Bourbon barrel

[bluemoose]

If you had just emptied your porter out of a barrel, would you put in whiskey, or vodka?

 

[Brewenstein]

Whiskey for sure.

 

[Homercidal]

Whiskey.

Or Whisky.

Your choice.

 

[bluemoose]

Am I really going to make cheap whiskey any better by aging it in a barrel again?
I can get a higher abv cheap vodka. Vodka being a neutral spirit, will it take on the oak, bourbon and porter flavors?

 

[bluemoose]

If only I knew someone with 10 gallons of that other liquid we don't speak of here.

 

[bluemoose]

Just got kicked off the mobile app, and found this old thread. Here’s an update. After aging my porter in the barrel, I put 10 gallons of whiskey into it. I aged it about 18 months, but did draw some off over that time. It did get better over time. I was able to notice the changes, and I don’t have a very sensitive palette. I got the last of the whiskey out and just filled the barrel with 10 gallons of maple syrup. We’ll see where things are in 18 months. Maybe a neutral distilled spirit next.

 

[bluemoose]

So I put the maple syrup in hot right from the arch pan. It has started pushing out, which is crazy, because it did not leak whiskey which is much thinner. My guess is the hot syrup created pressure as it cooled. As the temp changes it pushes more out. It tastes absolutely amazing. Not planning on cracking the barrel for at least a year for sampling.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

My favorite bourbon is aged in stout barrels before getting bottled. It is so smooth and really adds another layer of malt to the spirit.
That distillery finishes in a number of different casks from rum and sherry to a maple syrup barrel. By far the best (in my opinion) is the stout barrel.
Sadly, I am not sure if I am going to make it 'up North' this year to pick up my supply for the next year.
I might have to start looking for some HTB friends that live on the west coast of the Mitten to help me out this year.

 

[bluemoose]

After 10 months in the barrel, the maple syrup dried the barrel out enough to create a pretty serious leak. I pulled and bottled the maple syrup. It is absolutely amazing. There is such a depth of flavor there that I’m not sure I will be able to go back to regular maple syrup. I bottled half and the remainder is in bulk waiting for me to figure out what to do with it.

 

[lupulinaddict]

Did you ever figure out why the syrup dried the barrel? Will the barrel be able to be reused?

 

[bluemoose]

Evidently it is a common problem in aging maple syrup. There is not enough moisture to keep the barrel hydrated. Solutions include wetting the barrel from the outside weekly., but don’t seem to solve the problem entirely. I think I should be able to reuse the barrel. It will just likely leak a bit until the staves swell again.

 

[lupulinaddict]

Awesome. Good to know! Thanks for circling back to this thread.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Why do I see a breakfast stout in the near future?