Home Distiller

It's come to my attention that my local wine and spirits shop carriy smaller -oak casks 1,2 and 5 gl.- that has contained small batches of rum and whiskey - imported by a local spirits club for bottling for the members.

I asked about them and the boy in the shop could tell me they are lined with rubber. I'm not convinced about the rubber part but think it could be a wax of some sorts, maybe to prevent over-oaking of the contained spirits?

Have any of you knowledgeable guys heard about this before - do you know how to remove this lining or should I stay clear?

Cheers,
El Sporto

Someone just this week posted they had a barrel with a painted surface on the inside and it had silicone sealing also on the inside. If there is anything on the inside besides wood, PASS! Not sure of the safety concerns concerning wax but I'd pass just to be safe.

Quality oak barrels will seal themselves. Cheap oak barrels use reeds, wax, silicone, whatever, to seal and defeat really poor quality and workmanship. So, do you want wax or silicone, or whatever in your aged spirits?

Big R

I would have to say no.. which is why I was wondering if there was a way to get rid of the wax, or if I should stop before the idea is even developing.

You could try to remove it but then you'd never be sure if you got it all plus it might start leaking once all the sealer is removed. Probably want to stop before you start. Someone else posted recently there was a micro selling once used barrels for something like $79...

Here you go:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =6&t=33655

Durace, thank you very much.

It seems like only good reviews, but if I want a cask it should be the real mccoy so I better stop as suggested. I thought maybe the cask was a good one, but waxed only to limit the oaking of an already aged spirit?..

Thanks for shedding some light on the subject.

Cheers,
El Sporto