Oaking?

[SmoothShineJack]

I have quite a bit of oak, aged about 10 years from a trimmed, mature tree. I also have a meth heated fish smoker. If I was to roast to some degree, some shavings, could these be useful, re adding to a reflux still, distillation, plus say a bourbon or scotch flavouring?

[maheel]

what sort of oak is it ?

i got NFI but if you know it's usa / white / uk oak it might help on Google searches.

I woudl hate to say use it and it makes you crook over time extracting some weird resin or something....

apart from that

split some up into sticks, toast it and throw it in
chip some and throw it in anoter bottle raw
shave some with the power plan and do the same in anoter bottle.

testing diff ways is going to give diff results

i used to both age on chip oak and use LHB flavors, now i just use (and reuse) some oak chips and let it sit around a while

[SmoothShineJack]

Thank you for your reply. It is English Oak, probably the more original of all Oaks around the world.

[R-sole]

So the english oak were around before other oaks?


HHhmmmmm :?

[QLD.Andy]

well, England IS the motherland

[maheel]

well then now we are getting somewhere :)

toast some up and give it a whirl :) i just chuck it in and it floats around then sinks down to the bottom of my 5L bottles.
every time i think about it and am nearby i give them a swirl

plenty of ideas on the web, some wrap in foil to smoke it, some burn it a bit
you could try making some charcoal with it and filtering through it

the problem is you have to find something you like

i have been drinking some Laphroaig (La-froyg) 10yr and it is very peat smoky and i would like a way of getting some of that into my whiskey
maybe smoking some oak in peat might be interesting ?

[Frank]

Hey Maheel
did you get any further re peat smoking your oak or any other smokey-type flavour success?
See, I love Islay single malts too (and so does Heffers ;) )

BTW, when does toasted oak become charred? I mean, what is a kind of cut off point for one before its more 'the other'. Is there a rule of thumb or visual reference guide re applying flame/oven heat etc to oak chip? :?

[R-sole]

Essence of Peatreek is what you need...

From: "Harry" <gnikomson2000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Scotch flavours

What you need is "essence of peatreek" (my name for it, so don't try
to find it in a store)

Peat is decayed vegetation. "Reek" is the Gaelic name for smoke.
Traditionally, the malt grain is dried over a slow fire of peat, and
the smoke, a very tarry substance high in phenols, sticks to the
grains.

You can easily trap these phenols to be used in measurable
quantities by making an "essence". Take a handful each of peat and
oak shavings, put them in a tin (or 'can' to the Stateside folk).
Loosely fit a lid, then flame the tin with a torch for a couple of
minutes. This will toast the oak and extract the phenols from the
peat which in turn will stick to the toasted oak. DON'T charcoal
the oak, just toast it.

Leave the lid on, and set the tin aside for a few minutes to cool,
as the next step uses high abv alcohol, and you don't want it to
catch fire.

When cool, remove the lid and cover the contents with about a cupful
of your raw alcohol (95.6%). Put a saucepan of water on the stove
with a couple of inches of water. Place the tin of mixture in the
water, like a double-boiler setup.

S-l-o-w-l-y heat the water. The alcohol mixture will boil long
before the water begins to simmer. Boil away about half the
mixture. This will extract all the tannins & phenols.

Let the mixture cool and filter it with a funnel and coffee filters
into a glass jar with a screwtop lid for storage. You are now the
proud owner of "essence of peatreek". Use it sparingly, a little
goes a long way. I use 1 to 2 teaspoons per litre of 45% alcohol.

Now to clear up a few things.
1) Use only natural garden peat without additives. Some contain
added fertilizer. They're no good, for obvious reasons.
2) Don't worry about organisms in the peat. It has been sterilized
twice, once by fire and once by alcohol. Anything over 20% alc will
be sterile.
3) Electric stoves or hotplates are preferable to gas. You don't
want flames around pure ethanol. The only time you need flame is to
toast the oak & peat mix in the tin.

To learn a lot more about peat & peatreek, check out this article
from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society...
http://www.smws.com/archives/p.html

The peat I use is Australian, but you should be able to get similar
at any gardening store.
http://www.gardenking.com.au/products/s ... atmoss.htm


HTH
Slainte!
regards Harry

[maheel]

Hey Frank

i have got no closer, big issues is we need to find some peat (peat that is also safe to eat?)
but yeah i had some more Laphroaig and i do enjoy the smoky peat :D

nice post 5Star but the below quote concerns me from it
openly boiling 95% on the stove in a open pot is not something i would do... might go BANG!! (I know your not recommending it )
just making sure future readers don't do it

but stay safe

"quote 5Star"
"Put a saucepan of water on the stove
with a couple of inches of water. Place the tin of mixture in the
water, like a double-boiler setup.

S-l-o-w-l-y heat the water. The alcohol mixture will boil long
before the water begins to simmer. Boil away about half the
mixture. This will extract all the tannins & phenols."

[Frozenthunderbolt]

You want to make sure the oak you use is from the heart, not sap wood. Sap wood is realy high in tannins and will make the spirit bitter.