StillSmart

hi all,

I am going to attempt my first malt whiskey by trying to clone glenmorangie using the below guidelines:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1440

but the question is what do I use to age the product... oak(what type)

or Bourbon chips?


cheers all

I'm just climbing onto the fence as I tap this.....
But if I were going to dangle a foot,in this instance,the foot would come down on the side of recycled Oak from old barrels.
I'm sure others will be along with a different view.

Robert.

thanks Robert.

any ideas as to the best place to purchase some?

Get some new American White Oak. Toast and char. Make some bourbon. Age the bourbon on the wood. Drink bourbon. Ponder why you wanted to make Scotch in the first place. This is actually what I did, though I did end up making the Scotch too.

thanks chill.

i thought I'd have a crack at some Scotch.

but as I'm certainly not against a nice Bourbon either.

I am sure chill is just living by his roots here.
I'll not argue that a good Bourbon beats a bad Scotch.
But to my taste,a good Scotch beats the best Bourbon.
And as long as we continue to disagree,life hereabouts should remain interesting....

It's life,let's live it.

Short time here,and long time gone.

I am sure that I once said on here that I should make that phrase my signature,I didn't thunk it up,but as life marches on,it does seem more valid.

Robert.

ok guy's. the wash is under way....fermenting nicely

so do I go with the old oak whiskey barrel chips to age?

how much would I need. it's a 25 ltr wash?


cheers everyone

ooohhhh the anticipation

I am in the fortunate position of having some old whisky barrels that I can cut down,plane to clean wood and use.
I use dominoes(actually nearer to matchsticks) in preference to chips.
From a 25 litre wash,I might hope for 4-5 litres to age.
And would use around 50 grammes of wood,sometimes more if it was sitting there ready to use.
Using thin pieces of wood means that when I get bored and bottle the product from demi-johns,I can shake the wood out and add it to the bottles,which continue to improve until empty.
Seems to work for me,for various different oak aged drinks.
A variation on the Tequila worm.
HTH.
Robert.

I've been using small oak barrels 5 and 10 litre which I pre-soak with sherry or port (or whatever you fancy !) then in goes the spirit with a few ounces of jack Daniels bbq chips to hopefully get the bourbon character
Had some very good results after 6 to 12 months ageing
Starting to experiment with the oak staves supplied by still dragon Europe quite amazing infusion in a very short time

thanks guy's

It's all about surface area. Chips are quicker. Dominoes are more controllable and easier to remove.