StillSmart

I previously expressed disappointment with the results from having used oak mini staves from StillDragon.

I have to report that, having used them again, in a larger quantity of distillate, the results are appearing excellent so far.

The picture is of two 16 litre lots, both oaked on the 31st December, 2014. The strength is 64% abv and the dosage was 20g per litre. The colour is improving by the day.
I cannot explain the difference but fair's fair, if one criticises then were due, praise must also be given.

I found 1mini stave (weight 9.7g) more than sufficient in one litre of spirit at 60%. Of course I did nuke it and got a great result inside a week. It's still in there and I'll be removing the mini stage in another 2 weeks but the result is quite impressive even at this early point - in the big picture of ageing

AM

@aidanmac

I bet your microwave is on its last legs by the amount of booze that gets nuked in it, lol

Let's just hope you never get a charred bit of wood with a hidden nail in it!!!

Actually, I nuke spirits once to give them a start, after that it's in the hands of the gods. It will be what ever it becomes.

AM

Has anybody had occasion to try any of these oak chips?

http://www.releasetheangelsshare.com/menu.html


If so, what were the results like?

I still think these Oak products are very pricey compared to making your own from raw White Oak.

AM

Having attempted my first all grain mash and distillation, using heavily peated malt, I aged it with dominoes from Distilling Dominoes.

http://www.distillingdominoes.co.uk/

I chose the American White Oak No.5 with 8/10 sec. Flame,

Using the dosage as recommended by them, with the liquor at cask strength, the colour simply poured out from them within hours. Within two weeks I removed it from the dominoes as I didn't want too dark whisky.

The taste, having used 100% heavily peated malt is very marked. I doubt I would want a more peated drink. Maturation wise, I feel the colour is fine though, to keep it at this level, it may be that it wasn't left to extract the maximum flavours from the oak.


Maybe next time I might use dominoes with a lighter flame time and leave in the whisky rather longer.

My mashing techniques definitely need refining, but I am delighted with the result of some sixteen bottles of very drinkable whisky.

Got my order from distillingdominoes this morning, charred myself and set my 7.5ltrs of 65% peated malt and rye sugarhead away for ageing. Only put two dominoes in for time being to see how it progresses.




cheers B_D

That does seem to be a small fraction, per litre, of the amount they suggest. In fact it doesn't seem to be what they recommend for just one litre.

Should be interesting to see how it turns out.

Good luck with it.

The plan is to toast the remainder of the sticks,and add a couple more, then hopefully try and leave this batch alone for a few months. In hindsight it might have been a bad idea fitting the S/S tap to the jar,too easy to pour a glass now and then

cheers B_D

Actually, I realised shortly after having posted my previous message, that I hadn't considered the size of the container you had uses and therefore, the size of the dominoes. They are I think, bigger than those I used myself and, as it all depends on surface area contact , you could well be on the right tracks.

I sometimes think that I have over Oaked,when I watch the colour pour out of the wood,and despair that I will end up with a LOCH DHU Black Whisky clone,thankfully they all seem to mellow down with time.
'tis all part of the game.

Robert.

Given the current prices that Loch Dhu is bringing, it would be pleasant to think that one could, if desired, make an equivalent product.

I have to admit that I was totally unfamiliar with this whisky.

It might be worthwhile at some stage, to hive off about a half litre of cask strength just to experiment with. The difficulty is that by the time you have your distilled product at cask strength, its potential value as finished product (should you have to buy same) means that experimentation could be very costly .

may I say, that given the dark color, I would think, that not only the oak is responsible for it, but also very plain sugar color. It is not forbidden to use in small amounts and many big distilleries use this technique. They don't even have to tell it on the label, as far as they stay under certain limits.

Selling whisky is all about story telling.

Spirit of Caramel or, E150 has been allowed to be added to whisky for some time now.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009 ... view=plain

I cannot say yea or nay as to whether it is added to Loch Dhu but the manufacturers do state that double the normal amount of charring was used in the barrels. Having said that, and not knowing what 'normal' would be anyway, the question of such addition remains open. Like all advertising, what is NOT said is often as important or, more important than what IS said.

Rather like going into a fish and chip shop. If the menu says Cod or Haddock, you know that is what the fish will be. If the menu simply says Fish then you don't know what the fish is but, you do know its not Cod or Haddock

In the same way, when oaking agents state that they are 'American White Oak' ( Quercus alba) you know which variety of tree they are from Those that simply say 'Continental ' or 'American' Oak, whilst indicating they they are of the genus Quercus could be any of a number of species. Both Continental and American are simply geographic labels, not botanical. In America there are two main Oak species. Quercus rubra (Red Oak) mainly used in the construction industry, and Quercus alba (White Oak) largely used for barrels in the bourbon industry. But any species of Oak grown in America can be called American Oak.

On the European Continent there are numerous species of Oak, some suitable for the ageing of wines and spirits, and some totally unsuitable, but all may quite legitimately be called Continental Oak.

So, what isn't specifically said is often just as informative as what specifically is said.