Charcoal filtering vs. Charcoal aging?

[chemeng]

Hey All-

Is there anything about forcing a spirit through charcoal (a la Jack Daniels or George Dickel) that would be different from just a quick "pre-aging" before aging the spirit for the long term?

Thinking about charcoal mellowing, it struck me that it'd be easier just to put my spirit in a glass vessel, add some sugar maple charcoal, stir and let sit for an hour or so, then filter the spirit out for long term aging.

Has anyone tried this? Is it the same effect as charcoal filtering?

Thanks!

[mash rookie]

Great question! I have been thinking about the sugar maple too.

Charcoal filtering is using activated charcoal. It is usually used to filter neutral spirits and strip them of unwanted flavors (all flavor) so you would not want to filter a whiskey with it.

I have watched the Jack Daniels videos on YouTube where they describe how they uniquely filter there distillate through charred sugar maple before aging in barrels. It is not activated charcoal Just charred so it should be adding flavor not removing it.

I have been thinking about getting some sugar maple charring it give it a try to see what the results will be.

I force age my UJSSM on Jack Daniels smoker chips with great results. Love it.

Maybe I will add the sugar maple to my process.

Mash Rookie

[Barney Fife]

We can turn charcoal into activated charcoal by simply dunking the hot charcoal in cold water. This causes the surface of the charcoal to break into millions of tiny fissures, which is what activated charcoal is. Best done when making the charcoal, by the way.

I age a lot of my spirits on maple charcoal(homemade; I've described how I do it on this site a few times). I'm enjoying a smokey maple rum right now, as I do most Saturday evenings(it's a weekly treat!). JD uses HUGE vats to filter their spirit before barreling it. This makes for a mild flavoring, and mostly cleans up the distillate. Aging directly on charred maple of maple charcoal for a year or more creates a whole new flavor dimension. Think.. bacon! and if you activate the charcoal, you also get a 'cleaning' effect while aging.

Highly recommend maple charcoal aging; a very unique, and very addicting, flavor profile!

Edit: and as a bonus, you cannot use too much; there doesn't appear to be any bitter compounds in maple charcoal. The one I'm enjoying right now comes from a gallon of rum that's been aging 15 months on what I can only describe as 1/4 gallon of maple charcoal. I bottled the aged contents of the jug and replenished it with tonight's runnings.... Ask me next year if the maple was good for two rounds!

[mash rookie]

Barney,

What exactly is sugar maple? Where should I look for it? I checked with my local lumber yard and they said they just have regular maple and didn’t know what sugar maple was. Is maple maple?

Wood that doesn’t have bitter flavors! Sounds great! Can you link me to your previous post on maple?

Yesterday I sampled a small jar of neutral, that has been soaking on a few apple chips for five months. Unusually sweet character and flavor.

I can definitely see how different woods can change the flavor profile. Combinations of these flavors by addition of different woods during curing or during blending spirits could result in a very unique one of a kind product.

Hmmmmmmmmm BACON

[Barney Fife]

There are dozens of maple species, of which sugar maple is one. Also known as "rock maple" in some circles. Sugar maple is native to the east coast, not the west coast, where you're more likely to find Big Leaf maple. As the name implies, sugar maple has the highest sugar content of all the maples(and is the primary source of maple syrup, though red maple trees are also tapped).

Find another lumberyard... Or buy on-line.

[Rum Bum]

Barney,

I have rum that's been aging for 8 months in 2 barrels of american white oak. I was under the impression that that was the best wood to age it in. But you suggest sugar maple?

RB

[Barney Fife]

Oak is the standard, and for good reason, but other woods offer different flavors. There is no "best", only different. Maple gives rum(and whisky) a nice, sweet, smokey "bacon" kind of flavor. Like I said, I have some about once a week as a treat. Not something I would want every day of the week, perhaps, but as a 'special' Saturday evening drink, it's very nice.

Only way to know if you'll like it or not is to try it.

[Rum Bum]

Maple gives rum(and whisky) a nice, sweet, smokey "bacon" kind of flavor.

Only way to know if you'll like it or not is to try it.

Bacon? Don't get me wrong I love bacon but I'm not sure if I'd like to drink it!!!

I'm really into rum though and am searching for the perfect recipe so I'll give your method a try. I might like it, and I think I will. I now just need to find a local cooperage in these mountains that works with sugar maple.

RB

[MudDuck]

What exactly is sugar maple? Where should I look for it? I checked with my local lumber yard and they said they just have regular maple and didn’t know what sugar maple was. Is maple maple?

Sugar maple chunks intended for use in smokers can be found at better BBQ related stores.