Oak barrel sizes

[Admiral Toad]

You may have seen my posts on peated Whisky and the 5 L barrels I obtained to age the spirit
They are working well so planning to run the rest of the peated grain which means more barrels
Now I am getting these for 50 quid cash but thought to myself I'm not in any mad hurry why not try a 10 L one and leave it to age a bit longer theyre only a tenner more to buy
So I did some fab packets maths and was quite surprised to find that the larger barrel only loses about 25 % less surface area to volume ratio
So going off your loch ewe distillery mans 3 month maturation probably an extra month or so should get similar results
So took the plunge and bought a 10 L one and guess what..... He still only charged me £50 a result I think
Cracking barrels these grommet. ,!

[Magnu420]

any links please, to the place that sells them

[Admiral Toad]

Hi mate

These are the ones I use

http://www.thebarrelmakers.co.uk/depart ... wine_vats/

As I said if you live in the NE they accept cash on collection (based in Gateshead)

Or can do mail order

Some other nice stuff too, their yard smells like a bonded warehouse. Double lush. ,

[Frank]

@AT, all I ever have used for longterm maturation was a 25l gifted American Oak (non-fired) barrel and all I ever have experienced is what comes out of it......

That said, I am very interested in the benefits/disfavour over time provided by a smaller (ie 10l) barrel; esp if it is charred/toasted etc; regarding maturation and flavour profiles.

So...I am most keen on your sampling results too...and I would really appreciate a comparative (5l vs 10l) tastetest......of course, only if you can manage it!

[YHB]

Admiral,

I have been looking for a supply of "Proper Oak" for making toasted / charred domino's out of.

If you are on good terms with your supplier, how about seeing if he has anything suitable, old staves etc, that he is prepared to sell.

Or maybe you want to keep on good terms with him. If that is the case I will make the call.

[Admiral Toad]

Frank

I will happily pass on my thoughts in due course should be bottling the first small ones this weekend the girls like the port one which is a bit sweeter the sherry ones a bit more Islay like both good though well pleased

Brian

The place is just off the A1 at the bottom of Team valley. It's a wonderful messy, ramshackle rough and ready place stacked high with barrels and barrel garden furniture in various states of assembly/disassembly.
There are rucks of staves and bits of barrel so I'm sure they would sort you out.
It's well worth a look and the whisky/bourbon aroma makes a visit worthwhile in itself. Double lush