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The Barrel Thread

Just picked up a 15 gallon oak barrel from Corsair Distilleries. It was used once for rye whiskey and is in unbelievable condition. It was originally made by Barrel Mill. It's about twice the size that I wanted but cheaper than any good 5 gallon ones that I could find. Probably too big for the hobby guys and too small for the micro's. I paid $125 for it plus $30 for shipping. Smelled REAL NICE when I opened it up. I filled it with water and zero leaks. After just 12 hours it has sucked in 10 oz of water. Gonna give it another day or so and then start filling with rum.

Here's their site.

Although they have 5 gallon barrels listed, they won't have anymore available.

Anyone have a line on some NICE 5 gallon ones here in the states? Preferably once used. Not interested in the Mexican junk or poorly built ones. Also if you have pics of your barrels, post em up.

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Comments

  • edited August 2015

    57 litres is a perfect size for hobby guys i reckon. Mine were 50l nominal but held about that. Even the 50's lose an amazing amount over 3 years, the smaller ones will shock you with the losses.

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  • Dude that is a great value..

    Don't forget that you can supplement with an adjunct for that extra special complexity.

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  • @Smaug said: Dude that is a great value..

    Don't forget that you can supplement with an adjunct for that extra special complexity.

    That's what I was thinking. After it comes out of the barrel, hit it with some of those French Oak dominoes that I got from you.

  • Was trying to figure out why you posted this... and it came to me "Cracker Barrel"... daaa :)) :)) :D

    thanks for the link...

    FS

  • Thread them on some fishing line and put them in the barrel.

  • @grim said: Thread them on some fishing line and put them in the barrel.

    +1 or a muslin sock.

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  • @FullySilenced said: Was trying to figure out why you posted this... and it came to me "Cracker Barrel"... daaa :)) :)) :D

    thanks for the link...

    FS

    Funny that you mention Cracker Barrel, my wife loves the place; me, not so much. She always says "But it's home cooked food" and I always ask her, "Who's home is it?"

    The guy that I dealt with, Alex, said that they sell them as they are decanted and that they never have many just laying around. If someone wants one I would contact them and stay in touch.

  • No Cracker Barrels here, and I miss them a lot. My mom and I used to eat there every Sunday after church. Thursdays are lima beans day. I do loves me some good Southern lima beans! (or butter beans).

    You could always use that barrel to float across the Florida Strait on...

    Oh wait, you don't have to do that anymore...

    I'm more like I am now than I was before.

  • Yep. Cuba is now our best communist friend. My brother went there about 7-8 years ago under the radar and barely got out with his skin.

  • I have 2 x 200 litre French oak kegs, one held Merlot and the other Shiraz. After filling with water to get them water tight, I put 120 litres of rum @ 65% into the Merlot keg, planning to top up in a few weeks. I forgot about it, 6 months later the whole lot had evaporated, none had leaked. :( The other one I was saving for brandy so filled it with water to keep it tight in the meantime. Borers got into it and when I inspected it there were little streams of water going everywhere. :( So, keg rules: 1/ make your spirit before you get your keg. 2/ fill your keg completely. If you take any off, top up with fresh spirit. 3/ don't leave your keg full of water, the environment is perfect for borers and termites, they won't go near spirit.

  • In my environment, I couldn't leave one filled with water because of bacteria and mold. I won't be filling mine completely but will be sloshing it and rotating it every week or so. I know I will lose a good percentage but I am making WAY more than I need anyway.

  • edited August 2015

    @FloridaCracker said: In my environment, I couldn't leave one filled with water because of bacteria and mold. I won't be filling mine completely but will be sloshing it and rotating it every week or so. I know I will lose a good percentage but I am making WAY more than I need anyway.

    Don't fret too badly over the loss. This here was put in a Black Swan 5 gallon barrel 3 months ago @120 and we pulled it at 102.

    Tellin ya now, an ice cube or two and it is very smooth. Color is spectacular. Nose is very , very respectable. Plenty of giddyap.

    The loss (if not too bad) represents an up tick in quality imo.

