question on aging whiskey :)

[chris_adams]

I'm about to do my first run however I'm bothered about how it will turn out (sorry I'm all new to this ). I'm making moonshine and I'm pretty sure aging it will give me whiskey. There's one thing, I haven't got a barrel to put in the finished moonshine. Does whiskey age in a bottle or a plastic container? Thanks guys!

[Frosteecat]

The liquor won't age on glass. I would not use plastic or rubber or any synthetic (Except for PTFE tape for sealing) ANYWHERE in the process...all the way to storage. You are talking about very strong alcohol, which is a chemical, which will mess you all up if you break down synthetics with it and then drink it.
Most people procure some "clean untreated" oak and char it. I get oak chips from my local brewhouse, toasted, put them in the jar and distress age them (pull the jar in and out of the freezer). The information is all here somewhere, you just have to look around...there's lots of people eager to help...just put on your thick skin and show them you've done at least a LITTLE of your own research first!
Have you been to the New Member Reading Lounge? That's where you should start...or with an intro in the Welcome Center...
Welcome!!

[Dnderhead]

in my opinion and not just mine,,aging is aging is aging...flavoring is flavoring..your not going to be 65 tomorrow neither will whisky that was made to day.
you can do things to flavor faster ,as shake it/stir it/freeze it but that still does not age anything.it just flavors and covers up.

[Expat]

My local wine shop was able to source both French and American toasted oak chips, which are apparently pretty common amoungst the make your own wine set. I made two major mistakes in the first batch that I tried, first, I didn't dilute to 50-60% , second I used way way.... way too much chips relative to the volume of alcohol. It had great color and smell... but it tasted literally like wood .

[Boda Getta]

+1 Dunderhead

For every day your 'shine sits in whatever container (you are correct about not using plastics), it will be a day older. But that's not the point when you are talking about "aged" whiskey. The question is what you put the raw (unaged) spirits into or what you submerge into the spirits. The accepted container for turning white spirits into whiskey is a charred oak barrel or submerging charred oak into the spirits. Over time the charred oak (or even uncharred oak) will impart desirable qualities to the spirits and the longer you leave it will impart more of these desirable qualities. Put raw corn whiskey in a charred barrel for 8 years and what you is 8 year whiskey similar to or exactly like Bourbon. Put this same white corn spirits in glass jugs for 8 years and what you get is 8 year white corn spirits. The white dog will improve somewhat over time, but not near to the point the charred product will. Many of us do not have barrels but get good results, sometimes great results by submerging charred oak sticks and/or oak chips into the white dog.

Good luck.

BG

[Frosteecat]

And I am finding that just covering it with a filter to air it has great mellowing effects. Doesn't seem to really be an upper limit to this effect. It I could be wrong...evaporation will be an issue, over time.

[Dnderhead]

most of the "short cuts" to aging is like using a microwave to cook your roast with..just not the same,,sure you can add some thing to fake it and it mite be "OK"
but it is not going to be like a real slow cooked roast.

[Frosteecat]

I agree with that. My term should probably have been "distress flavoring", not aging. In doing some research yesterday I learned that small oak barrels (5 gallons or so) allow you to speed up your aging (their words, not mine) process because the surface area to liquid ratio is much higher. This allows small craft distillers to start up faster while their big barrels age for the longer periods of time. So if you want to mimic big barrel aging, a small barrel will help out. But they aint cheap@

[Dnderhead]

if you look into it further you will fiend there "small barrels" are bigger than most on here whould consider. the ones that are 4-8l are just decorations for your bar top.

[Frosteecat]

I think a 5 gallon barrel would be useful to me in a couple of months....provided I don't drink it all up first!
But the cost is pretty prohibitive. I may have to add cooper to my hobby list...


Here's a link to a site that has 2.5 gallons for ~$100!!
http://oakbarrelsltd.com/brass-hoops/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
And the price goes up from there...I'd be better off buying a big one and putting some kind of volume displacement or a false bottom in it...

[Samohon]

Gotta agree with the guy's here, the longer you leave your shine, the better it becomes.

Had great results on glass with oak sticks over a period of 12 months, but my 2½YO UJSSM is friggin awesome and just keeps on getting better...

Scheduling the batches for ageing also ensures that you always have some on hand.
The longer you can leave it, the better...

[Dnderhead]

"But the cost is pretty prohibitive."
yes and no,,a 5 gal barrel is 150.$.now if you Figure it will last 10 years.so thats 15.$ year then if you aged for 6 month ,you can use it
2 times a year.so that 7.50. for one aging of five gallons or .37 a quart.. .i have not bought any but buying "chips" from a brew store must be close to that.

[chris_adams]

Cool! So the glass and the oak sticks set-up works? I might try that, you see I'm short of resources in here, the nearest town is about 3-hour drive

[DFitz]

"But the cost is pretty prohibitive."
yes and no,,a 5 gal barrel is 150.$.now if you Figure it will last 10 years.so thats 15.$ year then if you aged for 6 month ,you can use it
2 times a year.so that 7.50. for one aging of five gallons or .37 a quart.. .i have not bought any but buying "chips" from a brew store must be close to that.

