whisky review 386 (2/2) - Amazing Whisky improvement technique
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- second part of a Vlog covering additional and alternative wood influence in whisky.
To comply with Google Adsense policy this video is an independent non-profit review and is not selling or linking to a site that sells the product being reviewed.
This worked brilliantly!
I simply used a branch off an English Oak, dried it for a while, baked it for 2 hours at 160 (then about 15 minutes at 200), soaked in rum for another few hours, lightly charred it, and then added it to a cheap speyside single malt. I would say that if you are using a relatively thin piece of wood and you take the care to make sure it is thoroughly dried and then aged (or to that effect in the oven), then there is less chance of fresh woody flavours affecting the whisky. Therefore you can leave it for longer to mature. I ended up leaving mine in the bottle for two days, and lightly re-charring half way through.
The results
Fruitier and sweeter on the nose
Much less harsh on the palate, again sweeter, fruitier and creamy and dries oak notes
Much more palatable finish with the sweet fruit flavours
This is only after a couple of days of marrying. I should really leave it for a couple of weeks and go back to it but we will see if i can.
Good work Ralfy, this process certainly teaches much about how wood, and the spirits which have previously interacted with them, flavours whisky.
Next up another oak stick, this time doused in bourbon, in a peated blend i think... any suggestions?
+muddy funster . . . .go for it, it's well worth the experience gained.
This series is among the best in the Ralfy library. The possible woods and combinations are endless. Great fun experiment for whisky alchemists!
Here's a ratio for wood:spirit.
Cask holds 190Liter~50USG.
Cask weighs 50kg ~110 lbs
so maltmates do the math & you will come up with appx 1lb of toasted/charred oak per/Liter of new-make spirit
Laterally if you want the time:wood ratio, someone kewl in the comments has done that for us.
They say:750liters:12yrs as 750ml is to 46days.
conclusion: 1lb prepared oak in 750ml for 46days will give your'r new make a nice 12YO maturity!
Try it I did and it so mos-def WORKS!
cheerio peeps,
cheers Ralfy
themaltbar I’m new thanks 👍
Oustanding!
One of the most amazing trys I`ve ever seen
Ralfy Evidently the youthfulness disappears between day 4 and day 5 having had the full affect of the Oak in its entirety soaking straight thru the wood.
more than educational down right incredible!!
cheers.
Ralfy there is sooo much valuable information in these last two vlogs' comments, literally a treasure trove. A cornucopia of maturation manipulation. From toasting temperatures/levels to the maltmates explaining different wood compositions right up to Malt454s insight to Adams maturation ratio. these are the folks who deserve praise at least an extra dram of appreciation. Let me be the first to thank all you guys!!
cheers! And to you mate, thank you for bringing it all to light.
Peace
I found your vlogs a year ago and they have been a real joy to watch. I NEVER buy a whiskey now without getting your opinion on it. Thank you for adding a smile and a chuckle to my week. U r priceless!!!'
Thank you Ralfy, for being a bit "different"! We all enjoy your experiments, candid reviews and honesty when it comes to what works for you and what does not. Very informative, and these kinds of vlogs inspire us to branch out and try things we would never have thought of doing! Cheers!!
Great experiment Professor Ralfy! Cheers!
Ralfy after reading the comments for repeatability, Iv treated the J&B std.w/5days of toasted oak @380°F @ 3hrs and the $20 J&B has surpassed 35-$40 blends. Been doin this for 11 mo now & got a good handle on the SOP. 5dsys with 2 - 6"toasted oak stix. Days not hours mate for J&B
I have thought about doing something like this before, but after your last review I went ahead and did it with dried birch that I had lying in my garage. The birch gives amazing sweetness to the whisky. I chose a blended whisky which was almost undrincable and it has gotten significantly better.
And as an added option to add a beautiful smoke flavour to a cheaper Speyside or Highland single malt, don't bake your wood stick in the oven. Cure it in a smoker using clear birch chips for your fuel. Clear birch smoke gives off a sweet, marshmallow flavour that is great for this method of improving your whisky.
thanks again, I look forward to each of your videos (as my family now knows A NEW RALFY!) Also thanks to your suggestion I have joined a whisky club (single malt whisky club Australia) this month is a Sullivans Cover Double Cask which I am really looking forward to! thanks again mate now to find a piece of tastie wood!
