chapter4 barrel osk

7/27/2019 Chapter4 Barrel Osk

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AmErICAn DIstIllInG InstItutE | 39

Barrl Aging

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40 | CrAFt WHIskEy DIstIllInG


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Whn nw whisky is rshly distilld, its colorlss and posssss only th avor andaroma o th grain and th alcohol. Its rom aging in charrd oak barrls that th whiskyacqirs its color, complxity, and richnss o avor. Th aim o this chaptr is to giv anndrstanding o th barrl-aging procss and its importanc to th prodction o fnwhisky, and to provid dtaild instrctions on how to ag th 53 gallons (on distillrybarrl) o malt whisky distilld in Chaptr 4, and prodc th fnal spirit.

bACkgROuND

Its still a mystry as to how th barrl conrs its lbricios ct on th aging spirit.W do know that aging is rlatd to th chmical changs that tak plac as a rslt oractions with th alcohol and congnrs in th spirit throgh oxidation and xtraction ochmicals rom th oak. Factors acting this aging procss ar: prcnt alcohol o th spir-it; th lvl o charring o th oak; th tmpratr and hmidity in th aging warhos;th siz o th barrl; and o cors, th lngth o tim th aging taks plac.

Prcnt Alcohol o th Spirit: Th lvl o lignin ractions, lignin drivativs, vanillins,and tannin xtractd rom th oak, as wll as th amont o congnrs ormd, ar dpn-dnt on th alcohol concntration.

Whil a high-alcohol concntration, sch as 80%, xtracts mor o th bnfcial com-ponds and color, it can also xtract mor tannin, which imparts too mch astringncyand harshnss to th avor. Additionally, th highr th alcohol contnt, th mor watrthat has to b addd to dilt it to bottling strngth whn th aging is fnishd. This alsodilts th barrl contribtion. So, it has bn dtrmind that or whisky aging in nwbarrls, 55 to 65% abv is th optimm strngth to achiv a balanc o barrl xtraction andcolor, with lowr tannins. It also rdcs th diltion o th barrl componds at bottling

We do know that aging is related to the chemical changes that takeplace as a result of reactions with the alcohol and congeners in thespirit through oxidation and extraction of chemicals from the oak.


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tim. Howvr, this lowr alcohol concntration also rslts in slowr aging as th rat ochmical chang and barrl xtraction is rdcd. Barrls that ar sd mor than onc canag strongr spirits sinc th harsh tannins hav bn diminishd by th prvios contnts.

At 55 to 65% abv, barrls wr ond to hav a gratr porosity or watr, with th slalcohols, acids, strs, aldhyds, and rral bing rtaind. Frthr stdis confrmdthat ths lowr strngths rslt in an incras in alcohol contnt atr aging, whras adcras in strngth is ond whn spirits ar agd at highr alcohol concntrations.

Tmpratr and Hmidity: Th hmidity in th warhos also plays a signifcantrol. High hmidity sally rslts in a dcras in alcohol strngth, and dry warhosssally hav th opposit ct. Hmidity also acts th charactr o th fnal spirit. It hasbn ond that th xtraction o vanillin is bttr at low hmidity. Low-hmidity agingdos gnrally rslt in spirits that hav a bttr snsory qality.

Th tmpratrs in th warhos act th oxidation ractions that tak plac in thspirit, and highr tmpratrs acclrat ths ractions. Sinc ths ar grat contrib-tors to th aging o th spirit, its obviosly advantagos to ag at highr tmpratrs. Ac-ids and strs incras d partly to th oxidation o th thanol to actic acid via actald-hyd which is thn partially convrtd to thyl actat (an str). Thror, a consqnco aging is an incras in th concntration o acids, strs, rral, tannins, and aromaticcomponds as a rslt o oxidation, condnsations, and othr intractions with th wood.

Tropical tmpratrs, spcially whn thr ar variations btwn night and day, aridal or astr aging, and it has bn ond that aging may not tak plac dring th wintr

in tmprat climats i th warhos is not hatd. Movmnt o barrls dring th agingpriod will also hlp, bt this is obviosly not a practical approach.

