Tasmanian Oak Aging
Posted: Wed May 19, 2021 2:26 pm
Hi all,
So...I have done a reasonable amount of searching but could not really find anything definitive on the use of Tasmanian Oak as aging wood.
I know it is a Eucalypt and there are 3 varieties.
I found a few articles where people started it but never really gave the results.
What I ended up doing was getting a plank from Bunnings (Not 100% sure which variety they sell), cutting it into 10 cm sections and then splitting each section into 3 staves using a chisel with the grain.
I am running a test on TSFFV diluted down to 55%.
My test jars are 1 litre of 55% ABV spirit with 1 stave (Approx. 10cm x 2cm x 2cm).
TESTS (12 in total):
Tasmanian Oak
1. Raw as is
2. Toasted at 125°C for 2 hours
3. Toasted at 180°C for 2 hours
4. Toasted at 215°C for 2 hours
5. Toasted at 215°C for 2 hours then Alligator charred
6. Not toasted, just Alligator charred
**Charring was only done to the 4 sides, NOT to the 2 ends***
The control jars are exactly the same but using American White Oak instead of Tasmanian Oak.
All spirit was from the same fermentation, run through a spirit run twice using a T500 Reflux with SS Saddles (Still Spirts brand) and left to breathe for 24 hours to ensure the cleanest spirit possible.
Cuts were made during the distillation and all hearts combined into a single pot to ensure the product in each of the 12 jars was exactly the same.
The jars are made from Soda Glass.
The goal here is to see the taste difference between American White Oak and Tasmanian Oak, and to see if it is viable to make the change considering Tasmanian Oak is much cheaper and easier to get for Australians.
I just put it all into the jars last night and thought the experiment might be interesting for others as well.
I will update this post once a week until the aging is done, and I will include some pictures with the posts once there is something to see :-)
I hope you find this post useful.
Cheers
So...I have done a reasonable amount of searching but could not really find anything definitive on the use of Tasmanian Oak as aging wood.
I know it is a Eucalypt and there are 3 varieties.
I found a few articles where people started it but never really gave the results.
What I ended up doing was getting a plank from Bunnings (Not 100% sure which variety they sell), cutting it into 10 cm sections and then splitting each section into 3 staves using a chisel with the grain.
I am running a test on TSFFV diluted down to 55%.
My test jars are 1 litre of 55% ABV spirit with 1 stave (Approx. 10cm x 2cm x 2cm).
TESTS (12 in total):
Tasmanian Oak
1. Raw as is
2. Toasted at 125°C for 2 hours
3. Toasted at 180°C for 2 hours
4. Toasted at 215°C for 2 hours
5. Toasted at 215°C for 2 hours then Alligator charred
6. Not toasted, just Alligator charred
**Charring was only done to the 4 sides, NOT to the 2 ends***
The control jars are exactly the same but using American White Oak instead of Tasmanian Oak.
All spirit was from the same fermentation, run through a spirit run twice using a T500 Reflux with SS Saddles (Still Spirts brand) and left to breathe for 24 hours to ensure the cleanest spirit possible.
Cuts were made during the distillation and all hearts combined into a single pot to ensure the product in each of the 12 jars was exactly the same.
The jars are made from Soda Glass.
The goal here is to see the taste difference between American White Oak and Tasmanian Oak, and to see if it is viable to make the change considering Tasmanian Oak is much cheaper and easier to get for Australians.
I just put it all into the jars last night and thought the experiment might be interesting for others as well.
I will update this post once a week until the aging is done, and I will include some pictures with the posts once there is something to see :-)
I hope you find this post useful.
Cheers