Infusing flavours INTO oak...
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:30 pm
This is an attempt to simulate how a used barrel imparts flavour and colour into distillate. Nothing new I’m sure but it seems to be working well. It’s a variation of nuke aging without nuking the distillate. Here is the process I.use.
What you need.
Spiral cut oak staves with your choice of toast and char.
A narrow mouth Mason quart or litre.
A pint or 250 ml jar.
What to do.
Break the spirals in half so they will fit in the narrow mouth Mason canning jar. Two staves broke in half to make four small staves.
Now choose what flavours you want to infuse INTO the oak. This will be later imparted to your distillate. I personally like Scotch that has been aged/ finished in Sherry casks. Like some Glenmorangie so I chose Sperone Marsala and A small measure of Glenmorangie original. You can chose others, this is just what we had so it was used.
Put about 200 ml Marsala and about 50 ml of Glenmorangie original into the mason jar with the oak staves. No actual measuring took place... Place in microwave without the lid! My microwave isn’t tall enough to stand a mason jar in it. So, I lay the jar on its side and decant as much of the liquid as needed into the small jar to allow the Mason jar to lay on its side without spilling and leaving a little room between the top of the liquid and the lip of the jar.
At this point there is a mason jar with a small amount of liquid and the oak staves. There is also a pint jar with the remaining liquid. Place them both in the microwave without lids. Metal bad! The large jar with the staves is on its side providing a large amount of contact between the oak and liquid. The small jar contains the rest of the liquid and goes in the microwave upright. No lids.
Run the microwave just long enough to get fine foaming or bubbling along the oak staves. Time will depend on your microwave So I don’t have a set and forget time. Once the liquid is bubbling remove both jars from the microwave being careful not to spill on yourself or any wood work! :scared-eek: It will burn you and stain the woodwork. :shock:
Pour the contents of the small jar into the large jar and put the lid on the large jar containing the staves. Tighten the lid. You have just canned the oak staves in the flavour of your Choice. Initially the jar will make a small amount of pressure then as it cools it will make a vacuum. This moves the liquid into the wood. Shake it up. Lay it on the side and allow it to cool to the touch. Repeat heating and coolin several times. Not an exact science. After about four cycles when the jar of staves comes out of the microwave and are still hot pull the staves out with a set of tongs and drop the staves into your chosen distillate. Watch the magic! :-B
Repeat heating the wood staves in the liquid and then placing the staves into the distillate. Both colour and flavour change pretty rapidly. 9.5 L takes on a light straw colour after two sessions with the flavoured oak. By time the hot oak and distillate equalize in temperature the process slows. When the staves are hot you can see the colour moving into the distillate. Heat the wood repeatedly in the Marsala and put the staves back in the distillate. Back and forth. Repeat till the colour and flavour are what you want.
Now you can age on the same staves, or not. In oak or glass.
I hope the explanation makes sense.
Let me know if you have been doing this and what results are.
Thanks for looking in.
What you need.
Spiral cut oak staves with your choice of toast and char.
A narrow mouth Mason quart or litre.
A pint or 250 ml jar.
What to do.
Break the spirals in half so they will fit in the narrow mouth Mason canning jar. Two staves broke in half to make four small staves.
Now choose what flavours you want to infuse INTO the oak. This will be later imparted to your distillate. I personally like Scotch that has been aged/ finished in Sherry casks. Like some Glenmorangie so I chose Sperone Marsala and A small measure of Glenmorangie original. You can chose others, this is just what we had so it was used.
Put about 200 ml Marsala and about 50 ml of Glenmorangie original into the mason jar with the oak staves. No actual measuring took place... Place in microwave without the lid! My microwave isn’t tall enough to stand a mason jar in it. So, I lay the jar on its side and decant as much of the liquid as needed into the small jar to allow the Mason jar to lay on its side without spilling and leaving a little room between the top of the liquid and the lip of the jar.
At this point there is a mason jar with a small amount of liquid and the oak staves. There is also a pint jar with the remaining liquid. Place them both in the microwave without lids. Metal bad! The large jar with the staves is on its side providing a large amount of contact between the oak and liquid. The small jar contains the rest of the liquid and goes in the microwave upright. No lids.
Run the microwave just long enough to get fine foaming or bubbling along the oak staves. Time will depend on your microwave So I don’t have a set and forget time. Once the liquid is bubbling remove both jars from the microwave being careful not to spill on yourself or any wood work! :scared-eek: It will burn you and stain the woodwork. :shock:
Pour the contents of the small jar into the large jar and put the lid on the large jar containing the staves. Tighten the lid. You have just canned the oak staves in the flavour of your Choice. Initially the jar will make a small amount of pressure then as it cools it will make a vacuum. This moves the liquid into the wood. Shake it up. Lay it on the side and allow it to cool to the touch. Repeat heating and coolin several times. Not an exact science. After about four cycles when the jar of staves comes out of the microwave and are still hot pull the staves out with a set of tongs and drop the staves into your chosen distillate. Watch the magic! :-B
Repeat heating the wood staves in the liquid and then placing the staves into the distillate. Both colour and flavour change pretty rapidly. 9.5 L takes on a light straw colour after two sessions with the flavoured oak. By time the hot oak and distillate equalize in temperature the process slows. When the staves are hot you can see the colour moving into the distillate. Heat the wood repeatedly in the Marsala and put the staves back in the distillate. Back and forth. Repeat till the colour and flavour are what you want.
Now you can age on the same staves, or not. In oak or glass.
I hope the explanation makes sense.
Let me know if you have been doing this and what results are.
Thanks for looking in.