So I am about to have a go at Single Malt and had come up with a recipe from a bit of reading.
45L wash at SG 1.080 FG 1.020 7.86% Brewmate come up with the following
60% Golden Promise- 8.888kg
40% Bairds Med. Peat- 5.925kg
I've done quite a few single malt batches and would be happy to share.
Golden promise is a good base malt. It was used by about 80% of scottish distilleries from 1965 to 85.
Buy Heavy peat not medium & use less if it's too strong. Works out cheaper.
SG 1.080 is too strong for authentic single malt. The textbooks all say 1.055 to 1.065. I like 1.060.
If you stop at FG 1.020, you are definitely using the wrong yeast. I get to 0.998 every time. If you are going to develop this, you need to source a proper whisky yeast and run at the correct temperature. Pinnacle, for example, starts at 19 C and rises to 31 C after 30 hours in a large fermenter. To achieve this in a small fermenter, you need heat and insulation to help it along (in NZ anyway!)
Beyond that, I think you'll have foaming troubles with 45 L in a 50 L boiler. I run about 54 L in a 67 L boiler ( 50 L wash @8% + 4 L feints @86% ish) and I have a foaming nightmare every batch. I've tried all the ideas to solve it that are posted on the forums without success!
Re oaking. I use american white oak strips with a cross section of 20mm x 12mm. I char them with a gas torch & cut them to length so that they weigh about 14 gm each (about 120mm long). You need to buy your raw oak from a trusted source who has paperwork to show that it wasn't fumigated with a toxic insecticide on importation. Also, if you want Malt not Bourbon, you have to wash the oak before it goes in the whisky. (remember, scotch is aged in second hand bourbon barrels). To mimic this, fill a jar with cut oak strips, fill up with good neutral hearts at 70% abv and put lid on jar. Leave for 1 week, topping up jar as required. oak is then ready to use. I use 14 gms oak (weighed charred but not washed) per litre of 65% spirit in a glass demijohn with the neck plugged with paper towel to allow the angels their share. I usually reduce the oak by 25% after 3 months and by another 25% after 12 months.
Hope it goes well.
Cheers