I can't comment on overall quality going up or down. However, with access to so many more whisky choices and with tools to help me find the ones that I enjoy, I have found that my whisky enjoyment has been going up, in the last few years.
Good points, and I certainly acknowledge the possibility, also. I guess, for me, I'm more excited about today's new offering, than I am upset about older offerings falling in quality. In time, that may change, but right now, that's how I feel.
Hi Ralfy, ...maltmates!
Well here it is: J&B Standard --day 3 in the wood.
*slight change in character.
*Noticeable difference in color and arrival.
*youthfulness still quite evident.
*less sweet w/a stronger vanilla oak out front
*hints of (mushroom) muskiness in development.
*finish still swift w/notes of ash & woodland leaves.
Conclusion:
official bottling= 78/100
3days in the wood= 80/100
notes:
While this affectation is positive it begs for more time.
standby for Day4.
Thanks Ralfy
@Adam Bybee.
Thanks mate that's some terrific calculations you did for us. This will be extremely valuable interpolating from your end points in regards to the maturation/age vs.quantity values. I've been looking everywhere for this info. greatstuff.
cheers Ralfy.
Peace
What a wealth of info-this vid lite a bulb in my brain. Have some Prunus Serotina on my property. Just a great tree. Straight, fast growing and a valuable lumber tree when it matures. Saw your alert about it's toxicity and heavily charred the pieces of a branch I cut. Thanks.
@Malt454, this is where we choose to view things differently. I'm looking at my enjoyment factor. Bottles I'm buying now are more enjoyable, to me, than bottles I had access to 10 years ago. Many of these were not available 10 years ago, and I consider their availability to be a big plus for the industry. That's why I think "average whisky" is not a meaningful thing to look at.
But if I have to chose one, I'd say Laphroaig 10yo. 10 years ago, I did not care for it, but now I enjoy it.
(cont...) But the good thing is, we have more choices and we have more information than ever before. I completely agree with you, that "bought" reviews hurt everyone. But, there are also plenty of reliable reviews. 20 years ago, the only reviews were the professionals. Today we have access to thousands of reviewers. Personally, I prefer the state of the industry, today, where I can sample from options and I can more easily find what I like.
Hi Ralfy bought a a bottle of J&B Standard blend. I believe as a few maltmate had suggested that hours in wood just doesn't do it..sure the color changed but no significant difference. Hours just provide a benign flavor of the woods exterior. What we're looking for is to extract "all of the toasted woods complexity." &that is only possible with time. We'v had a piece of 6"x1.5" toasted oak in spirit going on 3days per homedistiller pros. I can attest more time=more flavor.
cheers.
Agreed. Perhaps some slightly left-of-centre woods would be interesting should they be non-toxic. Pearwood. Camphorwood. Perhaps even Rosewoods if the oiliness is not too problematic. I was shaping a new Rosewood fingerboard today and the toasting smell was divine. No idea how that would translate through to a malt though.
Thanks Ralfy, I just finished using your technique with an inexpensive wheated whiskey and white birch (cooking sherry). I soaked it for 1 hour in a glass pitcher and it is most definitely an improvement. Can't wait to try it in a couple of weeks. Keep up the good work!
It's a good point - people can enjoy whisky more (and not just through more consumption) regardless of market direction. I don't say that quality is declining as any kind of given, or pronouncement (although I do believe it), but shifting Serge's bar graph to the left to simulate a preponderance of younger whisky in the future, I think we will see things get worse before they get better.
Thanks, and one other thought: while it’s true that the bottom end of an age range is exactly the same as a minimum age statement, which is why you won’t see it on NAS labels, it’s just as unlikely that we’ll ever see what we really need: Average Age of/by Content. Current SWA rules would probably not allow it as a prominent age display but that’s secondary to the fact it’s a number which would have to change, and be reduced, over time - a marketing non-starter. Cheers!
