Plum brandy/ slivovitz question

[Fishleg]

I have some plum brandy that is about 6 weeks old just on plain oak chips

I did pretty loose cuts with it to start off with ( coz I like a bit of bite in these sorts of things)
Straight off the still it was quite acceptable and I just have the occasional nip whenever I'm out in the shed

Had a slug this arvo after not having tasted it for maybe 2 weeks and it has totally changed, the taste is ok but when you breathe in after a shot it really hits in the back of the throat and has this horrible metho tang.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this?

Btw it's current abv is 55%

[Woodsy71]

Fisho, most spirit at 55% abv will burn the senses. Try dropping a small sample down to 40%. I reckon it will taste different.

[copperhead road]

Strange it did not have that burning tang from the start though :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[maddogpearse]

I made some cherry brandy. It took 12 months before it was any good. I'd all but written it off but then one day while out in the shed, I had a nip and bango! it was magic! It's at 65%. It's strong but so full of flavour and not harsh! If cuts were loose they will take longer to mellow out, but it will! Patience is the hardest thing about this game! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Fishleg]

Fisho, most spirit at 55% abv will burn the senses. Try dropping a small sample down to 40%. I reckon it will taste different.

Yeah true. Funny thing is though it wasn't there two weeks ago.
Thought I might air it out for a couple of days. See how that goes??

[crow]

Darn should have posted my PM here.

[Kenster]

Fishleg, i share your pain brother, i have done quite a few Plum distills (many years ago) before i 'learned' what to do better.It always tasted like petrol, but that was before i knew about cuts,take off speed,airing, oak, maceration, pectinase and other stuff. Fruit washes are notorious for strong/burny and rough mouthfeel (when young) due to the congeners they tend to produce. As Maddog suggests, a long time is needed for them to mature and settle and lose that sharpness. There are many small things which contribute to this harsh end product, the type of yeast used, temp during mash/ferment, take off rate, higher methanol output etc. There is a lot of reading can be done to fine tune this drop as it is nothing like trying to run a TPW or similar..too many variables. I just finished one last week, not great, but acceptable...oak and time are our friend... and also, airing...a lot.

[Redux]

mine have been down for 15 months and are just starting to get good... 6 more months and ill be done i think...

[Fishleg]

Thx everyone. Think I might just put it all in the back of the cupboard and forget about it for a while

[kenh]

I have a question about barrel aging some plum brandy/slivovitz. I have run it twice through the pot still and think I have some good quality product. I have a new 10l oak barrel (currently filled with hot water) which I plan to use to age this. My question is about the ABV to fill the barrel? It's at around 78% now after cuts. Should I age it at this or dilute first? If I take it back to about 40% I'll have more to take some out to bottle and keep topping up the barrel.
Also any suggestions about barrel time?
I'm thinking ahead to when the barrel is emptied and what to put in then to keep it from drying out?
Thanks for the help. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[crow]

New Ten litre barrel whoa I wouldn't put sliv in that, no damn way. In and old wine barrel or second hand post keg sure. Plum brandy and oak are not perfectly mated if ya ask me, some very light soaking is OK but medium to heavy soaked sliv not good. Last lot I put down had 3/4 very lightly soaked with mast a bit of colour and 1/4 heavily aged on plum wood , blended them in a beer keg. I had intended to suspend fruit wood sticks on stainless cable in the keg but I think the mix it about right as is for now.