TypE OF OAk

Th typ o oak also plays a rol. eropan oak is not as dns as Amrican whit oak,so yo gt a highr color bt som harshnss. It is also intrsting to not that onc-sdborbon stavs shippd to Scotland ar rbilt with nw, largr hads so that th 53-gallonbarrls ar rbilt into 63-gallon hogshads. Th prior-contnts o th barrl also inncth tast o th prodct to b agd. A shrry cask will giv th spirit a mor rity charactrthan a borbon barrl, and i it was an Oloroso shrry, color dvlopmnt will b astr.

Nw barrls will impart a darkr color and richr avor, bt th mor dlicat spirits tak

on mor harshnss atr aging.

THE LEvEL OF CHARRINg AND

THE uSE OF OAk CHIpS (STAvES)

Spirits agd in charrd barrls matr astr than thos agd in toastd or non-charrdbarrls. Th charring procss or nw barrls dfnitly contribts to th aging o a spirit.It acts lik an activatd-carbon fltr to adsorb slr componds and it provids a passag


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or th spirit into th pors o th oak. In th unitd Stats a ll-dpth charring o barrls(i.., 1/8 inch) sd to ag Amrican straight whisky is prdicatd by law. This is in spito th act that ovr-charring can actally dstroy som o th avors that ar ndd todvlop th fnish o th spirit. This is why toasting, or vn a light char, may b a bttrrot, bt it is illgal in th unitd Stats to ag straight whiskis, sch as borbon, in any-thing bt lly-charrd barrls. A mdim-dpth char is rqird jst to crack th wood,and a havir char brns p wood componds that wold only b caramlizd by a low- ormdim-lvl char.

Charrd barrls prodc a dpr colord spirit (tmpratr is also a contribtor)and thr is a gratr prodction o strs.

It has bn ond that th mor dlicat-avord spirits lik malt whisky, Canadianwhisky, and rm ar ovrpowrd by th oak contribtion o nw charrd barrls, so thsspirits ar agd in onc-sd borbon barrls, among othr typs o sd barrls, to giv amch mor balancd avor profl.

Toastd oak chips (or stavs) can b addd to a barrl to provid additional lignin andvanillin, this can agmnt th aging ct o a barrl. Thy do provid a signifcantly dir-nt congnr profl than that prodcd by a onc-sd charrd barrl. And, sinc pttingtoastd stavs in whisky barrls is lgal in th unitd Stats, thy ar otn sd by bor-bon distillris to contribt an additional mllow swtnss to whisky that wold notnormally bnft by this as mch sinc th borbon barrls ar lly charrd as pr uS law.

In smmary, a charrd barrl contribts color, vanillin, hony, spic, viscosity, and a

myriad o othr avors to a whisky that can b dtctd by th xprincd tastr.

ANgELS SHARE

As spirits ag in barrls, th porosity o th wood rslts in a crtain amont o vapo-ration. In a standard distillry barrl (i.. 53 gallons) abot 10% o th rmaining spirit inth barrls vaporats ach yar. And, its not nsal or a barrl o fn 15-yar-old singlmalt Scotch whisky to b lss than hal ll whn its rady to b bottld.

This loss o spirit d to vaporation is actionatly known as th angls shar.Dpnding on th tmpratr and hmidity conditions, discssd abov, th vaporationwill rslt in an incras in prcnt alcohol or a dcras. Th actal incras or dcrasis rally a nction o mor watr vaporating than alcohol, or vic vrsa. For xampl,

high-hmidity warhoss rslt in a dcras in prcnt alcohol, and lowr-hmidity onsrslt in an incras.

SIzE OF bARREL

All o th prior discssion on barrl aging and its associatd proprtis has bn basdon aging spirits in a standard 53-gallon distillry barrl. For xampl, a top-qality bor-bon is agd ntil its rady. Bcas borbon, lik all Amrican straight whiskis, is agd


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in nw charrd oak barrls, thrs a point in th aging procss whn th oak contrib-tion can go too ar, and th whisky taks on a cloying, ovrpowring astringncy. This iswhy borbon distillris monitor th tast o thir aging whiskis rqntly past a crtainpoint to dtrmin whn its rady. And, this point tnds to all btwn six and ightyars in th barrl. With borbon, th saying th oldr, th bttr simply dosnt apply.