I think it may be worth my while to experiment with some NZ native woods and in particular manuka. It is a popular wood for use in smokers in NZ (I use it to smoke trout along with manuka honey). It might provide a very suitable accompaniment to the trout. Many thanks for some great ideas Ralfy.
I don't know who spammed your comment, but your point on QC and its score is well made. The only point I would make is that, as a young Islay at 48% ABV, QC is as much about power as finish and, for all the oaking, it still isn't a "subtle" whisky. By the same token, however, I have to admit the Triple Wood (which, ironically, Ralfy gave only an 83), impressed me quite a bit - it's wood management to the max, now if it only had some time on it.
Very clever Ralfy...I've got a couple bottles of young (10yr) scotch I'm going to try this technique with. Thanks!
Great 2 piece vlog Ralfy! Thanks! I enjoyed it very much and will be trying this :)
Absolutely correct M....I would even further venture to say that (as it is a $39 malt w/trifecta) there is a simple beauty to saying your a 5yo and to the surprise of the consumer it acts like a quite older malt. These unique aged flavors would be a psychological coup for both the distiller and a satisfied consumer. If Jim M. can publicly reveal the vatting thru a youtube vlog explaining this process then there should be no problem w/tactful and useful informative statements...
by the way. Thank you Ralfy for a truly remarkable series of reviews. Inspirational.
Very interesting and educational as always, Ralfy. Looking forward to your bourbon reviews here in the U.S and hope you plan to include Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch.
The surface area to volume ratio (which determines how much whiskey touches the wood at any given moment). As the volume increases, this ratio goes down dramatically. So comparing a 700 liter cask with a 700 cl bottle would reduce the equivalent maturation time of 12 year to about 43 days. (700 l/ 700cl = 100, 12 years /100 = 43 days). Thus the effect is mainly due to using a lower volume container, not due to the fact that the wood is in rod shape.
Hi Ralfy.
Currently in thier face, the Bruchladdich folks.They're giving me the ol flannel re. NAS on the BRocks expression. Like I say Im like a dog & a bone and am not letting go til I have sensible reasoning behind their lack of respect for the consumer. We are in charge here Ralfy. We have the power!! & P.S. is using it!
Peace
Excellent malt tips, dude.!! Thanks a bunch.!!
Ralfy, so you like Aberlour! I would be hard pressed to find three empty bottles of the same whisky. I am on the journey. Whittled two *oak fingers*, cooked them and have them soaking in rum. Looking forward to the tasting sessions.👨🏼🍳
It's all a matter of perspective. I think you'll still have older whiskies to buy, if that's what you want. It's just that the industry is offering more more options of ways to have younger whiskies. In the spirit of "there's a perfect whisky, for everyone," the increase in choices and reviews means that we can each find our perfect whisky and get more personal enjoyment, even though we may choose to drink younger whisky. You found Octomore, I've found Machir Bay, and we're both happy.
it was all kept tight. The wood was very tight in the cork the cork tight in the bottle and then the lot was - for a time sealed up with wax so the only evaporation was through the 5mm diameter stick which poked up above the cork about 3mm. ( and obviously not covered in wax) its all great fun isn't it.
@Malt454, you're trying to apply a 100 point scale to a 5 star system. What I proposed was:
5 Star - Go buy this right now, buy as much as you can afford
4 Star - Great whisky, would buy another bottle
3 Star - Good whisky. If to your taste, buy another, if not, don't
2 Star - I'll finish the bottle, but I won't buy another
1 Star - Pouring it out now
Half stars are fine, to differientiate.
I hate the 100 point system, since there is seldom anything below a 70...
Ralfy Hey....great stuff.
Ive bin doin this wit new- make 4 bout 10 mo. now strickly experimentin w/oak. lite-toast med-toast,lite-char bourbon-soak Cabernet Souv, PX-soakt ...on and on but was always leary bout dif. woods
Thanks so much for all these exprmnts n useful info on these woods. It opens up many new avenues here @ th laboratory...w/these new posibililtys it can prolly take me into th nxt decade w/ th combination s u'v proposed.
