Aging dilemma

[RockinRockies]

Hey everyone,

We went nuts the last two years and all winter just cranked out product to fill barrels I got cheap. We ran 2-3 plates cloudy, which i am regretting. Likely, I also pushed the product to hard and fast, so there's that. Here's what I'm noticing and thoughts would be appreciated.

We took our rum, navy strength, aged 18 months in first used 15 gallon bourbon barrel, then, the other 15 i filled with a 4 grain bourbon. I didn't like the progress at 1 year ago we combined the 15 gallon smoked bourbon with 15 gallon non smoked. Might have been a mistake. Recipe was with a post oak and mesquite smoked bourbon same recipe. Took the fresh used bourbon barrel and placed the rum in that. Presents a bourbon up front, melts into rum with nice roasted touch from coconut oil and butter in boiler. It's a fine rum. I'm contemplating bottling now at 2 years.

The bourbon combination is in a 30 gallon for over a year with about 4 gallons or more lost already to angels share. It numbs the lips at 125 proof (maybe the cloudy wash and too much heads contribute to this). It's still very boring and stingy, i was hoping for more depth at 18 months. Color is glorious deep amber. Barrel proof from commercial doesn't numb this bad, is that heads?

Here's my dilemma: i sent it full throttle because i was tired of bland stick aging, and i figured best way to reproduce complexity is bigger barrels. I'm not impressed with these barrel mill barrels. They are garbage and impart vegetal notes, that even the guys on the whiskey vault mentioned. No doubt, i can concur.

So now I'm stuck. My sweetfeed that is aging in the used 4 grain smoked bourbon barrel, 12 of 15 gallons left.. it's rubbery tasting and not good like an islay. So I'm thinking of re running and leaving white with conservative cuts. Thoughts?

The rum, likely bottle it. It's enjoyable.

The other 26 gallons or so, I'm thinking of splitting into two:
One, go back into used rum barrel, fill it, and leave it one more year.
The rest... re run? I don't know. It's numbing to the lips.

I threw a lot at you folks but I'm upset with my decision making and i want to attempt to salvage our labor and money. I am willing to send free samples in a month or two when i get around to it, to get feedback, so if anyone is interested to pick this apart, pm me and I'll get around to it in November

[NZChris]

Of course it numbs at 125 proof. Try it at 80.

[tjsc5f]

I have experienced some tingles on young (2-3 year), cask strength commercial bourbons and ryes. I always assume it's heads, but don't really know for sure.
On the flip side, I have a 17yr 153proof bourbon that drinks like a younger 120 proof and doesn't tingle at all.
I think you're just not waiting long enough considering your barrel sizes. 10gal barrels start getting good around the 2yr mark, I would think a 15gal would take at least 3yrs? 30gal 4yrs?

[Broken Jug]

I agree with Swill Maker. You need more time in the barrel. The larger the barrel, the more time needed to get the results you want.

I have tried cheating on time in a 5-gallon barrel with some rum, thinking one year was plenty of time. I was wrong, the rum still tasted like shit.

I waited until it was two years old before tasting it again, it tasted MUCH better but still not to my liking.

I tasted it again at three years old (June 2024), it was/is amazing! I left it full strength of 136 proof and bottled it.


I believe if you leave your whiskey in the 30-gallon barrel for another 3 or 4 more years, you’ll love it.

But, if you have some really bad off flavors, you might be better off redistilling it and then barrel it for a minimum of 3 to 4 years.

Good luck!

[Renhoekk]

“Tingles” are to be expected at that proof - I’ve had premium whiskey aged 10+ years and bottled at 60% that gave tingles. While yours may be more intense, yours is still a young product.

Two things: 18 months isn’t a lot of time to mellow out a spirit regardless of the proof you bottle at, and if you want to get a handle on how the flavours are developing then you should dilute down to 20%. This takes the alcohol bite out of the equation and lets you hone in on the actual taste of the spirit.

[RockinRockies]

Ok thanks everyone. The angels share in Colorado is insane

[RockinRockies]

I just tested the bourbon watered down, better than expected, still smells like wet wood.. I'm worried about losing half of all that work to the angels though

I can say that if i smoke grains again, i will avoid aging it on wood. It has drastically diminished already.

[NZChris]

Aging in glass, I still lose some to the angels because the corks aren’t tight, but I can age for many years longer than I could if I used small barrels.

[Broken Jug]

Ok thanks everyone. The angels share in Colorado is insane

I live in western Colorado. And yes, Colorado has a really dry climate which can be a problem, especially for small format barrels.

With that said, I lost approx 2 gallons of rum to the angels out of my used 5-gallon Rye barrel over 3-years, but what they left me is awsome (I stored my barrel in my shed that is insulted and climate controlled).

Don't be worried about the angel share. If you are, keep a few quarts aside to top your barrel off after a year or two.

Just my two cents worth.

[RockinRockies]

Wow!
Pardon for the resurrected thread
Thanks for the information