Storing used but still good oak sticks

[PalCabral]

Good afternoon, distillers.

I have a real noob question. What do you do with oak sticks after you've used them for oaking a product and you don't have a new jar waiting?

Do you just dry them and put them in a box? Do you keep them in water (seems kind of counter-intuitive, probably a really bad idea) or some other solution? Do you sand the stick, re-toast and/or re-char? Do you follow some sort of sanitizing regimen? Just curious.

[NormandieStill]

Personally, I wrap them in aluminium foil, label them to say what they've been in, and stick them in a box. The idea being to pull them out to add some variety to future projects, but so far I've only once reused a stick. Anyway... the day I decide to, I've got them in a box!

[Deplorable]

They all get set out to dry, and tossed in a zip lock. Some back in other jugs of single malt, some get tossed in the grill for cooking.

[MooseMan]

I've dried some and put in zip bags ready to go in Rum, I've dried some and put in a demi with oxidised red wine, to be dried/caramelised on the still while running, and I've re-toasted and bagged some and will re-char them just before they are needed for a bourbon.

A friend soaks things like cola, molasses, red wine, coffee etc into his once used staves, then toasts them in a halogen oven kept for the purpose, and gets really great, fast colour and some interesting flavours!

[PalCabral]

I've dried some and put in zip bags ready to go in Rum, I've dried some and put in a demi with oxidised red wine, to be dried/caramelised on the still while running, and I've re-toasted and bagged some and will re-char them just before they are needed for a bourbon.

A friend soaks things like cola, molasses, red wine, coffee etc into his once used staves, then toasts them in a halogen oven kept for the purpose, and gets really great, fast colour and some interesting flavours!

I could see soaking the sticks in wine, ie Sherry, could be a way of getting something nice as a finishing oaking. But what do the red wine "marinated" sticks do for your wash in the still? Can you notice some flavouring from it?

[MooseMan]

I've dried some and put in zip bags ready to go in Rum, I've dried some and put in a demi with oxidised red wine, to be dried/caramelised on the still while running, and I've re-toasted and bagged some and will re-char them just before they are needed for a bourbon.

A friend soaks things like cola, molasses, red wine, coffee etc into his once used staves, then toasts them in a halogen oven kept for the purpose, and gets really great, fast colour and some interesting flavours!

I could see soaking the sticks in wine, ie Sherry, could be a way of getting something nice as a finishing oaking. But what do the red wine "marinated" sticks do for your wash in the still? Can you notice some flavouring from it?

I've been putting them in portions of my Rums and they add a lovely reddish hue as it ages, but mainly for the soft, dark dried fruit flavour it adds, only a very subtle layer but it adds to the rum.
I've just added some to a gallon the latest batch of bourbon I made, since someone mentioned doing it on a thread here.

[jonnys_spirit]

All of the above and I keep a jar or three full of sticks (some new, some used) that I use to keep an ongoing concentrated extract for blending. When I use some of the extract I'll top it up with bourbon/agave/rum/brandy/port/sherry or whatever that extract happens to be. Sometimes i'll take a stick out and use that in an aging jug along with some fresh ones.

Usually end up with more used sticks than I can keep using but I do repurpose some like this for experiments.

I like the coffee idea and cola/molasses is something I hadn't considered either so I'm stealing those too and thank you @Moose

Cheers,
j

[PalCabral]

I've been putting them in portions of my Rums and they add a lovely reddish hue as it ages, but mainly for the soft, dark dried fruit flavour it adds, only a very subtle layer but it adds to the rum.
I've just added some to a gallon the latest batch of bourbon I made, since someone mentioned doing it on a thread here.

Cool. That's really interesting. Do you only use it for rums? Have your thought about using it elsewhere?

[PalCabral]

All of the above and I keep a jar or three full of sticks (some new, some used) that I use to keep an ongoing concentrated extract for blending. When I use some of the extract I'll top it up with bourbon/agave/rum/brandy/port/sherry or whatever that extract happens to be. Sometimes i'll take a stick out and use that in an aging jug along with some fresh ones.

Oh, I bet this adds a lot of flavour to the aging spirits. This is a really innovative idea (for me at least).

Usually end up with more used sticks than I can keep using but I do repurpose some like this for experiments.

Lucky you! I can't get enough of wood for my future projects: Aquavit, Bourbon, Apple Brandy, and more Bourbon. But I will reuse what I've got until they can't give no more, and then I'll try to squeeze out just a little bit more.

[8Ball]

I empty & clean my jars/bottles, then let the sticks sit in the sun until the next use; I may re-toast & char, or just toss them in for the next use.

[Homebrewer11777]

I put some into feints and low wines containers.

[MooseMan]

All of the above and I keep a jar or three full of sticks (some new, some used) that I use to keep an ongoing concentrated extract for blending. When I use some of the extract I'll top it up with bourbon/agave/rum/brandy/port/sherry or whatever that extract happens to be. Sometimes i'll take a stick out and use that in an aging jug along with some fresh ones.

Usually end up with more used sticks than I can keep using but I do repurpose some like this for experiments.

I like the coffee idea and cola/molasses is something I hadn't considered either so I'm stealing those too and thank you @Moose

Cheers,
j

Yeah the cola soaked sticks, when toasted, go nice and dark, and they add a ton of colour to my mates rum really quick.
The flavour is very subtle but it's noticeable when you do a side by side comparison.

The molasses ones go literally black, and add lots of sweetness but also a bit of umami flavour to the rum.

He's into spiced rum so likes to get different flavours, but it's not all to my tastes.

[MooseMan]

I've been putting them in portions of my Rums and they add a lovely reddish hue as it ages, but mainly for the soft, dark dried fruit flavour it adds, only a very subtle layer but it adds to the rum.
I've just added some to a gallon the latest batch of bourbon I made, since someone mentioned doing it on a thread here.

Cool. That's really interesting. Do you only use it for rums? Have your thought about using it elsewhere?

Yes up to now only for Rums.
But on a thread I commented in, one of the guys here said he does a similar thing with wine soaked staves and adds to bourbon, so I added some of my red wine soaked (I soak them in really bold hedgerow red wine, then dry them in a bowl on the still while I'm running) staves, to a gallon of my most recent bourbon and it is already taking a nice reddish hue a week on.

[Reefer1]

I started chucking them into a gallon of white rum, also my next half dozen staves are going into 2 gallons of last years blackberry wine.
I dont think there is a hard and fast rule, ive scraped them and re chared them, dried them, cut 10mm off each end. Some of the guys use them for smokers, barbeque especially the used chips.
Or just dry e'm and bag them up.
Thats me anyway.