Thnx much Ralfy
cheers
big observation:
side by side this J&B/5day incantation has my Buchanans12yo blend Beat!!
unreal Ralfy.
thanks for this forum mate.one can't put a price on it!
cheers
@Malt454, thank you for that excellent article. Nothing shows the information better than numbers, and I really like the Malt Maniacs blind testing process.
I did a test with sweet chestnut, seasoned with coffee. I did not had cheap whisky on hand, so I used rum. It has a smooth sweet vanilla like taste, similar to roasted chestnuts. However it took quite some time to maturate, more then 10 hours. Maybe because rum required a lot more maturation, chestnut has a lot milder taste, or maybe the sticks where charred to much, slowing down the transfer of flavors. I only baked them, but the thermometer isn't working properly, so might have baked at 200°C.
@Radiolab
percisely...just to get a feel for inexpensive blends before delving into hi end blends.
Start with a J&B...and go from there...BTW I used your temp/flavor guide... thanks for that RL. cheers
Remember, the vast majority was whisky the bought, with the distillery, running them through different finishes. It's only in the last 3 or so years, that they've been selling their own spirit, and those have all been, in my opinion, pretty good.
Fair enough, and I think more people do point to slippage in Talisker 10 than Uigeadail, but while "slipping" to 89 makes it far from a bad whisky (although maybe not a good value, depending on what price you pay), slippage has to be a concern with all bottles, but particularly with NAS where you have no guaranteed content information at the outset.
@maltbar!
Tried your math for myself!
Bravo maltbar! Doin a new-make based on your numbers and I can tell ya 5days into it you are surprisingly correct.
Props to those who do the heavy lifting for us all!
& Thnx you Ralfy for providing us the forum.
Peace all
I get what you're saying, and I don't take anyone's review as gospel because I have disagreed with some assessments, and reviewers disagree with each other, but I do take serious note of any consensus between reviewers I respect. Even more important, in the long run, is the ability to "handicap" reviewers' scores - if Serge says 82, that's probably around a score of "x" for me. People with a lot of experience are harder to impress, so usually score any given whisky lower than others would.
Good to hear from you again and good counterpoints. The Chinese curse always does come to mind in talking about this. I'd agree that at least some of the current emphasis on younger whisky is driven by dwindling supply of older stock, but to what degree is the question, given the current margins on products which can be turned over very quickly. By the same token, I'd agree that results with young whisky have been mixed, but the great majority, using NAS, haven't been forthright. (cont)
And on the US whiskey front:
Balcones Brimstone - Crazy new technology (smoked post distillation) has created a wonderful whiskey experience in a young whiskey
Evan Williams now has age statement whiskies that are excellent (and much more sippable than their black label)
Elijah Craig 12 year old. 10 years ago, I had never heard of it, now I think it's an excellent bargain for around $30.
Pappy Van Winkle 15. I know it's not new, but I finally got a bottle and G-d damn that's good stuff!
I can't wait to try some experiments following your lead. Thank you for the inspiration!
This works well with the low cost McClelland whisky to give yourself a decent bottle for a low cost. A stick of charred clear birch (no bark) in their Islay whisky produces a very nice drink. Great video.
Ralfy hey!!
got oak @ 390°F goin on hour #3...wow what a delishis fragranz wafting thru this rancher...sweet vanilla oak honey toast!! This is wat its all about Ralfy.
gotta get that third hour in mate...well worth the wait!
cheers
I support Ralfy's experiment in providing a hands-on way to see the effects of wood contact, and even more so to demonstrate the limits thereof. While many a 70-class whisky can be "tweaked" into the 80's range using this (it's done all the time, particularly with NAS labels - many associate youthful "undertaste" with "underoaked" and this is a common solution), I think the value of "crash maturation" in making 90-class whisky is very limited, and invite dissenting views and examples.
Another point is that, in only recent days gone by, 12-year age statements routinely contained older whisky as well, yet there was no producer fretting over the age statement "misrepresenting" the bottle, and 12+ spirit is a much bigger deal in terms of BOTH cost and quality than 7 y.o. EVER was. For all the "magic" at Bruichladdich (and elsewhere), you never have to look too far to see the marketing angles, and the bottom line.