Howvr, this six-to-ight-yars applis to 53-gallon barrls. I a dirnt sizd barrlis sd thn th dynamics chang, and vals lik lngth o tim in th barrl, th rat atwhich lignin and vanillins ar xtractd, tc ar compltly dirnt. Th rason or thisis volm incrass by a powr o 3 rlativ to th dimnsions, whil srac ara only in-crass by a powr o 2 rlativ to th dimnsions. That is to say, th amont o srac arao wood pr gallon o spirit is gratr in a smallr barrl and lss in a biggr barrl.

So, i a distillr agd his/hr whisky in 5-gallon barrls rathr than 53-gallon ons,thr wold b a considrably gratr srac ara o wood xposd to a gallon o spiritthan in a 53-gallon barrl. And, th whisky ags mch astr.

Smallr barrls ag th whisky astr and impart lignin and vanillin, and also tannin,astr as wll. And, a good-qality borbon can b agd ot in only thr to six months ina 5-gallon barrl. In act, any longr and th whisky wold go ovr th top and bcomastringnt and bittr.

Its important to not that th avor profl is a littl dirnt or a whisky agd in asmallr barrl, bt not a dirnc that is ncssarily inrior or sprior. Also, th anglsshar is gratr or a smallr barrl, bt this is amply mitigatd by th dramatically shortr

aging tim.Smallr barrls ar mch mor xpnsiv and tak p mor spac in th warhos

than largr ons pr nit capacity. For xampl, tn 5-gallon barrls wold tak p a lotmor warhos spac than on 53-gallon barrl, and thy wold cost a lot mor.

Howvr, thrs an incrasing trnd among small, start-p whisky distillris to ssmallr barrls whil thy ar gtting stablishd in th markt plac d to th ast trn-arond on aging. Th on aspct o starting p a nw whisky distillry that impds mostntrprnrs is th long aging priod o six to ight yars bor bing abl to start sllingthir prodct. evn th minimm o two yars prdicatd by law is too long or most start-ps, and atr only two yars o aging, th prodct wold b sbstandard and not likly tomarkt wll anyway.

Howvr, with small barrls trning ot an xcllnt prodct in only thr to sixmonths, starting p a whisky distillry is asibl. And, atr a distillry is wll stablishd,it maks sns to go to th standard 53-gallon barrl to raliz th conomis o scal.


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AgINg THE 53-gALLONS OF MALT wHISkEypRODuCED IN CHApTER 4

As mntiond abov, Amrican straight whiskis ar agd in nw charrd oak bar-rls, whil mor dlicat avord spirits lik th malt whisky prodcd in th prvioschaptrs ar agd in sd-onc barrls, sch as sd borbon barrls. So, to ag or maltwhisky, an mpty borbon barrl is rqird.

pREpARINg THE bARREL

I th barrl was rcntly mptid and thr ar no visibl signs o major lakag any-whr on th barrl, thn its rady or flling. Howvr, i th barrl has bn mpty orawhil, and th wood has drid ot, th barrl will lak btwn its stavs. So, it will hav tob rhydratd to swll ot th wood to clos all th laks. This is don by placing th barrlnar a drain and flling it ll o watr with a hos. Th barrl will lak so adjst th watrow so that th barrl stays ll. It typically taks 24 to 48 hors or th barrl to sal itsl,and th rat o flling can b trnd down vry w hors. I atr rhydrating th barrlor 48 hors, thrs still a lak btwn two stavs, fnd whr along th stavs th watr islaking, and tak abot a 1/2 inch wood chisl and hammr it into th oak abot a inchdp, and abot a 1/2 inch rom th sam btwn th stavs. Do this on both stavs onach sid o th lak. Thn tak two small wdgs o cdar and hammr on into ach slitmad with th chisl. This will tightn th sam btwn th two stavs and sal th lak.Do this or all laks btwn th stavs. Onc th barrl is sald, it shold b kpt ll owatr ntil th whisky is rady to go in.

