wood chip conclusion

[hic52]

Have been PM\'d asking for advise on wood chips, in my case JD but others will work.

Here is my email to help others with my findings.
sorry for not sending a reply sooner as i dont log on that often and have been on holiday. Its a bit trial and error with any chips. I have tried 4 methods and they all work but taste is a little different.

1) soak base alcohol in chips (usually a good handful to a gallon) and leave for a couple of months shaking every few days

2) the same but put in freezer overnight every night, shake when taking out - this reduces the couple of months down to a couple of weeks.

3) and 4) are the same but add 5% genuine JD - this produces a very near taste to the original. By experiment i have found bottling and leaving the bottles racked (without the chips in) after the above procedure for as long as you can improves the taste. I had some at Christmas that was a year old and it was lovely and smooth. When you are happy with your initial experiments thats the one you need to make a good batch out of and store for a good time. Hope this helps