Interesting experiment. Ralfy, have you ever considered writing a book about your whisky adventures? It would be a hit!
again, good points. I focus less on the 90 magic number and I agreed with Ralfy, when he talked about going from an "out of 100" scale to a star program. Points of of 100 was brilliant marketing for whichever reviewer came up with it (Robert Parker?). But the differences are artificial. 90 pt vs. 89 pt, when tasted side by side, would be nearly indistinguishable to most of us. But 90 is "90 class" and 89 is "80 class". In my mind, they are both very, very good whiskies and worth a try.
did something similar with french oak in ledaig becuase I thought it tasted immature. Left it longer than a couple of hours more like a month and half - but the stick was smaller. Good result but maybe a bit over oaky. The colour change was remarkable. I'm thinking elder or blackthorn next. but am about to try toasted american oak soaked in madeira & completely off the wall Toasted American oak lightly infused with rose petal and mint and a drop of Laphroig 1/4 cask sprinkled on the hot wood.
I enjoyed this video thuroughly, very much educational. Thanks, and cheers!
I'll tell you one thing Ralfy America and England in many ways are 2 different animals when it comes to constructive confrontation and repair. While US Marketing tends to give the consumer the benefit of a doubt. In the SWA they give the distillers that benefit.
Personally I believe that the noise will get so loud that the Industry will have to make more thought-out strategic moves on their multinational chessboards to ensure continued brand loyalty.
Ralfy has said, in comments on the Triple Smoke review that “the golden age of value/age/quality is disappearing and it's not just maturation age, it's cask calibre, distilleries altering spirit styles with computer controls, higher yielding less-flavour barley.”, and I would agree, but still say the new emphasis on (mostly hidden NAS-labeled) youth is the most significant overt choice affecting quality recently made by producers.
I love all of your videos. Especially this one!
You have answered a lot of questions I have had recently
Amazingly informative! How do you know so much? For example, how did you know that it is ok to leave the bark on the Birch branch, and the specific details about bark? Where does such knowledge come from? You are indeed quite a resource! Thank you for doing these videos
@Malt454, very valid points. If the score system works for you, great. If your tastes are well aligned with the reviewer(s) you follow, even better. I've had enough situations, with my own taste preferences, where I've loved things that have been in the low 80s and have been disappointed in things that were up in the high 80s, so I don't read too much into the number
On a personal note, I considered it a major malt milestone, when I finally tasted "heather honey" in HP12 (with a little water)
I'll give two examples, but will provide more on request: my initial experiences with Ardbeg 10 and Laph. QC were unrateable - I didn't know/understand the profiles and, fresh on opening, these whiskies are flinty and overpowering. Later, with more experience and bottle settling, I enjoy them much more (91 and 88 respectively), but find they are, at best, only holding their ground on quality from bottle to bottle while more frequent fans feel they are slipping. (cont)
Right now, I think NAS has encouraged distilleries to release interesting whiskies incorporating very young spirit (either a little or, more likely, a lot). We are, in fact, seeing some very good whisky at a very young age. I don't compare NAS to 20 or 30yos and call it a failure, I compare NAS to 8yos (or younger) and consider them successes.
BUT, I completely agree with you that the stage is set for bait-and-switch. And if/when that happens, it will be to our loss.
And as things stand now, I won't buy Talisker 10, until I start to hear, from sources I trust, that the quality has improved.
Now Ardbeg expressions and prices is another story. I've seen Ardbeg 10 at every price between $40 and $65, all within a short drive of where I live. At $40 to $50, I'm happy to buy it. At $65, it's competing with a lot of other options and has slipped (in my mind) from great value to good.
I'd be interested in knowing it to and I hope it's very high, so they'll be incentivized to continue making it and to make more interesting whiskies like it, since it suits my tastes.
As to Bruichladdich, I've only tasted the Laddie 10, PC7, AnTurasMor, and Peat Project. I've really enjoyed all of them and would put them all in the high 80s/low 90s, other than Peat Project (85), which was good, but not great.
