whisky in a barrel

Post by **Uncle Jesse** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:40 am

from the old message boards:

down under
06/06/04 08:23 AM
subject: whisky in barrel

I make a whisky with essences then keep it in a sherry barrel ,Does it lose any alc/vol ? If so what can I do to about it?

Blanchy
06/06/04 11:40 PM
Re: whisky in barrel [re: down under]

The only thing you can do is reduce the air flow around the barrel so that the alcohol and water vapor builds up. You're supposed to lose some alcohol, but I think the losses on the small barrels are really high.

Also keep it in a cooler area.

Chuck

mogogear
06/14/04 09:31 PM
Re: whisky in barrel [re: Blanchy]

Blanchy,
Should you ever "wax" the outside of a barrel to keep evaporation from occuring?
mo

Usquebae for me!

Knuklehead
06/14/04 09:35 PM
Re: whisky in barrel [re: mogogear]

The way I understand it is that evaporation is supposed to occur.

I am Canadian

theholymackerel
06/14/04 10:03 PM
Re: whisky in barrel [re: Knuklehead]

Exactly... barrels are susposed to "breathe". Slow oxidation is what it's about.

Blanchy
06/15/04 08:50 AM
Re: whisky in barrel [re: mogogear]

I think you could wax the barrel lightly. I know some people would take exception to this, but normal losses in a whisky warehouse are 2% per year. Normal losses in my 2 gallon barrels are on the order of 5-10% per month. My take on things is that the surface area to volume ratio is through the roof on the small barrels compared to the large ones. Add that to the thinner staves and you get really high evap. Therefore the amount of oxidation is probably already sufficient to make things happen and a little wax won't hurt.

The net result is that you get very fast aging in the small barrels, but if you need more time for some liquors then you will lose a lot of product. My current batch of scotch is taking longer to smooth out than my corn whiskeys which might be a topic for a different thread.

Chuck

unclejesse
11/08/04 10:38 AM
Re: whisky in barrel [re: Blanchy]

The part you lose is known as the "Angels Share".

Casks have to breathe to work properly. Part of this involves the loss of some product. In humid areas, your proof will drop in the cask. In more arid areas, it will rise slightly.