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…several years ago, on a tour of KY’s bourbon trail, we toured the Louisville Baseball Bat factory. During the tour, wife picked up several butt trimmings from Maple bats.

Cleaning out her closet, am wondering, if I toast these plugs at 400° then char them, could I use them to age whiskey instead of White Oak?

I don't see why not. I toasted some cherry wood, and am having good results. I have not charred any.

BoomTown wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:07 am …several years ago, on a tour of KY’s bourbon trail, we toured the Louisville Baseball Bat factory. During the tour, wife picked up several butt trimmings from Maple bats.

Cleaning out her closet, am wondering, if I toast these plugs at 400° then char them, could I use them to age whiskey instead of White Oak?

There is a bad joke here…. Somewhere…

Dancing4dan wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:41 am

BoomTown wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:07 am …several years ago, on a tour of KY’s bourbon trail, we toured the Louisville Baseball Bat factory. During the tour, wife picked up several butt trimmings from Maple bats.

Cleaning out her closet, am wondering, if I toast these plugs at 400° then char them, could I use them to age whiskey instead of White Oak?

There is a bad joke here…. Somewhere…

I've never seen a Maple Bat. What special flavor would their Butt trimmings impart. Bat Guano whiskey. Hmmm...

Seems like any wood suitable for smoking meats is worth trying for spirit flavoring. The caveat to this is good aging barrels are yard aged (so are woods for the smoker), which bleeds out some unfavorable flavors. Weathering the lumber a bit may help the final product.

I use charred maple and cherry a lot! The fresher the better. Toasting maple or cherry you can see the sugar come out the ends. I use only cherry with rum.

Either will add more sweetness than oak and almost as much color.

DAD300 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 3:25 pm I use charred maple and cherry a lot! The fresher the better. Toasting maple or cherry you can see the sugar come out the ends. I use only cherry with rum.

Either will add more sweetness than oak and almost as much color.

Toasted Cherry in 100% Corn is pretty good if I do say so myself.

[

I've never seen a Maple Bat. What special flavor would their Butt trimmings impart. Bat Guano whiskey. Hmmm...
[/quote]

quote=Deplorable post_id=7735657 time=1671400278 user_id=80348]

Dancing4dan wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:41 am

BoomTown wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:07 am …several years ago, on a tour of KY’s bourbon trail, we toured the Louisville Baseball Bat factory. During the tour, wife picked up several butt trimmings from Maple bats.

Cleaning out her closet, am wondering, if I toast these plugs at 400° then char them, could I use them to age whiskey instead of White Oak?

There is a bad joke here…. Somewhere…

Search the Louisville Baseball Bat website lists 27 different mable bats, some are Major League certified….

BoomTown wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:59 am [

I've never seen a Maple Bat. What special flavor would their Butt trimmings impart. Bat Guano whiskey. Hmmm...

quote=Deplorable post_id=7735657 time=1671400278 user_id=80348]

Dancing4dan wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:41 am

BoomTown wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:07 am …several years ago, on a tour of KY’s bourbon trail, we toured the Louisville Baseball Bat factory. During the tour, wife picked up several butt trimmings from Maple bats.

Cleaning out her closet, am wondering, if I toast these plugs at 400° then char them, could I use them to age whiskey instead of White Oak?

There is a bad joke here…. Somewhere…

Search the Louisville Baseball Bat website lists 27 different mable bats, some are Major League certified….
[/quote]

The joke was about a bats butt.
I know that baseball bats are made of more than just hickory. Although that is the wood I prefered for my wooden bat in high-school when I played.

But, to answer your question, maple can be used. Does Louisville kiln dry their wood or is it yard aged?
Either way you should try it. You'll make a unique finished spirit, and you can name it something fun like "Grand Slam" if it's really good, or "Ball Four" if it makes you walk away

Whistlepig recently released a maple wood baseball bat finished rye whiskey.

https://lostcargo.com/article/whistlepi ... ed-whiskey

You might even be using the same wood they use.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:59 pm

DAD300 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 3:25 pm I use charred maple and cherry a lot! The fresher the better. Toasting maple or cherry you can see the sugar come out the ends. I use only cherry with rum.

Either will add more sweetness than oak and almost as much color.

