Found a source of Oak - Raw, Toast or Char?

[WTDist]

try scrub turkey and some oak dominoes. 15g/l leave for a month or 2 from TPW or any neutral. Its not bad but still not as good as what im drinking now but better that that jd crap from SS. BTW JD is my favorite drink and no home brew essence comes close, i did once but no idea how i did it, it was just luck i did it once and it was a turbo with no cuts with essence mellow oak and charred dominoes from JB barrels but i never made it again. Best to try a CFW or something

shavings will leach tannin's quick so dont over do them. oak dominoes... go as long as you want, just the longer you age the less g/l you should use

Ive also aged my nuetral with the dominoes and necesarry essence added at beginning also, say you have 2L @ 65% in and it makes 3.25L @ 40% when watered, add the necessary essence for 3.25L into the 2L. It might age together better or mellow out more. I still dont like essence though

[Satly_Dog]

Thanks WTDist, i also thought of a Oak/Essence Ageing combo too.

Yes, you are right, i seemed to have fluked a good mix with one of these, and it was with a Lesser Neutral too.
But i cant remember which and how now... The trouble with doing/trying too many things at once it seems.

I have decided now, i'll run of a heap of TPW and keep the best cuts for Vodka only, till i fill a 5 Litre Demijohn.
The i will stop the TPW and try a more flavoured wash to Oak with.

A question to some of you out there.

Does anyone keep their Hearts cuts pure, but then keep maybe 1 Jar from the heads side and 2 or 3 Jars from the Tails side, as a kind of Second Grade Cut?
Or am i fooling myself?
And should i just return these into the next DIstil or a Total Feints Run?

Because, i have kept a pure Hearts only TPW and watered it down to 40% (unfiltered)
Then got my Second Cut TPW and watered it down to 40%, then Carbon Filtered 3 times
And i almost prefer the taste/flavour of the Filtered stuff over the Unfiltered, yet better cut stuff?

[jacobraven]

Return em to the next one no waste still and larger hearts next time

[Satly_Dog]

Return em to the next one no waste still and larger hearts next time

Ok, i have never returned any yet.
But i am getting a ridiculous collection of Cut stuff i don't use
It's wasting a lot of Jars :(

So, just return the Heads and Tails into the next 25L run?
Or completely ditch the Heads altogether?

[JamieC]

Yeah, I agree. I am having so much trouble transitioning from slightly oaked with essence added to correct aging on correct oak. I had a friend that made me bourbon that was ok, didnt give me a hangover. Thats why I got into this hobby. But I want to make the real deal. I am finding It a lot harder than I thought. I have a large smoker & make a lot of beef jerkey and smoked cheese. The cheese has to be aged for a minimum of 3 mths before it has mellowed enough to be nice. I am going to have to take an approach like this for nice whiskey.

[bluc]

Lots people here say 1 year or more is best at 15g/l medium toast personally prefer it round two months a lot sweeter and more vanilla (rum)

[WTDist]

Lots people here say 1 year or more is best at 15g/l medium toast personally prefer it round two months a lot sweeter and more vanilla (rum)

i would do 10g/l or less for a year. 15g/l maybe 6mo or less. thats my experience though so what do i know :))

[bluc]

All a matter of personal taste..

[WTDist]

yea the stuff im drinkin atm i im not sure on. its nice but im not sure. aged for about 1 1/2 months then let it sit on 60 degrees for 6 hours to speed things up since i needed a drink and all i had was this stuff at 7g/l :shifty: it neededa boost and the STC gave it one, i think next time i might do 50 degrees or half the time :?

STC sure was a good easy way to distress age. I filled the slow cooker up with water, put the jar in it, thermometer probe in water and pluged the slow cooker into STC. the water was the buffer between the slow cooker and jar. was perfect for holding the temp

[Satly_Dog]

If you over Oak some neutral or even add an essence that is horrible.

Can you just run it back through the still (T500 in this case) and start again?

[bluc]

If you over Oak some neutral or even add an essence that is horrible.

Can you just run it back through the still (T500 in this case) and start again?

