How much char?

[ScottishBoy]

Hi all,
I had some UJSSM up in a bottle and it was mellowing out and I suddenly got the urge to try some apple wood in the mix. I used about 4 half inch by half inch splittings and roasted them in the stove at 350.
Wife woke up to a very smokey house because one piece caught on fire. There was a good set of char on that one, but I used it anyway and the one next to it that was very well charred. Now I have noticed that soime prefer toasted and some like charred. My question is how MUCH char seems to be good. ( iE how deep or how thick do you leave the char?) 1/2 CM? 1/2 Inch? Mostly carbon?

Im asking this because I can sort of taste the actual charcoal and Im thinking I might re stick them with a "less charry" version.

Suggestions?

SB

BTW, apple really seems to bring out some nice qualities very quickly with UJSSM. The wheat germ...not so much

[blind drunk]

Hey, how big is the bottle?

I have some on charred stave and after three months the smokiness is started to come through, along with the butterscotch and vanilla which appeared earlier in the process. I'm surprised that it took the smoke this long to appear, given that it's potentially so strong and dominant a flavor; too much could be putrid, like some of that expensive scotch bd.

[olddog]

too much could be putrid, like some of that expensive scotch bd.

I know what you mean, I just put a bottle of Talisker whiskey through the Bok along with some feints to get rid of the taste.

[Barney Fife]

How much to char is a personal taste deal; I like a lot of a char. In fact, I make most of my wood into charcoal now before adding it, and I add it moments after extinguishing the wood, so's to get the most of the smoky flavor. It may be over the top and bad for a while, but given lots of time, it mellows into a really, really nice drink. Remember that the first flavors to show up will be the most volatile ones, and the later flavors are actually marriages of the first flavors combined with the lower volatile compounds coming-in from the wood and charcoal.

I've had some product again on light toasted oak for some years now, and it's not as pleasing. I also found it easy to over-oak with toasted and non-toasted oak, yet pretty damn impossible to over-oak with deeply charred or charcoal'd oak.

[ScottishBoy]

BD- The bottle is a gallon glass wine bottle. It was 3/4 full, but I have been nipping at it....erm...it's about half full now. Hehehehe. This tastes a lot different that what goes for whiskey around here. Its really fresh but I like the taste and I was never a whiskey man until a month or so ago.

So I filtered out the heavy char last night and baked up some more apple. Hatchet split outer core takes on a really nice smell. Im thinking about doing it with some sugar maple because thats what we have around here. Took out the really heavy char and replaced it with sticks of better browned wood.

I have come to a conclusion: Either I have never had good whiskey or I never had an appreciation for it.
Can anyone reccomend a good whiskey to get my bearings with? I would like to taste some fine whiskey to see what its like

SB

[rad14701]

Perhaps the closest comparison would be Bookers Bourbon by Jim Beam Distillery as it is single barrel bourbon and barely filtered, if at all... It gets bottled right out of the barrels as I recall... It's un-messed-around-with...

[blind drunk]

I have come to a conclusion: Either I have never had good whiskey or I never had an appreciation for it.

Nothing better than homemade anything. Something about making it yourself and drinking it too that makes it special. Plus, it's tailor made to suit your taste. As an example I add a couple of strips of orange zest (no pith) and that adds a subtle orange undertone that marries well with the smoke, vanilla and caramel from the wood. Cheers, bd.

[Bull Rider]

+1 on what Rad said. I have a bottle of Bookers on the top shelf of the pantry right now. It's a benchmark that I'm hoping to come close to one day...

[LWTCS]

As an example I add a couple of strips of orange zest (no pith) and that adds a subtle orange undertone that marries well with the smoke, vanilla and caramel from the wood.

That sounds really good BD.

I'd like to try that.

What quantity of zest would you recommend for a 750 ml bottle?

Sorry to step on your post SB.

I like alligator char best. I just hit it with the torch till I see alligator hide.

[ScottishBoy]

As an example I add a couple of strips of orange zest (no pith) and that adds a subtle orange undertone that marries well with the smoke, vanilla and caramel from the wood.

That sounds really good BD.

I'd like to try that.

What quantity of zest would you recommend for a 750 ml bottle?

Sorry to step on your post SB.

I like alligator char best. I just hit it with the torch till I see alligator hide.

Thats not a problem at all LWTCS. Im assuming that alligator hide is the squarish charcoal patterns that a char about 2 cm down would make. When the outside of them burns kinda orange/red and the inside is still black?

Maybe a picture would be good? ( hint hint)

[LWTCS]

Ah you don't need a picture.

Only takes a couple-o secs with the torch. You'll know it when you see it.

[ScottishBoy]

Ah I really like pictures...Its one of the best ways to convey information.