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In a recent experimental release by buffalo trace, they had some barrels made traditionally, and some made with staves that had been aged for a year. The aged staves made a much better product. Does anybody have any experience with aging the wood used in flavoring?

Would it be better to age the wood for a year, then toast/char/bake it, or would it be better to toast / char / bake it when the wood is still greener then let it age? Has anybody tried this before?

I was under the impression that pretty much all wood used in alky barrels has been seasoned for at least a year as is the wood that we use in the hobby.
Using green wood just sounds...nasty.

tp

T-Pee wrote:I was under the impression that pretty much all wood used in alky barrels has been seasoned for at least a year

Im pretty sure most of the wood used by Coppers has been aged for even longer than a year.
Edit: been snooping around the net and it seems that its common for the staves to be seasoned for anywhere between 2 and 5 years.
1 year would be the very minimum from what I can see.

My white oak logs are 4 years old. I got lucky and found them from a local firewood guy. He was very helpful. And enjoyed the pint I gave him

Don't know if there is a difference between aging and drying, but this article, Buffalo Trace Stave Experiment Focuses On Drying Time, says that the change was in drying time. From the standard 6 months to 13 months.

Just like the wood you use to heat your house - you don't throw it in there green. The same stuff that causes creosote build up in your chimney will cause your likker to cloud up and taste nasty. The wood used in a fireplace or for barrel staves is best left out in the weather for a year or so to season. During the seasoning process, cycles of wetting and drying are also important to leach the lignin from the wood.

I found out the hard way that the wood chips you buy for smoking meat aren't necessarily seasoned well enough for likker aging. The JD chips are the only ones I trust straight from the bag. Otherwise, I put them through a few cycles of soaking in water and drying before using them.

For some reason this brought back a memory. Several years ago I visited Colonel Wiliamsburg a living museum. At one location they were making traditional things the old way by hand using white oak. They had a lot of waste they were just dumping and my thought, if I lived closer I would have a yearly membership and find a way to get all that beautiful wood as the only thing missing was charring and or toasting.

Bagasso wrote:Don't know if there is a difference between aging and drying, but this article, Buffalo Trace Stave Experiment Focuses On Drying Time, says that the change was in drying time. From the standard 6 months to 13 months.

Yes, that is the one I was talking about. I am curious as to what sort of effect charring green wood and then letting it weather/age for a year would have vs the reverse.

When making barrels, do they make sure that they only use heartwood, or is the whole tree used?

chris8sirhc wrote:Yes, that is the one I was talking about. I am curious as to what sort of effect charring green wood and then letting it weather/age for a year would have vs the reverse.

I was pointing out that it wasn't "aging" but drying time that they had experimented with.

When making barrels, do they make sure that they only use heartwood, or is the whole tree used?

I think it's only heartwood. The other parts of the tree are involved with the transport of sap.

Bagasso wrote:

chris8sirhc wrote:Yes, that is the one I was talking about. I am curious as to what sort of effect charring green wood and then letting it weather/age for a year would have vs the reverse.

I was pointing out that it wasn't "aging" but drying time that they had experimented with.

When making barrels, do they make sure that they only use heartwood, or is the whole tree used?

I think it's only heartwood. The other parts of the tree are involved with the transport of sap.

edit: I am curious as to what sort of effect charring green wood and then letting it dry for a year would have vs the reverse.

Only one way to find out.

tp

chris8sirhc wrote:edit: I am curious as to what sort of effect charring green wood and then letting it dry for a year would have vs the reverse.

I agree with T-Pee.

I don't use wood so I'm not of much help there. One thing is certain, it is all a matter of taste. Some might think it gives a better drink some might think the opposite.

Ive read that wine barrel makers use wood that has been weathered for 20-24 months. Has anybody ever tried oak that has been weathered this long?

chris8sirhc wrote:Ive read that wine barrel makers use wood that has been weathered for 20-24 months. Has anybody ever tried oak that has been weathered this long?

I think most here that use wood use old bourbon barrels chopped up to age with.

Tokoroa_Shiner wrote:

chris8sirhc wrote:Ive read that wine barrel makers use wood that has been weathered for 20-24 months. Has anybody ever tried oak that has been weathered this long?

I think most here that use wood use old bourbon barrels chopped up to age with.

I'm one that uses locally-acquired oak that has been down for 12-24 months and wouldn't care to use anything else.

tp

I also use local wood. We don't get old barrels here.