mulberry sticks, slivovitz

[Dan P.]

A friend told me that mulberry wood casks were the best for ageing slivova. As it is unlikely that I am going to pick up a such a thing at my local shops, I am going to try with sticks available from wood turning supplier.
My questions;
Do they need to be heartwood?
Should they be charred, toasted, or used just as they are?

Many thanks for you help.
-Dan

[jake_leg]

I'm guessing here, but I would say use it in the same way as you would use oak. Choose heartwood, allow to weather.

http://barrels.haraly.ro/eperfa1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I have no idea about toasting. Maybe both toasted and untoasted are good. I have never tried mulberry aged stuff but maybe the taste or colour would give a clue.

http://www.barrel-shop.com/Oak-alternat ... ::264.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

British expat in Bulgaria says he saw "chopped wood" being put in rakia - sounds like untoasted sticks.

http://www.mybulgaria.info/modules.php? ... y&start=10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.mybulgaria.info/modules.php? ... y&start=24" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Dan P.]

Thanks Jake.
-Dan

[jake_leg]

This mulberry barrel is "light toasted"

http://www.barrel-shop.com/Oak-barrels/ ... _27:2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Hammck]

I've made a damson plum version of slivovitz, based on the Romanian Ţuică that good friend brought back from there. It was spectacular (wild ferment outdoors under a layer of flies and mold...!) great flavour. So I tried my own, small scale. It's ok but I noticed the original has a mild faint yellowish colour.
I tried macerating a couple of fresh damsons, no colour there. So I got her to enquire and she brought me back some mulberry sticks! Nice... Plopped a small bit into a liter of 45% and sure enough that faint colour and similar aroma and subtle taste appeared after couple weeks. No toast or char how long to leave them in for I wonder..? But I can recommend

[blind drunk]

I recently had some nice quince likker that had a really awesome taste and a light color to it. It wasn't the usual oak flavor or colour and now I'm wondering if the old bugger used some raw wood. I'll have to ask him when I meet him.

[emptyglass]

I made some slivovitz last year and put some oak sticks in there. Seems to work ok, but if you can get the real deal that would be nice I imagine.

I hope to make some more this year if I can keep the crows from devouring all my plums. I am now on the hunt for some mulberry sticks to try.

[Gamblor]

I have a large mullberry tree to one side of my house (thats heavily in fruit)

I am only fairly new to this, but already experimenting by macerating a fair number of mullberries in a nuetral - reading this I am wondering if throwing some mullberry sticks in there might turn out a unique twist to the flavor.

If I do so though, whats best - green wood, dried (brown) wood (there are some old sticks on the ground I ripped off the tree a few weeks ago while mowing), toasted green/brown wood??

Apologies if this is not entirely on topic.

[Dan P.]

Thanks for the replies, gents (ladies?). I think I might try a light toast.
Gamblor; Instinctively I would not use green wood, nor branches or twigs. To get the wood you need, which strongly suspect (but don't know) would be heart wood, you would have to chop your tree down, which would be criminal.
-Dan

[ro palinca]

never use fresh mulberry wood; every part of a mulberry tree, except the ripe fruits are mildly toxic (and hallucinogenic, but with a bad trip) so, you can use only dry heartwood for barrels or the inside of branches larger than 10 cm for sticks to use in glass containers.

[ro palinca]

Edit: the unwanted substances are in the sap of living/fresh tree

[Steep-n-Rocky]

I tried air dried mulberry in a mulberry palinka and was not impressed. I bet toasted would be better.