Toasted Cherry in 100% Corn is pretty good if I do say so myself.

Sounds superb. What type of toast are you using Deplorable?

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:48 am

Deplorable wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:59 pm

DAD300 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 3:25 pm I use charred maple and cherry a lot! The fresher the better. Toasting maple or cherry you can see the sugar come out the ends. I use only cherry with rum.

Either will add more sweetness than oak and almost as much color.

Toasted Cherry in 100% Corn is pretty good if I do say so myself.

Sounds superb. What type of toast are you using Deplorable?

I did 390° for 60 minutes, wrapped in foil, in my household oven, middle rack. The wood was from a Bing (black cherry) tree that had been taken down several years earlier and seasoned outside for woodworking.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:02 pm
I did 390° for 60 minutes, wrapped in foil, in my household oven, middle rack. The wood was from a Bing (black cherry) tree that had been taken down several years earlier and seasoned outside for woodworking.

Thank you
100% Corn is the next big thing for me my Brother. I feel like it’s a kind of right of passage.

Funny how the wood acts. Damn sure takes its time growing’. Takes time to season and then wants time to age. Makes sense not to rush the process…. It upsets the woods

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:13 pm

Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:02 pm
I did 390° for 60 minutes, wrapped in foil, in my household oven, middle rack. The wood was from a Bing (black cherry) tree that had been taken down several years earlier and seasoned outside for woodworking.

Thank you
100% Corn is the next big thing for me my Brother. I feel like it’s a kind of right of passage.

Funny how the wood acts. Damn sure takes its time growing’. Takes time to season and then wants time to age. Makes sense not to rush the process…. It upsets the woods

Yesterday I made an Old Fashioned from a bottle I blended of my 13 month old barrel aged corn and some of my single malt. (72/25) it was a fine drink.
The gallon jug of cherry aged corn was intended to be blended into the barrel aged stuff, but it adds such a unique profile that I'm just going to keep it seperate, and use it for blending into other bottles.

Yes sir that’s sounds great. If you’ve not had them, a bourbon cherry would be a great addition to your old fashioned.

Actually now that I think about it you could do your own cherries macerated with the cherry wood aged corn. Honestly I don’t think I’d “waste” such hard earned Hooch on cherries but it could be a cool experiment if one were so inclined.

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 4:46 pm Yes sir that’s sounds great. If you’ve not had them, a bourbon cherry would be a great addition to your old fashioned.

Actually now that I think about it you could do your own cherries macerated with the cherry wood aged corn. Honestly I don’t think I’d “waste” such hard earned Hooch on cherries but it could be a cool experiment if one were so inclined.

C9E523B0-6FA4-43C9-8E7A-41D1B60AA1BB.jpeg

These are my preferred cherry for cocktails. They're considerably cheaper than the Woodford Cherries, but they aren't soaked in whiskey either.

You guys are killin me! I had to make a manhattan tonight with no cherries. Now i’m making plans that include cherries bourbon and toasted cherry wood in a mason jar - probably something sweet in there too. Maybe a few roasted cacao beans too?

Cheers,
J

Deplorable wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 5:05 pm
These are my preferred cherry for cocktails. They're considerably cheaper than the Woodford Cherries, but they aren't soaked in whiskey either.

image.png

I’ve not tried those cherries. Will put them on my Amazon list. I like the woodford cherries because they almost taste dehydrated. That’s the best i can describe it.

Not trying to hijack your thread BoomTown

jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 5:09 pm You guys are killin me! I had to make a manhattan tonight with no cherries. Now i’m making plans that include cherries bourbon and toasted cherry wood in a mason jar - probably something sweet in there too. Maybe a few roasted cacao beans too?

Cheers,
J

Haha! Success!!
After finding out what the common store bought “cherries” really were I went down a Maraschino cherry rabbit hole a while back. The results were ok. Less than stellar.
I would be really interested to see what you can get JS
I believe star anise is used in many recipes.

These are the real deal. They aren't cheap by any means, but there is no comparison (IMHO).

higgins wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 4:37 am These are the real deal. They aren't cheap by any means, but there is no comparison (IMHO).
Luxardo.jpg

+1 on luxardo! The best old fashioned cherry out there IMO.