StillSmart

As there's always an interest in oaking....I thought you may find this worth a read

What a load of drivel! The only thing they got right is that Quercus Alba is also known as American White Oak.

But then, it is in the Mail Online, a bit like the National Enquirer in the US, good for a laugh but not to be taken as serious

AM

Agreeing with a general knock at The Mail.
Agreeing with the reporting that more wood contact,and heat equals faster aging.
IMHO not drivel.
Simples.

Robert.

My sincere apology if I've offended anyone by posting a link to the Daily Mail..it's one of four papers that I scan on the net..wow is me...it won't happen again that's a promise. As for the comparison of the DM to the National Enquirer AM, I'm not sure if the DM have reported that Elvis is still alive and living in Peckham...or that one can see a red Route master bus on the surface of the moon.

The reason for the post was the link to an article (DM states that it's a "report by Tasha Eichensehert in Nautilus")...about the effect of more surface area contact while oaking. .

I thought in my moment of madness that those guys on here who like to try using bits of oak would be interested in the part that says..
"The sticks have lots of grooves cut in them to increase the overall-surface area touching the liquid".

If you wish you can delete the thread.

OK! apology posted to Ice but I decided I should post here for others too.

There was no offence intended by my personal opinion about the content of the article linked in Ice's post and a little surprised there was any taken but If I'm responsible for offending someone's sensitivity then I'm big enough to apologise for hurting their feelings.

Please feel free to label the Irish Times as crap if it will help.

The Time & Oak product, referred to in the article, has been featured here before so I assumed the link was posted for others to read the article about speeding up the ageing/maturing process in whisky which, as we all know, is actually achieved using microwave technology.

Neither I or anyone else will be deleting this thread unless Jimmy does, of course!

AM

A Pm as been sent to AM...I far as I'm concerned matter closed.

When member FullySilenced first brought "microwave technology" i.e. heating and a bunch of wood, to our attention,nearly two years ago,as an even faster way to achieve similar results referred to in the aforementioned online article above; itself intended as a short cut to more traditional methods,I was very interested,I still am.
When my favourite distilleries start selling a choice between 2 year and 10 year single malts,the younger,rapidly aged,and cheaper to purchase,as I expect to happen,I will certainly be giving the youngsters a go.

Robert.

My initial reaction to the article was surprise. 2 gallons barrels must be massively expensive, both in terms of coopering & extra handling

The wine industry has done research into this and came to the same conclusion - it is indeed about surface area.

Their solution was slats or dominoes. Most Coopers is now also make a range of oak alternatives ( slats, dominoes, staves, chips & cubes )

Basically cut the wood thinner and bung lots of it in. On a very small scale. I have found this to be massively successful.

I have also had some American oak cut and toasted (very different to French) and I'm looking forward to tasting the difference very soon.