Empty Barrel

3-28-09, I have emptied the barrel. I decanted about half a liter. It is a darker, richer, smoother bourbon than what went in. I have now refilled the barrel with Old Charter 8 year old again. I plan on leaving it in for at least two months. This has been a great experiment and it will continue as long a the barrel continues to mature the spirits within.

Decanted

o3-08-09, I have now pulled two pints out of the barrel. There is a remarkable difference in all aspects, look, smell, and taste. The 8 year old has mellowed and become smoother. I took a bottle up to the backroom of the Crawfish Hole and we drank it with Diet Coke. It was very good. Another night my brother-in-law brought a pint from his barrel. A couple of our friends were there and sampled it. Everyone really loved the taste and could not believe that we had taken such a green, rough wiskey and turned it into something very drinkable. We are talking about getting a larger barrel to try. I am going to refill my small one liter barrel and start a new batch.

Week Two

02-15-09, It is now two weeks and I think the bourbon has picked up a little more color than week one. Again, the control is on the left and the barrel sample is on the right.
The taste is still mellow compared to the control. The aroma is nice and not harsh like the control. I can not wait to see what we will have after three more weeks. At that time I am going to mix a little cocktail of the matured spirit and some Diet Coke. Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

The First Tasting

02-08-09, Well I was going to do this on the 6th, but once again Mardis Gras came first. We take our Mardis Gras serious here in Louisiana. I need to put up a Mardis Gras page. This weekend was our local parade and my niece is the princess of the local krewe. Anyway, back to business. I drew a little sample out of the barrel to compare to the control.

The control is on the left and the sample from the barrel is on the right. The product from the barrel has picked up some color from the char. The smell is even more mellow with just a touch of the oak. The taste was a little smoother with a touch of the oak as well. It is not there yet, but there is a distinct difference in just a little over a weeks time. I poured the sample back in the barrel and we will take another look next weekend.

The Maturing Begins

01-29-09, The barrel is sealed, the water is out, and the bourbon is in. First tasting will take place Friday, 02-06-09. Here is a picture of the water that came out of the barrel. The barrel water is on the left and fresh water on the right. I am sure you could have figured that one out on your own. The barrel water had the aroma of smokey oak. A smooth delightful smell.

Now for the bourbon. On the left is the Old Charter 8 Year Old and on the right is the Old Charter 12 Year Old.

I have never been a fan of the Old Charter 8 year old. It has a; for lack of a better word; horrible taste. As stated elsewhere in this blog, I love the taste of the 12 year old and the 10 year old. The 10 and 12 are mellow and sweet. The 8 is rough and has a strong alcohol taste. This is odd being that the 8 year old is 80 proof and the 12 year old is 90 proof. Since the 12 year old is no longer made, I am hoping to come close to matching it by maturing the 8 year old in the barrel.

I drink my Old Charter mixed with Diet Coke. It is not a sipping bourbon and I have only had one bourbon that I could sip. That was an Evan Williams Single Barrel. I am looking at others since I found the Straight Bourbon.com site.

The Barrels Have Arrived

01-25-09, The barrels arrived two days ago. I had to put them on hold for Mardis Gras. Our local krewe had their ball Friday night. Well here they are. They are smaller than I expected. I don't know why I expected them to be larger, I just did. They are good looking and very solid. I am a little concerned about the spigots. We will see what happens.

I filled both with hot water. I was surprised that there were very few leaks. After a few hours there were no dripping leaks, just small signs of water around the top and bottom. I will let them sit for at least three days if not longer.

I will put the bourbon straight into the smaller barrel. I am still trying to decide what I want to cure the larger barrel with before I put the port in it. Three more days of reading and thinking. Come back in four of five days to see the draining and beginning of maturing spirits and blending port.

.............Still Waiting

01-20-09, Still waiting............................ My wife said I needed to post this to let everyone know that I have not abandoned the blog. I do not know what is taking so long. When my sister ordered the barrels for Christmas they told her they would ship in three days. Well, last week she called to check on them and they told her they would be here in three days. With the holiday this week I am hoping they will be here by the end of the week. I am ready to get this on the road.