T500/reflux still should strip all flavour with a pot would prob get some flavour carry over..

[Satly_Dog]

try scrub turkey and some oak dominoes. 15g/l leave for a month or 2 from TPW or any neutral. Its not bad but still not as good as what im drinking now but better that that jd crap from SS. BTW JD is my favorite drink and no home brew essence comes close, i did once but no idea how i did it, it was just luck i did it once and it was a turbo with no cuts with essence mellow oak and charred dominoes from JB barrels but i never made it again. Best to try a CFW or something

shavings will leach tannin's quick so dont over do them. oak dominoes... go as long as you want, just the longer you age the less g/l you should use

Ive also aged my nuetral with the dominoes and necesarry essence added at beginning also, say you have 2L @ 65% in and it makes 3.25L @ 40% when watered, add the necessary essence for 3.25L into the 2L. It might age together better or mellow out more. I still dont like essence though

Thanks mate, i am going to try this now.

I have recovered all the Neutral from my 4 previous mistakes (over oaked)
Now have a 26gram Domino in 2 Litres of 65%, will leave for a month and check

I will try your Scrub Turkey idea for the next batch
My Home Made Toasted and Charred Oak sticks weigh 60 grams each, which would mean i need to soak 1 stick in 4 Litres of 65%
Or i guess i could cut the stick in half and Char the new cut end, to soak in 2 Litres

What do think WDTist, should i add the Scrub Turkey at the beginning when i add the Oak stick?

Or just Oak the Neutral and check the flavour profile as ti goes?

Cheers

[WTDist]

up to you, you may like it or may not, i found that when i added essence it still needed a couple of days to a week to mellow out so adding it in the jar with the domino made it mellow quicker and was mostly ready when i want it.

i wouldnt char the end of the domino stick though, just sides. the ends leach tannins faster so best to not increase surface area there

[Satly_Dog]

up to you, you may like it or may not, i found that when i added essence it still needed a couple of days to a week to mellow out so adding it in the jar with the domino made it mellow quicker and was mostly ready when i want it.

i wouldnt char the end of the domino stick though, just sides. the ends leach tannins faster so best to not increase surface area there

So, Add Domino at 15gram/1 Litre of 65%
Add Scrub Turkey at the correct ratio for final volume (IE: once it is watered down to 40%)
Age for 1 Month or to taste
Then water down to 40%
Then Carbon Filter

[WTDist]

yes to all but dont carbon filter lol :laughing-rolling:

[Satly_Dog]

yes to all but dont carbon filter lol :laughing-rolling:

Yeah, that was a suggestion from another member
I must admit, i thought it strange to Carbon Filter after all that Flavouring
But, it may have its place, who knows....

[WTDist]

ive done it before, you wont like it. only time it worked for me was when i super chared some chips and made my stff taste like ash, burnt. ran it through the filter and it was actually very nice. wouldnt recommend doing it to something that isnt stuffed though

[Satly_Dog]

Well, just mixed up 2 Litres of 65% TPW
Added the correct amount of Scrub Turkey (Edwards)
Added 30g Domino

I have to say, it smelt and tasted gawd awful (that same sweet bubblegum taste)
Lets see what a month or two does

[JamieC]

One success I have had is with Spirits Unlimited Southerner chips. 15g per litre as per instructions for a week on TPW @ 65% smells awesome. Nice base to work with. I have been watering down to 38% and using reduced amount of Edwards Tennessee Essence, but for the wife's southern, as per recipe Edwards again. Comes out nice.

[Satly_Dog]

One success I have had is with Spirits Unlimited Southerner chips. 15g per litre as per instructions for a week on TPW @ 65% smells awesome. Nice base to work with. I have been watering down to 38% and using reduced amount of Edwards Tennessee Essence, but for the wife's southern, as per recipe Edwards again. Comes out nice.

I literally just made the above, and its horrible, smells like bubble gum, not sure i even want to taste it.
That is if you are trying to make a Tennessee Bourbon.... But, if you are trying to make Southern Comfort, its pretty dam close :))