In getting into this hobby its seems that the whole cost prohibitive subject is a current issue. I've shot my wad (financially speaking) on several tools for the trade to produce AG mashes without to much difficulty.. Splitting oak sticks, baking and charring is at the moment a small price to pay. I have to call in my chips for Fathers Day proceeds for a barrel or two, OR, I can opt for a nice grain roller. Decisions decisions.... I figure later, as my abilities become honed in this craft I'll move on to a 5 gal. barrel or two (maybe three) but until then, oak sticks will have to do.

Doing my math, Dunderheads figures tell me I'll have to produce 150 gallons of spirits to offset enough "cost" to earn a free barrel.

[Frosteecat]

I'm going to use Dnderhead's math as justification....he may get a call from my wife.

And 150 gallons? Pshaw...that's all the motivation we needed! Get crackin'!

[Dnderhead]

it all depends if you plain on staying into this or its just a passing hobby.
i whould not go and buy a 20 ft boat ,motor just to see if i liked to fish.
nor whould i if there was no water to put it on.same goes if you cant git the ingredients
for what you want to make then there is no use in trying.you can do so as a
experiment but over the long hall its going to git expensive.thats why you see
most is regenel..

[blind drunk]

"But the cost is pretty prohibitive."
yes and no,,a 5 gal barrel is 150.$.now if you Figure it will last 10 years.so thats 15.$ year then if you aged for 6 month ,you can use it
2 times a year.so that 7.50. for one aging of five gallons or .37 a quart.. .i have not bought any but buying "chips" from a brew store must be close to that.

My kinda math ...

[noknife]

kinda old topic here but after reading it i had to chime in. i see all kinds of mini barrels 1 to 2 liters that are supposed to be for spirits, says medium charred. maybe they are just for show but it sure don't say so. http://www.essentialoil.com/products/mini-oak-barrel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Dnderhead]

"maybe they are just for show but it sure don't say so"
of course they not going to say so .they want to sale them.if you put you hooch in them and leave it for a year there wont be anything left.

[noknife]

HA...glad i found this thread. I was almost ready to buy one. oak chips it is. yeah just read it again, it says "It only takes a few weeks to turn clear vodka into an amber whiskey!" if i would have gotten suckered it would have been my own fault. thx for the heads up.

[Dnderhead]

" if i would have gotten suckered it would have been my own fault"
thats my point,if doing small amounts just use chips/chunks etc.

[Lupus]

Reading this and other threads on ageing, storing whiskey in oak barrels to mature serves two purposes.
1) the time in contact with the charred oak imparts flavour to the spirits, with different lengths of time in oak imparting different flavours.
2) part of the maturing process is also the evaporation of some of the more volatile alcohols, thereby smoothing out the spirit. This is possible in oak barrels due to the porous nature of oak, with the loss being referred to as the Angel's share.

Now, with regards to home made product, how can one best replicate the effect? I know flavouring is achieved by soaking oak chips, staves, dominoes in the spirit. But what about the maturing effect of age? This would not be possible in glass? Or is the lack of a full seal from the cap, allowing some degree of evaporation enough? How do some of the more experienced members of the forum replicate this effect? Or does everyone age in oak barrels?

[noknife]

yeah it finally clicked in my head about the evaporation. i feel like an idiot. been outa the game almost a year, was a rookie even then. just getting back into it.

[Antaean]

I have been reading about the ageing process, looks like oak (or some other type) chips or chucks are the way to start......Since someone did say they over did it, does anyone have a combo that one can follow? I mean how many chips to a quart/gallon etc. I understand it would depend on the size of the chucks or chips but are we talking about 10 chips, a hand full, or half the container?

[Washashore]

Personally, I prefer charred sticks over chips.

[Stainless dude]

I have been reading about the ageing process, looks like oak (or some other type) chips or chucks are the way to start......Since someone did say they over did it, does anyone have a combo that one can follow? I mean how many chips to a quart/gallon etc. I understand it would depend on the size of the chucks or chips but are we talking about 10 chips, a hand full, or half the container?

What I have been doing is using 3/4 by 3/4 by 5 inch chunks that I charred on my weber. I have been using one per quart. But if you want faster results you can put in two sticks or a combination of new and previously used sticks. I have been using oak and maple. I have cherry and apple to try. Go ahead and play with it, there are no set rules. Try your product after a couple of weeks, you'll be amazed what just a couple of weeks does to the flavor. I started using 5 gallon barrels that previously held blue corn whiskey, just tasted the rum in one of the barrels (love this tastin stuff) and really happy with the flavor. Have to quit tastin and leave it alone for a few months.
Cheers
SD

[Antaean]

Thank you Stainless dude, big help !!

[DuckofDeath]

I add 1 TBSPN or medium toast american oak chips and 1 TBSPN of heavy toast american oak chips per gallon for my Sweet feed. I have also just put one dry roast coffee bean into 1 gallon about a week ago and it has added a nice flavor. I am also trying adding rose hip's to my UJSSM and its coming along really well.