How To Age Your Own Whiskey
So clearly, there are a number of ways to age your own whiskey. If youve read up to this point, you probably have an idea of the basic components that typically impact whiskey flavors and especially because you arent likely going to be selling this whiskey, there really isnt any limit to what you can do to it.
That said, there are a couple common paths that you can take, and some choices that will have a bigger impact on the final output.
Testing The Abv Of Your Rye Whiskey
After the aging process, you should test the ABV of your rye whiskey and dilute if necessary. You can use a hydrometer to do this. You can dilute the whiskey with purified water prior to bottling it if the ABV is too high. Rye Whiskey must have a minimum of 40% ABV to be classified as a rye whiskey.
Collecting Your Rye Whiskey Distillate
Collecting your rye whiskey distillate is the best part of this entire process. This is where the magic happens! A mixture of accurate calculations and good instincts, this step takes an experienced distiller to get this process down perfectly. That being said, dont let this deter you if youre new to distilling whiskey. After you run a few batches with your whiskey still, youll be able to dial the process in by taking notes and making the necessary adjustments. As the old adage goes, Practice makes perfect.
Congratulations, youre well on your way to making your own rye whiskey! As youre producing the distillate in this step, be sure to use a glass container. Never use plastic containers for this step because they may lace your product with BPA.
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An Inside Look At What It Takes To Make Bourbon
o be called Champagne, sparkling wine must come from a certain region of France. Tequila, similarly, must be made in Mexico.
Whiskey is distilled all over the world but by federal law, only whiskey made in the United States with adherence to very specific guidelines can be called bourbon.
You can do the exact same process in Canada and it would just be Canadian whiskey, says Philip McDaniel, co-founder of St. Augustine Distillery in St. Augustine, Florida. Bourbon is Americas whiskey.
The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureaus Spirits Beverage Alcohol Manual details the guidelines as designated by Congress in 1964. To be called bourbon, a spirit must be Whisky produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume in charred new oak containers.
Lets break that down, shall we?
What Options Are There
If you dont already have a still, you have acouple of excellent choices for making whiskies with. These are the CopperheadPot Still and the Still Spirits Alembic Pot Still. Both of these have copperheads and can produce excellent whiskey distillations. They also both haveinterchangeable heads, so you can buy a separate reflux head for producingneutral spirits .
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Distilling Your Rye Whiskey
Youve made it this far! At this point, youve completed the heavy lifting of producing your whiskey mash water for your rye whiskey! Now its time to distill and separate all of that alcohol content into a purified form. Just like making mash, distilling is as much an art as it is a science.
The best way to master the art of distilling is to hone your skills with practice. We recommend taking detailed notes throughout this process so you can become better with each run. If youre in need of any distilling equipment or supplies weve got you covered.
The process of distilling the fermented whiskey mash will make for a purer and more concentrated spirit. This step separates out all of the undesirable types alcohols such as acetaldehyde, acetone, and methanol .
How Long To Age Your Whiskey
The amount of time that you decide to age your whiskey is completely up to you. Generally, a rye whiskey will be aged from 1 to 3 years. In this time the barrel or bottle that youre aging your whiskey in should be kept in a cool and dry environment.
At Mile Hi, we have a variety of different oak barrels, oak chips, and oak spirals to allow you to capture the exact aged flavor profile for your spirits.
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Do Whiskey Glasses Make A Difference Superb 2 Facts That You Should Know About This
Do whiskey glasses make a difference? When you open a bottle of whiskey, what glass do you use? It is no surprise that the most popular glasses are the ones with stems. The stem of a whiskey glass allows you to access your drink without breaking it or spill it on your shirt.
While the glassware industry is dominated by stemmed glasses, there are still plenty of those glasses out there in which the stem is hidden under the rim. In this blog, we also have an article about best whiskey glass set that you might want to read about it
Whisky glasses are shaped to enhance the experience of drinking and nosing whisky. The most popular glasses feature a bulbous body shape which allows aromas to collect and be directed through a narrow rim.
Whiskey Tequila Cocktails: See What Youre Missing
Are you one of them who think that whiskey and tequila cocktails never go together? Hey, youre missing a fantastic drink if youre saying yes.
