I’ve been distilling less and less over the last several years and I’ve gotten to the point of thinking about letting all the gear go. It does take up a lot of room, and I just don’t seem to have as much time as I used to.
I’ve already gotten rid of some things, but today I might be changing course.
Years ago, I got a big “used” wine barrel online from somewhere out west. It’s been sitting around ever since because it is so large, I was never up to the task of brewing up that much hooch. Today I was dismantling it to save a few staves and toss the rest. I popped off the hoops, knocked off a stave, and discovered that the barrel had never been used. Brand new white oak!
I measured the barrel and it seems to be around 15 gallons.
So my plan now may be to make one last batch of bourbon to finish out my distiller’s book.
I already have a stockpile of corn and rye, probably enough to do it. So that will also solve the problem of what to do with all that.
My plan will be to char the inside of the barrel, get it back together, and confirm that it will hold water. If so, it’ll be off to the races grinding up some corn.
It’ll sure be a lot of work, but it seems like it will be a proper last batch. I’ll keep y’all posted.
