Barrels with the least amount of char and time used

[Tōtōchtin]

I did a few searches and went thru 10 pages and didn't see this subject come up. In a few months I'm going to need some wood. I plan on going up around Tequila and Guadalajara to look for some. They import a lot of used whiskey from a wide variety of distillers. I was wondering if there is a manufacturer known to use the least charred and stored for the least amount of time. Also if anyone has played with rehabbing wood from used barrels. The barrels they have here they foolishly put Tequila in. I can't stand vanilla and caramel taste in my mezcal,that's for Hollywood clowns. My question I guess is can you sand down far enough to remove unwanted flavors,or is it better to spend twice as much for a used whiskey barrel. I thank you for your time ,
Tōtō

[subbrew]

I don't know that you would get it all, but probably enough not to notice. If you are using the wood for fingers in glass you could take off a full half of it, then rechar or not before putting it in the spirit. If you are making a badmo clone where only one side will see spirit you can always take off the char to make it cleaner handling but then use the "outside" to put toward the spirit in this new use.

[Tōtōchtin]

I want to do both, I figure those with the barrels have some that can't be rehabilitated. So I could get a barrel with good rings buy some bad staves go home tear apart the barrel then clean it up and reassemble . I plan on running 2 stills to fill it full of rum once I think I have recipe I like. The other hopefully will be from old whiskey,wine, and tequila I will use in glass with my whiskey. The oak is both French and American. A used whiskey barrel is about 125 us.

[Deplorable]

I would imagine that if you planed it down to below the stain, you would essentially have virgin wood.
When you look at the side of a barrel stave after breaking it down you can clearly see how far the spirit penetrated the wood. If you were to remove all signs of that stain, you would be into clean wood to re-toast and char.
On the used barrel staves I'm working with, I just remove all of the char, then rip the staves down to size to get them through the neck of the jug. then re=toast them and char them. I've not heard any complaints from the folks that have tasted my spirits yet.

[shadylane]

A used whiskey barrel is about 125 us.

How valuable is the Rum that's going to fill the barrel

[tommysb]

Look at the process of 'STR' casks or barrels. In short, they scrape of shave out red wine barrels as part of their reconditioning for aging (typically) whiskey before toasting and charring.

I guess you could do the same and toast or char to your desired level.

[Tōtōchtin]

Look at the process of 'STR' casks or barrels. In short, they scrape of shave out red wine barrels as part of their reconditioning for aging (typically) whiskey before toasting and charring.

I guess you could do the same and toast or char to your desired level.

I thank you for that info. Reading about Dr. Swan took up 3 cups of coffee. I did learn doing this causes for a weaker flavored whiskey. Since I plan on blending a higher ester rum I don't believe that will be an issue. I was hoping someone would have known a distillery that just ages for 2 years in toasted only barrels. In some ads I see they have 3 or 4 barrels from different distilleries in the pic. Just trying to find my best options before I go up into the Sierra's.

[tommysb]

I decided to read up about him (Dr Jim Swan) a little as well following your comment. Before, I had only come across the name in relation to STR casks, but not really looked at what else he had done or his background.

Anyway - that put me onto his PhD thesis which I really would like to get time to read properly one of these days! Seems like it would be great info for us here if someone were able to sit down and summarise it!

"Wood extractives in relation to the maturation of scotch whisky" -
https://www.ros.hw.ac.uk/handle/10399/1967

[The Baker]

This is interesting though the practice is now banned in commercial barrel use (but not to us!).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paxarette, is the name of a Spanish sweet condensed vino de colour wine made generally with Pedro Ximenez grapes and finished by mixing the wine with essences, called arrope or sancocho, which are produced by boiling must down to a fifth and a third respectively. Pajarete was popular as a straight dessert wine in England in the 18th century and gets its name from a monastery and vineyards situated near Arcos de la Frontera in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia southern Spain. Paxarette does not enjoy Protected Geographical Status.

In the past, the Scotch whisky industry made use of Paxarette to season casks, simply by pouring this rich flavouring into the wood, to help impart a fuller, richer sherry character into the whisky that was aged in them. Casks are conditioned by using pressure to force the paxarette to enter the upper layers of tired or spent sherry casks. As J.M. Philp describes in 1989, "..a typical current cooperage procedure in the Scotch whisky industry is to add 500ml of Paxarette per hogshead, or 1 litre per butt, pressurise at 48 kPa (7psi) for 10 min and then disgorge any unabsorbed Paxarette."[1]
See also What is Paxarette in Whiskypedia
Food for thought.

Geoff

[Steve Broady]

..the practice is now banned in commercial barrel use..

Why is it banned? As long as it’s not intended to deceive, why would it be any different than other things that are done to barrels before, during, and after use?

[The Baker]

..the practice is now banned in commercial barrel use..

Why is it banned? As long as it’s not intended to deceive, why would it be any different than other things that are done to barrels before, during, and after use?

'The Scotch Whiskey Act 1988 (which came into force in 1990) stipulated by law that whisky must not contain any additives other than spirit caramel. The use of paxarette was thus prohibited. '

Quoted from my whiskipedia reference.

Geoff

[Tōtōchtin]

I have a chance to get a Woodford Reserve double oaked whiskey barrel. I am looking for a barrel used the least amount of time. I am correct in assuming that they would not put this stencil on the first barrel, and that most of the crap was absorbed by the first barrel. There are Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace,Dickel,Four roses, and JD to choose from. They are heading for the Tequila distillers.
Toto

[HDNB]

mmmm buffalo trace

[Deplorable]

mmmm buffalo trace

+1

[Chucker]

If you were to chop a former Buffalo Trace barrel to use in jars or jugs would that amount to being aged on Buffalo chips?