Small oak barrels provide a unique and simple way to age and mature whiskey to your liking. What’s great is that you can take a $25 bottle of whiskey with edgy qualities you normally mask with CokeTM or ginger ale, pour it in a medium charred, American White Oak Barrel and let it sit for a couple weeks. Over those few weeks, the whiskey will absorb flavors and characteristics from the oak that smooths out the once harsh bite and turns it into a nice, full bodied spirit you’ll only want to serve neat.
If you’re looking to take it a step further and make your own whiskey, you can in fact do so in your small oak barrel using vodka or moonshine with some swish barrel essence. Distilleries will take ethanol, a clear and tasteless alcohol, then flavor and filter the alcohol to get their unique flavor. Vodka is the only alcohol you can buy in an unflavored form, and when mixed with a bottle of Swish Barrel Premium Essence, you can recreate the taste of many of the craft and historical brands.
To get started, make your own whiskey with The Barrel Connoisseur™ Whiskey Making Kit. Explore the varieties of whiskey by making and aging three different styles: Smoked, Small Batch, and American Rye Whiskey in your choice of a 1-5 liter American White Oak barrel. The kit comes complete with essences for three different batches, a wrought iron stand, spigot, and bung for your barrel.
There's no formula for the perfect time to age your whiskey, but we recommend to wait 2 or more weeks. It’s all about your taste, so sample your whiskey each week and once it reaches the maturity and flavor you really like, pour yourself a glass or move it to a glass bottle to stop the aging process.