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Reaging bourbon

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June 13, 2018, 02:52 PM
joel9507
Reaging bourbon
I had an awakening when my friend who distills his own whiskey told me that it is clear, coming out of the distillation process.

In other words, the nice brown color comes from its removing material from the wood it's stored in. And that just feels odd. Like I'm drinking fancy wood refinishing fluid, or something.

Don't get me wrong, I like good Scotch and bourbon, now and again. But now each time I drink it, I look at the color and think "nice wood, they had this in".

My buddy gets wood chips to put in his clear whiskey, and eventually, sure enough, it turns a nice brown. Decent drinking stuff too, when he's done.

But now I am thinking that, along with politics and sausage-making, perhaps whiskey-making is something to not delve too deeply into.
June 13, 2018, 03:59 PM
Sailor1911
Always nice to have good wood!




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June 13, 2018, 09:41 PM
G-Man
My wife told me I have to drink less bourbon. I can’t find that brand anywhere.
June 17, 2018, 05:41 PM
ulsterman
I paid $50 for the two liter with a medium char.

1st glass tonight. It has darkened the bourbon and smoothed out. The bourbon has a stronger oak smell but the taste is very much smoother.
June 17, 2018, 05:43 PM
ulsterman
quote:
Originally posted by joel9507:
I had an awakening when my friend who distills his own whiskey told me that it is clear, coming out of the distillation process.

In other words, the nice brown color comes from its removing material from the wood it's stored in. And that just feels odd. Like I'm drinking fancy wood refinishing fluid, or something.

Don't get me wrong, I like good Scotch and bourbon, now and again. But now each time I drink it, I look at the color and think "nice wood, they had this in".

My buddy gets wood chips to put in his clear whiskey, and eventually, sure enough, it turns a nice brown. Decent drinking stuff too, when he's done.

But now I am thinking that, along with politics and sausage-making, perhaps whiskey-making is something to not delve too deeply into.


Bourbon gets is color and flavor from the whiskey passing in and out of the char (wood).
June 18, 2018, 01:16 AM
CPD SIG
quote:
Originally posted by Strambo:

As jigray3 said, not only does surface area play a big role but the temp. differential pulling the whiskey into and out of the barrel. Craft makers in Oregon are aging as little as 6 months, 2-3 years is long for them. The temp. swings in their warehouses are a lot different than a cellar in Scotland!




From what I've been told, it's not so much the temperature, but more the variation of temperature.

Hot, cold, hot, Cold, HOT, cold, hot, COLD... the wood expands and contracts, expands, contracts with the temperature changes, and "squeezes" (ever so slightly) the flavor from the wood.


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