Age your own liquor

All,

Info on this local company came across my desk today; they are making small charred oak barrels for aging your own spirits. I thought some of you might be interested in these as a holiday gift- pretty cool for the right "Spirits Geek".

http://www.bluegrassbarrels.com/

Enjoy!
Deb

Certainly an interesting idea, would be even better if it was possible to get barrel strength liqueur from a distillery. During the aging process the "proof" actually drops because the alcohol permeates through the barrel faster than the water does thus the expression "Angels Share".

Thanks Deb

I have no use for this until I get my still up and running. Shhhh.... don't tell the revenuers!

I have no use for this until I get my still up and running. Shhhh.... don't tell the revenuers!

Steve-
This is not a very wise place to post this - too many eyes on this Forum.
I believe the intention is that you would purchase already taxed spirits to fill your barrel- that IS what you are planning to do, right?

Deb

This must be a popular concept all of the sudden! I have some friends who have developed a fun concept called Risky? Whisky. It's a barrel your own bourbon system and it just came out in retail stores this weekend. My friend's husband was sampling the product at Party Mart yesterday. I need to find the website, but it might be byob.com (not sure).

Just looked up the website it's www.i-byob.com

Really cute idea- but that's not how Bourbon is made, so I'd be interested as to the results. As pointed out earlier, a significant part of what makes Bourbon "Bourbon" is aging over time in porous oak barrels. This 1) exposes the new bourbon to temperature variations which move the bourbon into and out of the barrel as it contracts/ expands, and 2) means a portion of the product is absorbed and evaporates over years- yielding "the Angel's Share". A glass bottle with oak chips isn't going to do this by definition.

Jen- did your husband get to try any of it? I'm really intrigued to hear what it tastes like.

Deb

If we could combine the white whiskey from the second idea with the barrel from the first we might have something! Although it would probably be more expensive than the best bourbon you could buy it it leased would be unique!

But you can- it's called grain alcohol in the store...."shine" to anyone from Eastern Kentucky.

Deb,

Neither my husband nor I have had an opportunity to taste the finished product of the Risky? Whisky process. We are planning to buy one and try it out for ourselves. We'll probably also give a few as Christmas gifts. The Risky? Whisky kits are around $25 or so. I am in no way a bourbon expert, but I know that a lot of research went into the development of Risky? Whisky and I am happy to support a truly local product.

This is the deal right now, globally:

http://www.servedraw.com/2010/11/barrel-aged-cocktails/

Many craft ditilleries have kits to age thier white dogs, as well- little barriques, really.

Maker's has the 46, where they drop French Barrel staves into the mix. Great product.

Dunno about the staves-into-the bottle approach. I'm with Deb- it seems to be antiproductive as the barrel doesn't get its breath.

But then again, one could think of it as simply infusing the spirit with the stave- that does make sense...

Hello everyone,

My name is Jeff Ames and I am the founder of Bluegrass Barrels, so thank you soo much Deb for posting about my little start-up business! And you are correct Deb, the idea behind my barrel is to "refinish" an existing spirit, so you are not starting from scratch (although you absolutely can start with a "white lightning" if you would like). So I recommend buying a Jim Beam 4 year (or something equivalent) and putting it in the barrel to age.

Everything that has been posted about the aging process and the temperature is absolutely correct. Much of the oak flavor and color in the spirit is withdrawn from the oak as it enters and exits the oak with the heating and cooling process of the spirit from the changing seasons. That being said, the fact that there is a higher ratio of oak to spirit surface area in my smaller barrels (along with the Risky Whiskey I guess) allows your spirit to "age" and receive some of the oak flavor.

Honestly, I have not had any customers put their barrel outside and let it age with the seasons, but I am a new business here in Louisville, so I will give it a shot and report back. My customers use the barrel as a fun addition to their home bar and flavor their spirits to make their own concoctions. I have had customers mix an existing spirit with chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, almond extract, etc. The only limitation is your imagination.

Okay, enough of my commercial, if you would like to learn more about the barrels or even want to swing by to check them out, feel free to shoot me an email at Jeff@BluegrassBarrels.com.

Take Care.

Jeff

I am all for any product that can refinish/fis the taste of Jim Beam 4 year

-Pete

Just saw on FB that Risky? Whisky will be doing a demo and tasting from 6:30 to 8:00 tonight at Westport Wine and Whisky in Westport Village.