Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Went to the HBS the other day and they had stacks of oak

I bought some domino of no particular brand

Would the JD chips be the same or do they some some special oak

My understanding of flavoured chips is they are from used barrels. So JD chips would still be American white oak barrels that have had JD ageing in tuem. :handgestures-thumbupleft: whereas dominoes are new oak

Definitely not the same...type of oak maybe, but it's the cut.

End grain imparts harsher tannins into the spirit...lets say a domino is what? 5% end grain/95% long grain...whereas chips are 50/50%. Keep in mind that commercial spirits aged in barrels are not exposed to any end grain...

Besides, I never understand chips...people buy JD chips to make bourbon with, but bourbon is aged on brand new charred oak (which is where the character smoky oak flavour comes from)...whereas JD chips are used? It's all marketing.

If it weren't for the over-exposed end grain, JD chips would be better suited for ageing Scotch, seeing as malt whisky is aged in used bourbon barrels.

I've got the gobblera chips before that tasted just like wild turkeyy :think:

Urrazeb wrote:I've got the gobblera chips before that tasted just like wild turkeyy :think:

Yes they probably would taste the end product but as Brendan said they wouldn't have started with oak tasting like that to end up with that end product.

If you truly want to replicate the taste you probably wouldn't use it.

It's a good sell for the HBS to say "soak these chips in 40% booze for a week and it will taste like the real deal" which it probably does to a degree.

But ask yourself this, why don't these guys re use their barrels? ;-)

I was not aware of the end grain imparting harsh flavour.

The dominos I got are all cut so across the grain.

This is not good :(

Guess I now need to chop it up finer to get more long grain.

flamehawk wrote:I was not aware of the end grain imparting harsh flavour.

The dominos I got are all cut so across the grain.

This is not good :(

Guess I now need to chop it up finer to get more long grain.

Er, the more you chop it the more end grain you will get, if they are normal dominos the grain should run lengthwise :handgestures-thumbupleft:

thanks for the info about the end-grain. i wasn't aware of that, its pretty interesting.

if ur not sure flamehawk post a picture of em :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Well if i chop them I will get less end grain based on surface area.

Feel gyped now. I found that guys knowledge to be more focused on what he could sell as opposed to what was better for me.

I did go into country brewer today and found them to be very really helpful. Went in looking for seal so i could drop in my water heaters. He knew what i wanted and and told me where to go. Cable gland!

Bought some other stuff that i didn't need anyway just because they were helpful. :clap:

"Feel gyped now. I found that guys knowledge to be more focused on what he could sell as opposed to what was better for me."

That seems to be a fairly common theme with HBS's!

Seriously, get on the group buy dominoes... They are goooood.

Seriously, get on the group buy dominoes... They are goooood.

+1. Great oak. I've got 2.5kg. Should last me till the next one.

Sam. wrote:

Urrazeb wrote:I've got the gobblera chips before that tasted just like wild turkeyy :think:

Yes they probably would taste the end product but as Brendan said they wouldn't have started with oak tasting like that to end up with that end product.

If you truly want to replicate the taste you probably wouldn't use it.

It's a good sell for the HBS to say "soak these chips in 40% booze for a week and it will taste like the real deal" which it probably does to a degree.

But ask yourself this, why don't these guys re use their barrels? ;-)

Digging up an old thread, but it is a rainy day. Answering "why don't these guys re use their old barrels?"... because it is a requirement that they only use new barrels. If it is an old barrel it cannot be labelled as bourbon/american whisky :)

Guys it may well be the chunks work OK.... but the best for our purposes are Suber LaFort Dominos... if you wish to impart a bourbon or other profile to the oak...simply vacuum a bag of dominos with a cup or two of the spirit you want in the oak... vacuum the oak and put into a warm water bath.... when cooled down simply hold for a week or so...when added to your spirit the oak will impart the characteristics of a bourbon or other style barrel...it really is that simple to achieve a sherry characteristic in whiskey or bourbon top notes on barley whiskey. Hope that is clear.
Doc

Thanks Doc. I can get plenty of red wine barrel oak, but I was keen to get some sherry. I will just get the old Jack plane out and plane away the red wine wood and vac infuse some sherry french oak.

Very much obliged!

Ive been still'n for a few years now and still am not sure about the chips or dominos. Sure you can over oak with chips quite quickly compared to dominos.I use 10grams of oak / litre for both dominos and chips. I definitely leave dominos in longer than chips but if you leave the chips in for a month or so until you get a good colour change and remove them the spirit still needs the time with all the tannins in there to mellow. So the oaking time might be shorter but the ageing will still need the same time to mellow and change the harsh tannin taste to a beautiful smooth oak flavour. Ive done both and if left long enough I'm finding it hard to decide which is better. as it turns out I've gone down the road of 3 25litre barrels and once all full will run a solera system with them so i am always drinking my oldest rum. I'de love to hear from some of the more experienced stiller's like Mac or the Doc that could explain why everyone says the end grain will ruin your swill. If rums and whisky can get left in a barrel for 12 to 30 years to mellow surely by then the spirit has taken what ever it can from the wood. I think we are all just too impatient and drink our product way too early and have not given the tannins time to mature.with my rum it takes a long time to get a dark colour from the oak so naturally you leave it longer. where chips dump it all in there fast and you get a nice colour quite quickly so people think its done and good to consume, where if it was left for longer the tannins would get the time they need to mature. Thats my 2 cents worth. Slay me down if you think I'm totally wrong. looking forward to others thoughts or better still tested facts.

Rush From my understanding there is no end grain in a barrel :think:

+1

Been thinking of giving this stuff ago.....................................

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mount-c ... 1120300267

Just a little too far away to drive but may order some via post.

Peregian wrote:Been thinking of giving this stuff ago.....................................

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mount-c ... 1120300267

Just a little too far away to drive but may order some via post.

What would be the procedure for getting the JD staves ready to use :think:
Would you scraper the old charr off and plain 3/5 mm off all sides to take it back to virgin oak ???
Then retoast or charr in oven or with torch......

Would think if you did nothing apart from cut into dominos all the goodness would be already sucked out of the oak.

Sugardaddy wrote:

Peregian wrote:Been thinking of giving this stuff ago.....................................

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mount-c ... 1120300267

Just a little too far away to drive but may order some via post.

What would be the procedure for getting the JD staves ready to use :think:
Would you scraper the old charr off and plain 3/5 mm off all sides to take it back to virgin oak ???
Then retoast or charr in oven or with torch......

Would think if you did nothing apart from cut into dominos all the goodness would be already sucked out of the oak.

For me, not being very knowledgeable about oak, would try to toast the staves a little then char the other three sides with a gas torch. I have done this in the past using oak off cuts from a barrel maker at Redcliff near Brisbane. Did the toasting in the Weber BBQ as my wife was not impressed when I first tried it in the kitchen oven.