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Going to move this thread to its appropriate topic if that’s alright with everybody.

Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 1:06 pm Personally I wouldn't empty the barrel at the end of a year......I'd sample at 3 months 6 months 9 months and so forth. Each time top up the barrel with what's on glass.
If you make a bit more rum to top up the carboy you can then keep topping up the barrel indefinitely. The majority of the contents of the barrel is aging more all of the time that way, and compensates for the small amount of new make that your adding.
If you choose that path you could also add a small amount of oak to the carboy to get a head start on oaking.

Salty, This could be the beginning of a small solera system. I could take the white 2 gallons worth and add it to a 3 gallon barrel ought to be just fine.
The stuff already in my one gallon barrel (used twice for whiskey @ 6 months each and then twice for grape Brandy @ about 8 months each) I’ll just leave alone.
Maybe taking half from the small barrel in a year or so, topping with fresh spirit and adding the aged spirit to the 3 gallon barrel. Or some such order of business to fill the three gallon barrel
Then basically working backwards from there back into the one gallon barrel to “finish age”

I dont see why this wouldn't be an effective process. I've been toying with the idea of doing this with 3 barrels of my preferred spirits. a barrel of single malt, a barrel of HBB and a barrel of corn, rye, and barley. In theory, I'd have to make a mash of each spirit every year to keep the barrels full, adding from a jug every time I take a bottle's worth out.

Hell yeah Deplorable!
Experimenting with different woods and spirits within the system, it’s a no brainier. I think I’m going to go with a 5 gallon barrel. I’m in no rush and I can let this new make sit until I get more stock to proper fill a 5 gallon barrel.

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 1:45 pm Salty, This could be the beginning of a small solera system.

That's pretty much what your doing. I think you will be happy with the result if you choose that path. The oaking and ageing process begins in the glass........the angels get their share once it hits the Barrel.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 2:08 pm I'd have to make a mash of each spirit every year to keep the barrels full, adding from a jug every time I take a bottle's worth out.

Thats how I do it , just remove enough for a bottle or two at a time and top up the barrel again.
What quantity and how often you can "harvest" from the barrel without reducing the quality of the barrel contents depends on the size of barrel.
Like many things in distilling that will be personal choice.

My ferments yield about 1/3rd of a 5 gallon barrel fill so I could stay ahead of consumption and the angels. Considering each batch yields about 11 fifths, if I had 3 barrels going to pull different spirits from, I think I'd be hard pressed to fall behind before my liver failed.

Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 2:35 pm

All that is easy enough for me to understand SBB and makes sense too. Now it’s on to the boring stuff like finding extra space and extra money.

Deplorable wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 3:08 pm My ferments yield about 1/3rd of a 5 gallon barrel fill so I could stay ahead of consumption and the angels. Considering each batch yields about 11 fifths, if I had 3 barrels going to pull different spirits from, I think I'd be hard pressed to fall behind before my liver failed.

This right here. We’re truly turning the key now Deplorable

Lifetimes worth of work ahead of me…Dram in the air

I made a large Panela purchase awhile back. Enough to fill a 5G former bourbon barrel, a 1.5G badmo and a small reserve. I pulled a bottle from the barrel and it was already good at 5 months, but to the point, I topped up the barrel from the badmo and realized I now had a solera going once I do my next rum batch.

My point is that rather than start in glass, maybe get a badmo to start things? Easier to fill, and that little spigot makes moving things easy.

I use this method with two barrels and two ball canning jars. The ball canning jars are large one is a two gallon and the other a 4 gallon. When I do runs I fill the jars first with JD chips. Once the two gallon jar is full I rotate to the 4 gallon jar. This is where I start from here I will fill one of the barrels. When the spirit has aged the the barrels I draw a third out to bottle and then refill from the other ones.

Dougmatt wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:21 am
My point is that rather than start in glass, maybe get a badmo to start things? Easier to fill, and that little spigot makes moving things easy.

I do this, sort of...

I fill a 3 gallon cask, let it age while I am making more. Pull a few bottles from the 3g then dump it and new make into a 5 gallon. I recently acquired a used 7 gallon, I am going to pull a bottle or two from the 5, move it and new make to the 7, the 5g gets filled by the 3g etc. As you get more and more barrels it takes longer and longer to get things filled, but it lets me use all the sizes I have on hand, and lets me get into barrel sizes that would take forever to fill otherwise. It also means that as the smaller casks are losing their oaking power, the product is spending more time in them.

Eventually the 3g will get phased out, the evaporation is not to be desired and the oak is becoming more and more neutral. A 10-12l badmo would be a good replacement, especially since its easy to replace or recondition the head.

Bushman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 6:29 am I use this method with two barrels and two ball canning jars. The ball canning jars are large one is a two gallon and the other a 4 gallon. When I do runs I fill the jars first with JD chips. Once the two gallon jar is full I rotate to the 4 gallon jar. This is where I start from here I will fill one of the barrels. When the spirit has aged the the barrels I draw a third out to bottle and then refill from the other ones.

I had no idea they even made canning jars that big. Are they true “Ball” brand? If so then Bushman… you’ve got the biggest Balls of them all.

I'm always on the lookout for gallon size or bigger canning jars, and unwanted gallon jugs.
A couple weeks ago I passed up a 3 gallon carboy at a 2nd hand store because there was a chip out of the bottom. I wasn't willing to risk putting spirits in it and losing them to a failure.
I have a 10L stainless steel growler that I store my 95% neutral in. I've thought about buying more of them to store and age product in as well but they aren't cheap.

Stonecutter wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:33 am

Bushman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 6:29 am I use this method with two barrels and two ball canning jars. The ball canning jars are large one is a two gallon and the other a 4 gallon. When I do runs I fill the jars first with JD chips. Once the two gallon jar is full I rotate to the 4 gallon jar. This is where I start from here I will fill one of the barrels. When the spirit has aged the the barrels I draw a third out to bottle and then refill from the other ones.

I had no idea they even made canning jars that big. Are they true “Ball” brand? If so then Bushman… you’ve got the biggest Balls of them all.

Here is a photo, I put a paper towel roll next to them to show the size relation.