DILuTINg THE wHISkEy

As xplaind abov, 55 to 65% abv is th optimm rang o prcnt alcohol or barrl-aging whisky, so or or malt whisky wr going to dilt it to 60% abv.

In a vat capabl o containing at last 53 gallons, prpar a 53-gallon qantity o 60%malt whisky by dilting th harts rom th spirit rn in Chaptr 4 to 60% abv with prwatr (i.. distilld or RO watr).

Th diltion calclation shold b don sing th ollowing ormla:

Qantity o harts = 53 X 0.6 / prcnt alcohol o harts

Qantity o pr watr = 53 - Qantity o harts

exampl: Say, th harts wr 70% abv

Qantity o harts = 53 X 0.6 / 0.7 = 45.43 gallons o hart

Qantity o pr watr = 53 - 45.43 gallons = 7.57 gallons o pr watr

O cors, yo may chos to dilt th ntir qantity o harts to 60% abv, and to doso, yo wold s th ollowing ormla to calclat th amont o pr watr to add:


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Qantity o pr watr = Qantity o harts X prcnt alcohol o harts / 0.6 - Qantityo harts

exampl: Say, thr was 60 gallons o harts at 70% abv

Qantity o pr watr = 60 gallons X 0.7 / 0.6 - 60 gallons = 10 gallons o pr watr

On th othr hand, yo may not want to bothr with calclations, so yo cold simplydilt th harts to 60% abv by jdiciosly adding small amonts o pr watr and mixingthoroghly ntil th alcoholmtr rads 60% abv.

Nxt, mak sr all th watr has bn mptid ot o th barrl and thn fll th bar-rl with th 60% abv whisky. Hammr a bch wood or poplar bng into th bng hol.

Thn, plac th barrl whr it can b asily obsrvd ovr th nxt copl o wks.

This is a priod whr th barrl is prood to mak crtain it dosnt hav any rsidallaks. Atr th barrl is prood and its clar that th barrl is not going to lak, it sholdb placd in th location whr its going to b agd or a nmbr o yars.

As was pointd ot abov, hot placs that xprinc tmpratr swings ar th bstlocations to sitat barrls with aging spirits, so th barrl shold b sitatd baring thisin mind.

Also, i th barrl can b shakn or jostld back and orth priodically, this will spdp th aging procss.

I th barrl is placd in a hot, rasonably dry location, and can b shakn occasionally,th whisky will ag ot nicly in abot thr yars. So, its important that th whisky b

sampld vry w wks or vry month atr th frst 18 months o aging.To sampl th whisky, rmov th bng and draw p abot an onc o it with a glass

win thi or a larg piptt, and mpty it into a winglass. Tak a nos and tast o th cask-strngth whisky, and thn dilt it hal-and-hal with watr and nos and tast it again.Whil th whisky is still immatr, it will hav an nbalancd avor o straight wood anda brnt tast. Whn th whisky is rady, itll hav a smooth, rich, balancd avor withcharactristics o th wood and char, bt th raw woody, brnt tast will hav sbsidd.

Atr dtrmining that th whisky is matr, monitor th dvlopmnt o th whis-ky ach wk or svral mor wks to mak sr th whisky has rachd a matr, richavor, bt whr yo sns that any mor oak contact may tak it ovr th top. Its bst tohav svral popl mak ths fnal valations.

At this point, th barrl shold b mptid into glass or stainlss-stl containrs tohalt th aging procss. Th containr, or containrs, shold not hav a lot o air spac,and shold b sald p tight to prvnt vaporation. Th whisky is now agd and radyor dilting, fltring, and bottling. Th xact volm and prcnt alcohol o th whiskyshold b masrd and notd. Yo ar now rady to procd to th dilting, fltring, andbottling stp. Both ths mthods involv dobl distilling, which givs smoothr rslts,and is thror whats rcommndd in this txt.

chapter4 barrel osk

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