Before we get directly into the recipe, we would like you to know that you can mix the drinks and have a great experience. But you have to be a bit specific about stuff like going for only silver or Blanco tequila thats unaged because it blends better with whiskey.
Also, the two drinks should have an additional mixer flavor so you can make the cocktail more palatable.
Alright then, enough prologue, I guess. Its time to make the best whiskey tequila cocktail youve ever had!
Contents
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Base Ingredients & Materials
How To Make A Whiskey Sour
Simply shake up the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and youre good to go! The measurements in the recipe below: in both ounces and tablespoons to make it easy for family cooking. Just shake all the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker until cold. You can also cheat and just stir them together until the syrup has dissolved. Serve over lots of ice and enjoy! Try our clear ice if you want a stunning look.
Whiskey sours are traditionally served with a slice or orange and a cocktail cherry. You can also add an egg white to get a frothy foam topping: that makes it a Boston Sour! Go to Whiskey Sour with Egg White for more. When you make this drink with bourbon, you can also call it a Bourbon Sour.
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Three Factors Of The Aging Process That Change The Flavor
Although aging whiskey is complex, there are at least three factors that change the flavor. Enter: water. Before whiskey is bottled, water is added to dilute it to about 40 percent alcohol by volume. The mixture of water, alcohol and congeners react with each other over time. These ingredients then react with oxygen in the outside air through oxidation. The final factor is that water absorbs substances from the wood as it moves within it. And even though whiskeys are already diluted below 45 percent ethanol , adding a few drops of water to your glass to dilute it even more can help the overall flavor by encouraging the other chemicals to evaporate, enhance the aromas and produce a whiff of flavor each time you take a drink.
As with everything in life, too much of a good thing can be detrimental. But when it comes to whiskey, water is the main character.
Rackhouse Whiskey Club scours the U.S. looking for the best distilleries with the most interesting stories to curate a unique subscription box filled with full-sized bottles of hard-to-find small batch whiskey. Were building a community of premium craft whiskey drinkers. And youre invited! Join us!
S To Starting Your Own Whiskey Brand
Many entrepreneurs have dreamed of owning their own liquor brand. Maybe you love vodka, you want to come up with the next tequila, or your passion is the brown stuff, whiskey!
If you have ever wanted to know what it takes and how to get started, here are some good tips on where to start! Should you need more assistance after reading the basics feel free to reach out to Johnson Street Partners, where we are helping build brands for the next generation!
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How Whiskey Is Made: Three Ingredients Are Needed
Just three ingredients are needed to make whiskey: water, barley and yeast. The kind of grain used varies with the different types of whiskey being made, but all whiskeys need a small amount of malted barley to begin the fermentation process. The water you use for whiskey is often considered the most important factor in making a good whiskey. Clean, clear and free of bad-tasting impurities like iron are the driving factors in selecting water for whiskey. Kentucky, as well as Maryland, Pennsylvania and Indiana, is an area rich with limestone so water there contains carbonates, which can alter the flavor. Scottish water, known for making fine whiskey, is famous for mysterious reasons. Because of the importance of water in how whiskey is made, a large number of distilleries are located next to a river or lake.
How To Make A Hot Toddy
Youll need:
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- Boiling water
Pour whiskey into a mug and stir in honey and lemon juice. Top with boiling water and give it a good stir to dissolve the honey. As you wait for the drink to cool enough to sip, enjoy the steam, which can ease congestion. Once its cooled down a bit, drink up: My grandma always said half the benefit of the toddy was in the heat. You should feel warm and just a touch drowsy after drinking a toddy. Off to bed!
Note that only a touch of whiskey is called for in the recipe. You should avoid drinking too much alcohol when youre sick, especially if youre taking any cold or flu medicine. Plus, high amounts of alcohol will disrupt the sleep you need to feel better. If youd rather, you can skip the whiskey altogether.
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Step : Create And Prep The Staves
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Seasoned Coopers know that its crucial to handle the staves with care!
The wood is then divided into long, slender barrel-body pieces. These are called staves. If youve ever installed your own wood flooring, you know that wood can change shape if you arent careful. Its best to let it dry. The same goes for these staves. Warping and/or contracting isnt what you want.
