How long until it tastes like whisky?

[49er]

Hi guys. I've been stillin' now for about 9-10 years and have mostly just gone down the UJSSM road, with a few exceptions and occasional experiments with my recipes/grain bill. I sometimes toast/char my own oak or reuse old whisky barrel staves, or nuking method. Now, my question is, when aging 'shine, how long does it take before whisky actually tastes like whisky? Whether it's store bought gutrot or a good single malt, the smell and taste is immediately identifiable as whisky. I know here in the UK whisky cannot legally be sold as whisky until a minimum of 3 years and one day has passed since it has been in the barrel. But legalities aside, I'm sure it actually tastes like whisky long before that. Trouble is,I've never managed to keep any of my stuff aging longer than a few months, and it certainly doesn't taste like whisky in that short a time, hence my question.
Does anyone have an answer?
Cheers, Dave

[EricTheRed]

Make more until you enough to age at least a year.
Having said that, mine are whiskey - bourbon ish at 6 to 8 months


Patience

[49er]

Thanks Eric.

[Bolverk]

How do you define it tasting like whiskey? Is it the wood influence? Is it when it tastes like other commercially available whiskey?

Personally, I define it by being able to tell that it's a spirit made from grain... in which case it's whiskey from day one. I'm also not a big fan of overly oaked spirits and prefer my whiskey white.

[49er]

I suppose I mean if someone were to take a sniff and recognise it as a whisky, or even a bourbon, if all they'd ever smelled was the commercial sort. Rather than asking "Is that vodka or grappa or whisky?"
Know what I mean?

[8Ball]

Make more until you enough to age at least a year.
Having said that, mine are whiskey - bourbon ish at 6 to 8 months


Patience

+1 patience

6-8 months minimum. In the early stages of aging, say at the 4 month mark, whiskies taste like crap & make me think that I screwed up. At the 6 month mark, the magic starts & it just gets better & better. Make good cuts, don’t over-oak, and give it time and occasional air if aging in glass.

[zach]

I filled a 5 gallon new barrel with #4 char in early June this year with a 5 grain whisky. I'm storing the barrel in a shed. We had one of the hottest summers in memory with daily highs of 110 F (44 C) for two weeks and six weeks above 100 F (37 C) . It's already tasting good and is obviously whisky.

I have a couple of gallons UJSSM that I made in 2017 that was on oak sticks for awhile. It does not taste as good as the 3 month old whisky. I think the UJSSM will end up in a neutral or cleaning run.

[Swedish Pride]

Well Dave, i reckon if you want whiskey, do all grain mashed.
I've never done a sugar head as nice as an well made all grain.
Then age in a barrel for a year

[Deplorable]

I filled a 5 gallon new barrel with #4 char in early June this year with a 5 grain whisky. I'm storing the barrel in a shed. We had one of the hottest summers in memory with daily highs of 110 F (44 C) for two weeks and six weeks above 100 F (37 C) . It's already tasting good and is obviously whisky.

I have a couple of gallons UJSSM that I made in 2017 that was on oak sticks for awhile. It does not taste as good as the 3 month old whisky. I think the UJSSM will end up in a neutral or cleaning run.

All grain whiskey ruined sugar shine for me. Barrel aged is better than glass and sticks, but for small batches well seasoned white oak in glass with frequent agitation does a pretty good job after 8 months to a year.

[Bolverk]

I suppose I mean if someone were to take a sniff and recognise it as a whisky, or even a bourbon, if all they'd ever smelled was the commercial sort. Rather than asking "Is that vodka or grappa or whisky?"
Know what I mean?

I dunno man, it's gotta be the sugar... There's no confusing an all grain that it's whiskey

[NZChris]

It could be too much sugar, but it could also be the result of taking too narrow a cut. Mine always taste of the grains while white.

[shadylane]

Mine always taste of the grains while white.

[6 Row Joe]

If you are using barrels it depends on the barrel size. Badmo's produce some real nice juice at 8-12 mo. that rivals commercial spirits. Staves, chips,or spirals is tougher. Watch the color and sip samples until it get's just right. By the quart is fun but it's hard to duplicate and be consistant, which isn't a bad thing really.

[kimbodious]

A lot of flavour of commercial whiskey comes from whatever was stored in the cask previously e,g. sherry, port wine etc. If you are using “virgin” oak your spirit may never taste like the commercial version.

[49er]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I guess my take away is that I need to give it more time and exercise some patience. story of my life actually!