Ralfy scored AnTorasMor an 88 and Laddie 10 a 90
Hi Ralfy,
Would you please give a score to the donor Co-op malt, & to your improved oak, birch & cherry malts. Very interesting vlog.
And I don't deny that they have slipped. Talisker 10 was one of my favorites, 10 years ago. I opened a bottle, this past year, and was less impressed with it. In my mind, it has gone down. Uigeadail, on the other hand, I've only tried in the last year, and I think it's great (and an 89 rating is great, in my book). I can only imagine what it was like a few years ago, when it was rated higher.
also I drilled the cork and had the stick poking through so that it could breath happily in a damp place. I lost a surprising amount to the angels pretty quickly.
Ralfy, thank you for the wonderful review, or should I say lesson. I will definitely try the technique myself. Can you please make a followup video, explaining how long the wood sticks need to be left in the bottle?
I don't say that only 90-class whiskies are worth trying, I only use it as shorthand for achievement, but differences, though they may be small, and even subjective, are not artificial. I think that the 5-star rating system is an even more brilliant marketing tool as the smallest differences it deals with (with half-stars) is 10% - a whisky can fall by as much as 10% before the ranking has to be changed. Four stars out of five sounds impressive, but it's really only base quality (80%) for most.
I just tried a glass of Bastille 1789, a French whisky. They age it in oak AND acacia wood AND beech AND cherrywood. Non-oak wood makes a massive difference.
I believe I read it in one of the comments, before the "re-reviews" came out, but I could be wrong. BTW, I don't think there is anything wrong in saying that your scoring has evolved over 4 years and 100s of reviews.
sounds great! i will definitly try this. I still have half a bottle of bruichladdich x4 spirit here. maybe it´s worth a try
I think this is an interesting time for whisky (and never forget the Chinese curse about interesting times...). Demand is up, no doubt about that. Stocks of quality, older whisky are fixed, since they had to be distilled 20+ years ago. So prices for quality, older whisky should and have gone up, and availability has gone down. The industries responses, trying to find new ways to get younger whisky out there have been mixed. Some have worked, others have not. (to be cont...)
...of course"always happy to help"
cheers
Thanks ralfy as good as ever.
I myself would tend to stay away from conifer wood types. The tannic acid can be near toxic even in small amounts. Especially Hemlocks, White and Red pine. Im un sure of the Fir strains, just a word of caution.
I had a friend who used to tell a story about when he was a kid and his parents were having people over, before the first guest arrived, his mom would give him a big smack. "That's for what ever it is you're going to do, when my guests are here!"
I'm less concerned about NAS leading to badness, exactly because we live in an age with easy access to information and reviews. Let's face it, the scotch industry isn't making fortunes selling obscure malts like Uigeadail to the masses. (cont...)
Thanks! I think i might conduct such a tasting experiment somewhen in the near-distant future. Cherry and oak, un-seasoned. Leave them for 1h, 2h and 3h+ and save a sample from each period and compare to the 0h one. That should add up to 7 different tastes. A good amount of experience for a beginner suxh as my self :)
(cont) They sell obscure malts like that to guys like us who research and watch reviews and read whisky magazines. And, if they start to slip the quality, then reviewers, like Ralfy, will tell us and we'll make our own choices about continuing to buy or not.
(con't). What's more, some of my personal favorite whiskies have been low to mid 80 scorers. They happen to connect to my palate, taste, mood, etc. And I only tried them, because the reviews spoke to flavor profiles and mouthfeel experiences that I know I like. Since I started using on-line resources to help me in my search, I have had no "bad" whisky experiences and very few "poor" experiences. And sometimes, it's a highly reviewed whisky (in my case Caol Ila 12, a Ralfy 89)
(con't)
Bruichladdich - New owners have produced amazing whiskies from a closed distillery
Port Charlotte - Same as above. An Turas Mor (NAS) is one of my all time favorites.
Compass Box - Bringing life back to blends. Spice Tree, Oak Cross, Peat Monster are all excellent, all NAS!
