StillSmart

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-08T15:18:34+00:00

Yes, Frank, I have. That is now the only way that I age my products. I start at 65% and drop by 5-10% (aiming for 5 but sometimes I add too much water) about every 3 weeks or when ever I feel it is ready. It sit longer at 50 and 45%. I've been thinking that I should let it sit longer at each stage.

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:18 pm

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-08T10:38:07+00:00

@Magnu420......mate, can I presume your question here has been 'answered' to your satisfaction? If so/not, apologies for my 'off-topic' contributions BTW.

@Chill et al: have you (has anyone????) tried an 'oakstick soak' where the ABV has been manually adjusted during maturation (eg as per Kiwistiller idea re start @65, change to @62% 'later on' etc) to try and include multiple 'flavours' to the final product?

yep.....I am intersted to try 'such'

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:38 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-07T01:03:24+00:00

Lot's of good stuff in his blog (at least I think this is Kiwi), like Gin!
http://medicinalpurposes.wordpress.com/ ... aking-gin/

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:03 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-07T00:18:49+00:00

cheers guys...much appreciated....great info there
(and its why I do heavy char @65%abv for my scotch too. )

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:18 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T17:04:18+00:00

That is it, and this results post in particular:
http://ww.homedistiller.org/forum/viewt ... 2#p6818273

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Sat Apr 06, 2013 5:04 pm

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T13:09:38+00:00

Hey Frank

Was this http://ww.homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11326&start=30 the link you were after?

Statistics: Posted by Shroom — Sat Apr 06, 2013 1:09 pm

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T11:37:43+00:00

cheers for the clarification Aidan, all good etc...though, being who I am, I am certainly likely to remain confused about lots of things anyway

@Chill, yep Kiwistillers oaking 'guide' was my principle driver for oaking experiments....its on AD, AUD,MD and probably others.....but I'm not ....
(any chance of a link from someone at some stage? it makes for enlightening reading IMHO)

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:37 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T10:17:23+00:00

Sorry guys I really shouldn't post here when I'm 'tired' late at night.

My original should have read 65% and not as stupidly stated. Above this level the ethanol will dissolve acrid elements in the oak and give the spirit a strong woody/Oak taste.

Mea Culpa

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:17 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T07:28:28+00:00

aidanmac wrote:
As a rule I would recommend not to put neutral spirit over 55% on any oak as it will tend to extract some undesirables from the wood.

Edit: You may not taste them but they can taste your liver and kidneys.

AM

Thank you for the info, i will do some more reading Thankfully being a cautious newbie I only did a litre tester this time.

Statistics: Posted by Shroom — Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:28 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T02:22:09+00:00

Kiwi did an experiment (on Artisan, I think) with different ABV and found that initial oaking on over 65% produced better flavours. Though that does not mean better health. I also recall reading that until fairly recently, that most whiskeys were bottled and sold at 50% and up, way up. The reason for the reduction was economic, not health. I am curious as to what unhealthy components of oak would be extract by a higher ABV.

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Sat Apr 06, 2013 2:22 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T02:03:15+00:00

aidanmac wrote:
As a rule I would recommend not to put neutral spirit over 55% on any oak as it will tend to extract some undesirables from the wood. ........
AM

Hi Aidan
re your recommendation, I had not heard of this before.
I have been regularly soaking my 65%ABV whisky spirit on charred oak sticks (previously boiled) and also put it into the barrel at about 55%, maybe slightly 'either side' of this.
I was of the (mis)understanding that 65%ABV has been determined by industry and esp. home distillers to be a 'sweet spot' regarding charred/toasted oak maturation of whisky/whiskey and rum spirit.
So.. I would be most grateful if you could you give a bit more info regarding these 'undesireables' please (a suitable link will do), as I obviously am now confused here (not hard with me mate, I know). Thanks.

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Sat Apr 06, 2013 2:03 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-06T00:08:22+00:00

As a rule I would recommend not to put neutral spirit over 55% on any oak as it will tend to extract some undesirables from the wood.

Edit: You may not taste them but they can taste your liver and kidneys.

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:08 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-04-05T19:46:11+00:00

As a newbie using an Air Still for the first time I didn't expect a lot but boy am I surprised. As a tester i added in half the volume (by sight) of JD chips into 60% sprit for 8 days then watered it down to 40% and omg... I believe I have a new addiction!

Cheers for all the info etc, I am soooo impressed.

Statistics: Posted by Shroom — Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:46 pm

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-03-27T02:40:47+00:00

I think Frank has pretty well nailed it. For me, neutral on JD chips is a quick, easy alternative to something better. UJSSM on JD chips is better, and UJSSM on proper charred and toasted oak is better still and only a real all-grain mash aged on proper charred and toasted oak is going to give you a truly great result.

Also be aware that these chips are sold for smoking, not whiskey making, so there is no quality control in terms of what we want. It looks like your bag may have had more of the outside of the barrel and less of the inside. I've been using about 75g of chips in 750ml of neutral (50% ABV) for 7-10 days and that colours up nicely and is quite drinkable. But I have noticed that the results can vary between bags. Unlike proper charred and toasted oak, I have been finding that more JD chips for a shorter period of time produces a drink that I like more.

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Wed Mar 27, 2013 2:40 am

Re: my first attempt of flavouring

2013-03-27T00:40:46+00:00

@Magnu420
mate, however it is now, it'll be better in a few weeks/months all else being equal.....ok IMHO,

SMELL: I cant comment much on the 'smell' here as I've not used JD woodchips, however if you really wanted it to smell like JD, then its the neutral base you would perhaps consider changing as JD is made on a sourmash wash;
COLOUR: the colour will darken the longer you leave on oak, however this may/will cause the spirit to taste like 'wet wood' if you overoak it, so another idea would be to use a less amount of oakchips for a much longer period of time
or, perhaps better still, consider using charred/toasted oak sticks instead of, or in combination with, the JD chips
or (not really recommended but)make/buy some distillers caramel and add
TASTE: not too sure what the wash recipe was that you used, but using a neutral produced from a Turbo wash or similar will inevitably produce a thinner, less flavoursome finished product when compared to a 'proper' whisky/whiskey wash. It will also result in a less layered and complex mouthfeel and aftertaste. That's still ok, of course, however if you really want to make a full bodied bourbon, consider starting with a more 'typical' wash (eg UJSM)or even a 'knockoff' recipe (eg DWWG).

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:40 am