StillSmart

+1 good for you Amaark, seems as though you have gone hard at this...it'll be worth it, I'm sure....

may I ask....why the dilute to 56%ABV prior to (initial) oaking?
and what kind of oaking (sticks) did you use?

I was aimimg for 60%. I sneezed slopped to much water in and ended up with 56%......

..... now you've wiped the laughter tears from your eyes. I have used a medium toast French Oak.

Cut down to 48%, last week.

What a smell, beautiful.

I confess, I had to try a nip (diluted down to 40%) Warm, malty, soft with vanilla notes and a warming, not burning, sensation in the back of my throat.

If this is what can be achieved with DME / LME / all grain I can't wait to try again. One very happy chappy.

Okay, not been around for a while due to circumstances.

I was able to resist further trips to age-ing cupboard until last weekend.

As many people have said previous "patience, patience" after what was consumed I have to agree with this. The difference was unbelievable, I don't profess to be a expert or anything of the sort, it was an experiment into the unknown to produce a malt I liked.

It was a success, warm to the throat, smooth, vanilla hints, .....

For any newcomer to this hobby, hey give it a try you might just impress yourself.

I'm not a whisky drinker, but I have been thinking about this kind of thing as I am experimenting with making all grain beers. Maybe if I make a good whisky, I might change my mind about the stuff, who knows. At the very least it would make an interesting gift to close friends and family.

When making a mash for distilling, would you just go for a standard beer without the hops, or would you mash it low for extra fermentables but lower body?

I aimed for a wash of 10%.