America
American White Oak Barrel
Oak
Looking to try your hand at barrel-ageing? Then this is exactly what you need - a barrel! This is a 1 litre barrel made from brand-spanking-new fresh American white oak, which has been given a medium toast level.
So, when you get your hands on your very own barrel, don't just go whacking your favourite spirit in there right away, because you may notice that the metal hoops around the barrel might feel a bit loose. What you'll need to do is cure the barrel. To do this, you'll want to fill the barrel with hot water to thoroughly soak the wood. Don't have the bung inserted in the barrel; for this. Leave the water in there for at least 24 hours, but note that it can take up to a week for the wood to fully swell, sealing up any gaps between the staves and keeping the whole thing together. Thirsty little rascals. You'll also need to do this again if the barrel hasn't been used in a while.
Given the fact that no other spirit has ever been stored in the barrel, the effect of the oak on the spirit you fill into it will be very forceful. If you’re after creating your own whisky from new-make spirit, or indeed transforming a vodka into something oak-rich and powerful, this is good news. If you’re after adding a subtle barrel-aged note to a light and delicate cocktail or gin, then it’s probably not a good thing – you’d be well advised to store some vodka or ‘something else’ in it for a couple of weeks first.
Finally – The rate of evaporation from these puppies is quite large. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, the surface area to volume ratio of the barrel is very high, and secondly, you’re probably not going to keep it at as low a temperature as you’d find in a warehouse in Scotland. You can expect to lose a fair old percentage per month if you’re keeping them at room temperature, so keep an eye on them and regularly turn the barrel to keep all parts of it wet.
Height including stand - 175mm
Length - 140mm
Diameter – 120mm
Circumference - 377mm
Why has my review been removed?
The first thing that hits you when you get these barrels is the wonderful sweet smell of the American white oak, they are beautifully made little barrels that are worth buying just as an ornament. One very useful bit of information to know is although these barrels are listed as having a 1 litre capacity, I was surprised to see that my barrel actually took 2.25 litres when I initially filled it with warm water (to allow the staves to swell to make it water tight). After 2 hours the leaking was quite minimal so when I emptied the water it returned 2.1 litres of water (that was slightly whisky coloured) with quite a few splinters and tiny bits of charred wood. The leaking wasn’t anything significant so I suspect the majority of 150ml was lost to it being absorbed into the oak. The smell of this water is quite off putting, it smelled like… well… damp, burnt wood. Before putting any whisky in I decided to put in two (75cl) bottles of Oloroso Sherry, I did this for two good reasons. 1) As stated above the first fill can be a bit too overpowering so using Sherry will not only take the edge off but also season the cask. 2) More liquid will be lost on the first fills due to it being absorbed into the oak so I’d rather sacrifice some cheap Sherry rather than whisky. The Sherry has been in for 2 days so far (I’ll leave it in there for about 2 weeks until I replace it with whisky), I’ve had a couple of samples and I’m pleased to say it’s coming along nicely and it doesn’t have that nasty damp, burnt wood character that the water had. Instead of it being just a mountain of sweetness it is developing an interesting background to it, can’t say much more than that at the moment as I haven’t tried enough of it but so far, so good. If I’m able to I will do an update when the seasoning stage is over.
We have one of these filled with Glenglassaugh Peated Spirit at the moment. Only been going a week. After much research they say it should only take 3-8 weeks to age in such a small barrel, so we might pull a small dram for Christmas. We started it off by putting a bottle of JD in to give the barrel more of an authentic touch! We have a bottle of Bruichladdich X4 waiting to go in next. A lot of fun, and hopefully good results.
Cask arrived this morning and was filled to check for leaks with warm water. All ok apart from a little seepage from the tap but the expansion of the warm water and a gentle tap seemed to stop this (just be careful not to push too hard or you'll crack the cask). A couple of splinters fell out when drained an hour later but nothing excessive. Now filled with vodka as suggested in the blog to "settle it down" before I fill it with sherry/port then whisky. Smells just like a dunage whisky warehouse - REALLY nice. Also holds approx 1.4L and not 1.0L (2 bottles of vodka used). Possible improvements - tap could use some soft cork material round it just like the bung has (will keep an eye on seepage). Cask stand is a little squint and a little cheap looking. Perhaps MasterOfMalt can look at selling empty bottles, label kits and spirit hydrometers in the future? Overall, I'd recommend the cask to others who want to finish whisky. Just hope I have the patience to wait for it to do its magic.
Heute wurde mein Fässchen geliefert. Das Gestell, auf dem das Fass platziert werden soll, passt farblich leider nicht so gut zum Fass. Das ist natürlich Ansichtssache (ich werde das Gestell mit Holzschutzlasur etwas nachfärben) Durch die Bohrungen, die leider etwas unsauber sind, gibt es leider ein paar Ausbrüche und Splitter, die in das Innere ragen. Ich habe das Fass mit etwas Wasser durchgespült und die restlichen Splitter mit einer langen dünnen Pinzette heraus gesammelt. Ansonsten ist es wirklich ein Blickfang und ich kann gar nicht darauf warten, das Fass zu befüllen! Ich bin gespannt, wie der Geschmack sich durch das Fass verändern wird.
