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Greetings to all. I am relatively new to spirits but I have been making wine for 15 years with great success. I have a 5 Gallon Oak Barrel that I have used for my full bodied red for the last 5 years. I believe it has reached the point of no return for wine, but I am wondering:

1. Will it still impart good flavoring for my brandies and whiskeys?

2. Do I have to worry about head space in a distillate as I do for wine? For example, can I put 3 Gallons into a 5 Gallon barrel without the distillate going bad?

Many thanks for the advice.

CMC

Head space is not going to be good for distillate for the same reasons its not good for wine.

or beer,

or soda,

or virtually every thing.

I would think that a well used oak barrel would be nice to have. It will surely add some character to the distillate, but not close to what it would be like new.