nasty after the react and that put me off using UV for grain products. It has been in the back of a cupboard for years, still on the wood, only being sampled when I stumble on it, which might have been a quite a few times as there is only about a third of it left.

It's very nice now, sweet, nice mouthfeel, I'll put the jar back in the cupboard.

[harold01]

Just to make sure you don't get the temptation to sample again for a year or so, send it across the ditch to me for safe keeping