Cooperage (building a spirits barrel)

[glzahn]

I was recently visiting my son in Milwaukee and we toured the Great Lakes Distillery. They make a great Gin. Anyway during the tasting portion of the tour they pulled out a Gin that they aged in a used Bourbon barrel for a couple of weeks. It was really, really good and I'm not a bourbon, whiskey, or scotch drinker.

At $40 for 750ml bottle it's a little too pricey. They sell 3 liter white oak toasted barrels that you can pour bourbon into to season it, but it too was a little pricey. I thought about making my own barrels using the age old process but then thought about turning a white oak bowl with a cover, toasting it, seasoning, then aging some gin in it to impart that great taste they created.

Any thoughts if it would work turning a tall container or should I go down the proven road of cooperage, of course, I'd need to find metal rings to hold the barrel together.

[atgcpaul]

Can't give you any advice on the wood, etc, but what about a stainless steel band clamp like we use to hold DC hoses onto DC ports to hold the staves? Not sure how big you're planning to go.

[jteneyck]

Use a glass or stainless steel container and throw in some toasted white oak chips.

John

[blackhat]

jteneyck said:

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Use a glass or stainless steel container with a tight fitting lid or stopper and throw in some toasted white oak chips.

John

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You might have some drinkable product left after its steeped a couple months

[glzahn]

jteneyck said:

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Use a glass or stainless steel container and throw in some toasted white oak chips.

John

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As I understand it, the spirit is absorbed into the wood as the external temp increases and then is expelled as the external temp decreases. I think the wood has to be the "container" for that process to happen. Of course, I've been known to be wrong before. It's the absorption and expelling of the spirit that imparts the wood flavor.

That being said, those "chips" would make for a great smoking chip for barbecue.

[Steve N]

glzahn said:

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they pulled out a Gin that they aged in a used Bourbon barrel for a couple of weeks.

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I'm sure you can turn an oak container, but will it be from oak used to hold bourbon for several years? Seems that is what was imparting the taste you liked, not the fact that it was a charred barrel. I believe all bourbon is stored in a smoked, or charred barrel.

[Herb G]

As a home brewer, I know you can buy charred new oak barrels for aging it in.
Google them up & buy one instead.
They ain't cheap, either.

[Scoony]

Herb G said:

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As a home brewer, I know you can buy charred new oak barrels for aging it in.
Google them up & buy one instead.
They ain't cheap, either.

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Had a friend purchase 2 new charred barrels from a company in Lebenon Kentucky that makes them last year and I turned them into a pair of bars. I called that company a few months later to see if I could get a few and at the time they were only selling barrels to established customers. High demand for them now, but there are some companies that are making smaller barrels. The bourbon festival is this weekend in Bardstown Ky and they always have a few of the barrel makers there.

There is also a few companies that sell white dog (un-aged bourbon) along with woodchips for flavoring. The idea is to use the wood chips to impart a flavor. Not a big fan of that route. The best bourbons spend most of their life at the top of the stack in the barrel houses where they experience greater extremes in temps. Drives the whiskey in and out of the oak, passing through the charcoal.

[Cooler]

Just make some slices of oak 1/2" diameter dowels and drop them in the bottle bourbon bottle. The end-grain is supposed to offer quicker results. Strain out the oak "coins" and serve. Or decant the bourbon into a large mouth bottle and put in slices of any size oak that will fit. You can re-use the slices. Strain before pouring back into the original bottle.

[paulmaine]

A barrel when using it the first time will give off a strong oak flavor; it is easy to over oak. Barrels for wine making are difficult to store empty and easily spoil. Wine barrels are made from NON-kiln dried wood that are aged at least three years-they are then toasted to a light, medium, or heavy toast. Many home winemakers today use woodchips; some commercial wineries also do that. The best chips can be found at home wine making or home beer making shops. I use a variety of American or French oak "beans" (round chips) made by Stavin for my red wine made from commercial juice. My guess is that these beans would take two months to properly flavor the whiskey. Taste as during that period to prevent over-oakng.