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  • OK guys, I scored a really nice 5 gallon barrel used once on rye whiskey. Originally from Barrel Mill and very solid. $99 plus shipping, $119 to my door. You can see in the pictures the difference between the 5 and 15 gallon barrels. Haven't filled it yet but it should be easier than the 15.

    From LA Homebrew out of Louisiana. Just checked and they are out of stock right now but will hopefully get more. They get them from King's County Distillery in NY after one use. Here's the link:

    Used whiskey barrel (5 gallons) @ LA Homebrew

    For rum, I really think that a once or twice used barrel is superior because a lot of the tannins that work in whiskey but not for rum are already gone. Can't overstate the stuff that is coming from my 15 gallon barrel and it is never more than half filled. My second half fill of rum is coming along nicely. Going to take longer than the first run but that's OK.

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  • The owner of Corsair was/is Darek Bell who wrote "Alt Whiskeys" - A very good read for those interested in way out whiskey (ky) recipes- using multiple grains (up to eleven I think), hops, and various smoke sources - would like to try some of their stuff..not available in Oz afaik

  • I get those same barrels brand new for about $200 FedEx'd to my door... $165 is the base price.. there is a benefit to homebrewers for used barrels, but distillers really get the best bang for the buck from new.

    I just judged a homebrew barleywine comp yesterday, and the best of show was a Barleywine aged in a corsair rye barrel form a guy in Tampa with a lot of homebrew experience... the chocolate notes from the chocolate rye they use in the Ryemageddon really came through nice, and the rye was perfectly balanced with the malt and hops..

  • @CothermanDistilling said: there is a benefit to homebrewers for used barrels, but distillers really get the best bang for the buck from new.

    For whiskey I would agree but for rum I would want at least a once used barrel. Even when I was using dominos for rum, the second use always produced a better tasting drink.

  • ahhh... forgot about that Rum thing..... otherwise you get Rumskey

  • My buddy got his hands on a Smooth Ambler 53gal. Can't wait to see what he winds up doing with it

  • Can't

    imagine

    how

    long

    it

    would

    take

    me

    to

    fill

    that

  • edited December 2015

    total wash volume = barrel size / wash abv% / hearts% * barrelabv%

    With a 53 gallon barrel, 5% wash, 60% hearts cut, and 55% barrel proof...

    809.7 gallons wash = 53 gallons / 0.06 / 0.60 * 0.55

  • Yep. My biggest rum washes are 40 gallons, so 20 washes. How to dispose of that much liquor would be less of a problem.....

  • @grim Do you barrel at 55%? I was racing around the internet yesterday trying to figure out what to barrel at and ended up at 57.5%. I was thinking about going 55%, but got nervous. It's a wheat bourbon. I'm thinking about barreling my rye bourbon at 60% and my rye whiskey at 62.5%

  • I thought that 65% was the magic number.

  • Ah , 809.7 rather than 971.6

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  • Anything to get the number down

  • Grim what is the basis for the 60% yield? Pot still or column?

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  • That 5% is a conservative number I hope, my whiskey is in the 8% range

  • edited December 2015

    @DocPorter 55-57.5 for smaller cooperage, costs more money to make good hooch.

    @Kill_Devil_Spirit_Co - 7% range, we take it easy on the yeast

    @Smaug - Yah, column - tight tight tight, single pass, actually a bit higher just going through the last few runs, 62.5% maybe. I don't think we are completely dialed in though.

  • Hi all I'm after some advice on using a barrel. I purchased a 25lt barrel made from recycled American oak barrels. How long would be best to let my 50% natural spirit age in it and can I re-use it again?

    Thanks for any help and info

  • @jez it depends on how much you fill it, ambient temperatures and how the barrel has been treated i.e: char level, pre soaked. With that small of a barrel, things happen quickly so you are gonna want to sample every few weeks until you are happy. That can happen anywhere from 6 weeks to 9 months or more. Yes you can re use a barrel up to a certain amount of times but be aware that 1st time use is the strongest and future uses are weaker

    Also, sure you wanna be barreling neutral? May want to run a whiskey or rum. Heck you can always run a gin with the neutral.

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