Its common for thewhiskey barrel staves to go into a kiln. Then they dry for around two bestchoicekitchen.comture is the enemy and cant be allowed to move through the joints of thebarrel during the whiskey process. All these staves have to fit perfectlytogether-for the sake of the whiskey!
Check out this short video from 1992: Making Whiskey Barrels by Hand!
How To Make A Whisky Barrel
Wondering how to make a whiskey barrel? We think its a process youll love reading about. Today, well dive into the steps companies take to construct their bourbon barrels and the like. The barrel is a huge factor. We dont want it going unnoticed. So, here we go!
Contents
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How To Age Whiskey
There are two ways to age whiskey at home. The most traditional method of DIY whiskey aging is to purchase or build a charred white oak barrel. To prep a barrel to be used for aging, make sure to first fill it with warm water and leave it sit until the wood swells enough to prevent leaking between the staves. The hydration process could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. It’s very important that you do this to prevent your spirits from leaking out of the barrel when you initially fill it. Once hydrated, drain the water then fill it with clear, un-aged store-bought whiskey and leave it sit for a couple of weeks. Remember, it’s illegal to distill your own alcohol for consumption without a distilled spirits permit. But no need to fret, there are plenty of un-aged whiskey options to be found at any liquor store.
The easiest way to accomplish aging is to add charred American white oak sticks or shavings to a jar or bottle of spirits . The charred wood will naturally absorb and release spirits contained within the vessel, allowing the wood to impart its flavors to the spirit. However, this method will not allow the volatile compounds to escape by forcing their way through the container walls . Accordingly, one must regularly open and close the vessel in order to allow trapped alcohol vapor to escape and be replaced by air.
How Strong Is The Highball
The highball can be a very light drink, and that’s why it is ideal for happy hour. It all depends on how much soda and whiskey you pour.
For example, if you pour an 80-proof whiskey and follow the recipe as given, your drink would have an alcohol content of about 9 percent ABV . Then again, if you double up on the whiskey, opt for a high-proof whiskey, or pour less ginger ale, the drink can almost double to 18 percent ABV.
Recipe Tags:
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When Should I Carbon
Never, ever. Carbon filtration removes flavours andaromas from the spirit, which you need to do if youve produced a sugar washwith a fuel yeast , but this is not justunnecessary but even detrimental in a whiskey wash. If you have tocarbon-filter a whiskey to make it taste better, youve done something horriblywrong and might as well throw it out. There is a very slight exception to thisrule , which is outlined in the next section under OakTreatment.
Why Is It Called A Highball
Cocktail origin stories are sometimes difficult to sort out, and the highball falls into that category. The drink emerged in the late 1890s, and several sources indicate that bartenders in England called whiskey drinks “balls,” and tall or “high” glasses were used for such drinks. Another theory says the name comes from a 19th-century railroad signal. When the ball was high or raised on the signal post, the train could pass through without stopping. In “The Joy of Mixology,” Gary Regan writes that the drink mimics the train signal that it was time to go: two short whistles followed by one long one, as the drink consists of 2 ounces of whiskey and a long pour of ginger ale or soda.
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Ageing Bourbon At Home
You should now have a nice moonshine that you can drink or age.
To make real bourbon, it must be aged to extract flavor in new oak barrels. The aging process of bourbon is not all long as the processes, where the ideal time to age bourbon is at least three months. If youd like to experience superior quality homemade bourbon, you should age the bourbon distillate for years, which will give the oak flavors enough time to fully blend in and saturate with the distillate.
For instance, Bookers Bourbon is aged 6 to 8 years and it is an absolutely astonishing bourbon. Either way, you wish to experiment, youll be happy that you decided to make your own homemade bourbon. Be sure to check out my recommended bourbon drinking glasses to get the full experience of your bourbon.
All in all, making bourbon at home isnt an easy process, but one that is time consuming and could be potentially dangerous if you have no clue what youre doing. But on a brighter note, sipping on your own concoction will definitely make your efforts worthwhile, especially if you followed the directions in the Joy of Home Distilling book.
If you have any questions, comments, advice, or if you have tried your hand at home distilling, leave us a comment below.