Home Distiller

Is the smoke flavor suppose to be imparted in the mash or in the aging? I was thinking of smoking some medium toast oak chips to toss in the carboy while it ages. Is that about right?

The "smoke" in scotch if that is what your referring to came about by drying the malt over peat fires.so it is in the ferment.

You do get a a little smoke flavor when you age whiskey on toasted white oak also. But I do like a good smokey scotch.

So, I need to get a smoker and smoke all my grain before fermenting.

Got a friend with a "double door commercial refrigerator converted into a smoker" who is willing to smoke grain and corn for me. If I soak the corn and grain for 12 hours then cold smoke until dry, will that be enough to impart the smoke flavor into it? Should I use it on low heat, maybe 120°? I plan on using 4 large baking trays with 14 lbs. of grain each in the smoker for about 18 hours.

The potential recipe is along the lines of:
40% smoked cracked corn
40% sugar
20% rye

I think you are little cornfused.

Smoked malt is used in the making of scotch whiskey. And its smoked with peat. And it usually doesn't have corn in it. I could be wrong but most if not all are all barley. I'm not a big scotch fan. So don't quote me.

Other whiskeys don't use smoked malt. They don't generally use any smoked anything.

Are you referring to aging on wood? The wood isn't smoked. It's roasted and or chared. Not smoked.

Maybe I'm the one cornfused. But it sounded more like you are making an American type whiskey?

"I could be wrong but most if not all are all barley. I'm not a big scotch fan."
yes tho it can have other grain the old stile had some oats.thats the gains that grows in Scotland?. in modern times that mite have been added to. i Believe they "swap " with other countries (Canada for one) for other alcohol to blend with,this is usually a neutral made from corn that is added after aging. this is so it pleases the taste of others. many describe single barrel,single malt scotch as tasting like it was run threw a old wood ship that was on fire and put out with sea water.

Dnderhead wrote: many describe single barrel,single malt scotch as tasting like it was run threw a old wood ship that was on fire and put out with sea water.

Great description.

And who doesnt love old wooden ships, fire and sea water

I personally cannot stand "scortch" myself!

many describe single barrel,single malt scotch as tasting like it was run threw a old wood ship that was on fire and put out with sea water.

That is about what my view of it is.

Scotch... You either love it or you hate it... Scotch and water is my main drink as far as commercial spirits goes... Can't say as I'd want peated corn liquor, however...

I was staying in a place in Africa. That all they had was johnny walker. And some really cheap whiskey. So I was drinking the johnny walker. 64 days of it. Man I was sick of it.

I wasn't trying to make scortch, I don't like the flavor of barley. I was trying to get a Rye with a bit of smoke to it. I've got rye without smoke, and it's probably my favorite of everything I've made. I also understand that mine is more of a "rye sugarhead" as someone put it, but it tastes much cleaner(to me) getting the majority of the alcohol from clean sugar instead of rye.

That's what I was thinking you were looking for. But smoke flavor isn't a term used in American style whiskey. That's why everyone assumed you wanted scotch. So can you give us some help to what you mean by smoke flavor?

PP: What do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino? Hell if I know.

A friend commented that the rye needed just a hint of smoke to complete it and I started trying to think of how to accomplish the task. Although, my reasoning now is that the flavor that's lacking isn't the smoke, but rather the barley found in whiskey. I'm getting rye flavor without the off-flavors of the barley and it's likely throwing people for a loop this way.

I'm going to need the knowledge when I eventually try to make some scortch. Some people like it and the sooner I make it, the sooner it will be 3 years old. Although I've really got 4 years until my sons' first graduation so that gives me some time to get the process down. I'm planning ahead and thinking "What would I like to have when they get married, graduate, pass the BAR, etc.?" If I can make a decent product, it would be awesome to pull out a small oak barrel of whiskey at their wedding a decade from now!

Are you aging your rye on oak? Or is it white?

Aging on oak. Don't particularly care for it white.

How are you aging it? What kind of oak?

6.5 gallon glass carboy, varying amounts of "Crosby and Baker" heavy toast or medium toast american oak.

I bought a bottle of scotch last night, didn't really taste what I would call a smoke flavor, but I did notice the barley flavor that I do like in my beef stew. It's hard to put the flavors into words.