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So about three months ago I bought three 3litre barrels and put ujssm in two and sweet feed in the third. I've been tasting it every few weeks and it's horrible I think. I know it's not the booze because it all tastes the same and each barrel was from a different run. It's really hot and has a harsh woody aftertaste. It's in at 120proof. The barrels are eBay white oak barrels with medium char. Is this normal or have I maybe ruined it. Can it be redistilled worst case scenario? I've heard from different sources that a 3 liter barrel should only take a month to age it. Then another guy says 6 months to a year. I don't know what to think. Maybe I should have just stuck to my oak chips??? Help? Advice?

Yes you can rerun those spirits. Hot and harsh? Yes you should rerun (low and slow...drip drip drip) and watch your cuts. If you think it's the barrel then split a run, some in barrel, some on oak chips and some set aside as white dog. Then you'll have a common baseline for comparison.

Three months in a small 3 liter keg very well could be over charred; that's about what I do on a new 3 gal keg. It's also possible your main problem may be your cuts and you have too much heads, hot and harsh sounds like heads and the woody aftertaste could be over-charring. Having said that, you have a lot of time and effort in that whiskey. If it were me, I would take it out of the kegs and put in on glass. Once out of the kegs you can re-run it any time, but its also possible you can work with it and still end up with a decent drink. Have you tasted it after diluted down to drinking proof? I would give it a couple of weeks on glass, give it a shake every few days and degas it (open the jug). I would mix some of the UJ and SF together, dilute down around 80 proof and try it. If one keg is better tasting than the others, try working with it first or blend with the other two. The point is, it would only take a little more time and effort to work with it. If you see it improving, give it more time. If all fail, re-run, but meanwhile, it's like money in the bank. I will add that I've found that SF takes more time to smooth out than UJ, but IMHO, makes a better drink when it's properly cut, charred and aged. I usually char in a 3 gal keg 3ish months, then on glass for 12ish months, but at the end it is kick-ass good. (Sipping on some 18 month old now)
Good luck.

BG

Three months in a small 3 liter keg very well could be over charred; that's about what I do on a new 3 gal keg. It's also possible your main problem may be your cuts and you have too much heads, hot and harsh sounds like heads and the woody aftertaste could be over-charring. Having said that, you have a lot of time and effort in that whiskey. If it were me, I would take it out of the kegs and put in on glass. Once out of the kegs you can re-run it any time, but its also possible you can work with it and still end up with a decent drink. Have you tasted it after diluted down to drinking proof? I would give it a couple of weeks on glass, give it a shake every few days and degas it (open the jug). I would mix some of the UJ and SF together, dilute down around 80 proof and try it. If one keg is better tasting than the others, try working with it first or blend with the other two. The point is, it would only take a little more time and effort to work with it. If you see it improving, give it more time. If all fail, re-run, but meanwhile, it's like money in the bank. I will add that I've found that SF takes more time to smooth out than UJ, but IMHO, makes a better drink when it's properly cut, charred and aged. I usually char in a 3 gal keg 3ish months, then on glass for 12ish months, but at the end it is kick-ass good. (Sipping on some 18 month old now)
Good luck.

BG

I over-charred some apple wood and pecan chips once and didn't rinse after the charring. The SF I nuke aged with the chips was undrinkable. I reran it with the thumper charged with plain water. The resulting white dog still had some smokey/woody flavor, but was tolerable to drink. Just saying, rerunning won't necessarily strip ALL of the smokiness from it.

I pulled it out of the barrels and mixed it with some other UJ hearts I had. I'm rerunning it real slow. Some of the wood flavor is coming through but that's ok. I just don't think it's my cuts that were causing the problem. I drank the bottles before and after the bottles that went into the kegs and it was great on oak chips after only two weeks to a month. It makes me think it was the barrels maybe. Or not enough time? I've heard no more than a month in a three litre barrel and I've also heard a year. I ordered some sticks and I'm gonna try that next. If that doesn't work I'm just gonna stick to my oak chips. After all I liked it and that's really all that matters. Or so I've been told.

1965 wite wrote:I pulled it out of the barrels and mixed it with some other UJ hearts I had. I'm rerunning it real slow. Some of the wood flavor is coming through but that's ok. I just don't think it's my cuts that were causing the problem. I drank the bottles before and after the bottles that went into the kegs and it was great on oak chips after only two weeks to a month. It makes me think it was the barrels maybe. Or not enough time? I've heard no more than a month in a three litre barrel and I've also heard a year. I ordered some sticks and I'm gonna try that next. If that doesn't work I'm just gonna stick to my oak chips. After all I liked it and that's really all that matters. Or so I've been told.

++1

I've always had good luck with JD chips and haven't had very good luck with anything else I've tried to use. I nuke age with the JD chips straight out of the bag and then strain out the chips and put it in glass for a couple of months - no complaints. Like you say, what matters is how much you like it.

So I reran it. Ended up with mostly hearts on this run. Surprise suprise. Still had a woody flavor but much smoother. Threw a handful of medium char oak chips in the clean smelling bottles and tried some this evening. Hands down the best( an oldest) I've made so far. Something was not right with these barrels. And I'm not talking about the cost or the fact that they leaked more than expected. Maybe they are the wrong kinda oak? He said American white oak but who knows. I've got some sticks in the mail and I'm gonna try those and I want to try charting some chops on the grill. For now I'm done with the barrel idea.

The large surface area to volume ratio of a small barrel would mean you have to be careful how long you leave your product in it. Keep using it, but keep a closer eye on the flavor development and don't get caught out again. After a few years you might need to add wood to it, maybe making a new long wooden bung every so often.

I won't ever use these barrels again. Something isn't right with them. One was in for three months and the other was in for a month. They both had the same nasty flavors. Plus they leaked. Gonna stick to jars and sticks.