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Are there any tree experts on here?

I have several acres of timber in norhtern missouri and it has several types of oak trees.
I had read somewhere that most of Jack Daniels get the oak for the barrels from missouri?

I can tell the difference from my red oaks and the white oaks we call Burr oaks, would my burr oaks be the same thing the staves are made from?

I guess if no knows for sure i could cut a chunk and then have my buddy cut off the chainsaw oily portion and cut me some sticks with his band saw to toast and char, then try it, if it wasn't good i could rerun the wiskey thru reflux?

Probably your best bet is to take some samples to a local college argiculture/botanical dept and see what they say.
IMO the wood used should be heart wood(no sap wood or bark) and should be air dried for at least 12 months before you toast it.

Your in the range for them.

Sorry but i kinda got 2 threads going, my bad. check this one out too, please.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 15&t=32462

Burr oaks are a type of white oak. White oak would be parallel to saying Ford. Within "ford" you have f150, f250, f350, Taurus, explorer, expedition, etc. All of the different types of white oaks are lower in tannins than most any other oak. I think that any type of white oak would be fine but what your really after is quercus Alba. If you have a chance, get it, but if not the burr oak would be fine, hell try both and report back on yer findings. That's what we do here...

While Q. alba is the dominant species for barrel making other white oak species have been used in cooperage. Burr oak is an acceptable alternative, but be aware you only want heart wood and typically the wood is seasoned for usually two years before it is used in aging barrels.

Big R

You can usually tell the two by the bark ...american white oak (alba) has a shaggy bark that you find on the ground around the butt of the tree .

Also the Bur Oak has noticeably bigger acorns than the white oak.

I understand that they're similar enough that they can hybridize, so that should give you an idea that you should be good to go.

thanks guys, i think ill have to cut some of each, white and bur oak and put them on the shelf for a few years and see what i can make with each.

fatman wrote:thanks guys, i think ill have to cut some of each, white and bur oak and put them on the shelf for a few years and see what i can make with each.

You can also tell by the grain of the wood.

Wikipedia 'American Oak'. You should be able to find all the different Oak species in the US, and then narrow down to your area. Once you find your possibles, grab a leaf and the acorn/nut/whatever and then figure out which one.

I had a 30 foot tall oak tree fall in my backyard, I figured out that it was native only to the small area I live in, not good for barrel making(but just fine for staves).

am i missing something? Aren't wooden oak barrels made from oak Staves?

fatman wrote:am i missing something? Aren't wooden oak barrels made from oak Staves?

...last time I looked
...I recon he's talking about casual, vs formal barrel staves.

You recon correct, not good for barrel-makin'(i.e. dont seal well), but ok for wood strips.