Aberlour A'bunadh (NAS) - Aberlour never excited me before A'bunadh and I like it better than their age statement whiskies.
Laphroaig - It could be my tastes evolving, but 10 years ago, I didn't like, now i do.
I think people familiar with BBQ will be somewhat familiar with wood. I tried a walnut smoked chicken and it was awesome. The smoke is a little different though even some toxic wood is ok to smoke such as walnut.
Glad to see you're so open-minded about this, Ralfy! I read somewhere that on average about 80% of the flavour of whisky is generated after it's distilled, what would your opinion on that particular amount be? Also, I'm puzzled about the short time period...if just 1.5 hours can make such a difference, why do we have to wait for 12 years?
I agree that there is more diversity and availability now, and so maybe better "quality of whisky life" for people getting into the spirit, but that's a very different thing than saying quality is rising, which is where it IS important to look at review trending, both within and across expression timelines. On Laph 10, for example, do you think you like it more because it's actually improved, or your tastes have changed?
While I would not argue that crash maturation will instantly turn OK whiskies into all gems, I do offer as a counter point, Laphroaig Quater Cask, NAS, Ralfy rating = 90
I tried this little trick with some Bourbons with amazing results!
The reason that distillers don't do this anyhow is that it is illegal with the current maturation laws I believe, although some have tried it in the past.
Yet with everything apparently only Bruichladdich "knew" about casking (and marketing), the pre-sale reboot era wasn't filled with stars, and I refer you to the Malt Maniacs' Malt Monitor to prove the point - competent whisky, yes, but the vast majority of it was only 80-class, yet you'd never know it by all the "buzz" the distillery generated.
Have you also tried to use multiple types of wood in the same bottle, to achieve more different flavors. Or do the flavors of woods often not mix that well?
Sheer genius Ralfy, thanks so much for this! I'm thinking of running a tasting panel trying 4 oak species (robur, alba, petraeus and mongolica) plus maple, birch, cherry and poss chestnut. I'd also try dousing each of those with bourbon or sherry, giving 16 variations plus the control sample. But my question is - would it be worthwhile to add another variation, 'degree of char? Might be difficult. Do you have any suggestions on this such as different oven temps/times, or how to judge the blowtorch bit!? . I also need to choose a suitably ''blank slate' starting liquid - whatever gets discounted over the next few weeks I expect. My ideals of Highland Park new make or Balvenie Single Barrel would get a bit pricey...
Excellent video and excellent channel, Ralfy! Thanks for sharing. I have a few questions though:
1. If I toasted different woods at the same time would it throw off their flavors? How detrimental would this be, do you reckon?
2. How many times can a stave be used? How do you tell when it is through?
Thanks in advance. Cheers!
Actually, I'd be very interested to know the profit margin on Uigeadail vs. say the 10 or Bowmore 12 and, if it's in anyway obscure, it's not for the lack of Ardbeg promoting it in all directions, as with Galileo and everything else they make. As for the fortunes to be made, Bruichladdich was only rebooted for 12 years before it was sold to Remy for £58m - probably a pretty good return on investment for an era that saw a lot hype about casking, but mostly only 80-class whisky.
Hello Ralfy I must tell ya & relay this to the maltmates. J&B day 5 in the Oak.
This is not remotely the same whisky! youthfulness?gone. Thick floral notes,woodland fruits,spicy w/syrupy grains
& a wonderful bite now on the arrival akin to HP12 toffee & heather development.I could go on & on but from my orig 78/100 (& this is scary Ralfy)this has become a diff. spirit @84/100 thats HUGE!! maltmates, from a $20 blend in 5 days flat!!
conclusion: must get more J&B. this is too easy!
cheers Ralfy.
Hello Ralfy just wondering if you have ever tried collingwood its Canadian and they use maple in the aging. Not sure if it is available out side of Canada though. To date its the only thing I have found that uses something other then oak.
Maybe I missed it, but what is the ABV of the base whiskey? Do you think higher proof spirits will decrease the maturation time and maybe drive the flavor even more. Thinking of doing this with Old Grandad 114. Great stuff, thanks for the full report.