Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Ben on June 23, 2018, 10:03:46 AM
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Interesting experiment. The thesis is that whiskey that used to be delivered by boat (say, down the Mississippi) would pick up desirable flavors during transport because the whiskey was continually being agitated in the oak barrels as the boat slowly wound it's way down the river. This versus whiskey that didn't make the journey, or whiskey delivered on smooth, modern roads by truck.
It appears in many ways, the whiskey will in fact taste better, with more complex flavors. Though the research notes that degradants can just as easily be introduced, so it sounds kinda like, "Pays your money, takes your chances." :)
https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/food-drink/a21272152/jeffersons-whiskey-experiment/
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^^^The former analytical chemist here strongly approves of the GCMS/LCMS testing done to actually document the chemical changes in the whiskey samples. Very interesting, and it suggests ways to create a compound that you could use to 'spike' whiskey to give it the taste of motion-induced barrel aging.
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and it suggests ways to create a compound that you could use to 'spike' whiskey to give it the taste of motion-induced barrel aging.
Interesting. I wonder how long it will take one of the small batch guys to give it a try (I guess depending on expense)? :)
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Interesting. I wonder how long it will take one of the small batch guys to give it a try (I guess depending on expense)? :)
With the GCMS/LCMS data, it would be child's play for one of the big flavoring companies, like Synergy or International Flavor and Fragrances, to create such a compound.
PS: I have read several literature articles, books and monographs about how flavors are created in the lab, and I have always found it fascinating. There is still a lot of subjective art in the tweaking of the product to reach a desired flavor profile. A lot more than just throwing a bunch of chemicals together in the beaker.
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PS: I have read several literature articles, books and monographs about how flavors are created in the lab, and I have always found it fascinating. There is still a lot of subjective art in the tweaking of the product to reach a desired flavor profile. A lot more than just throwing a bunch of chemicals together in the beaker.
That immediately reminded me of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnXfLGcENnI
:laugh:
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A friend of mine and I did this experiment at a bar (for science)...
Each had a shot of Connemara whiskey, to kill off a bottle, then had a shot from a freshly opened bottle.
The difference was startling.
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^^^Which was better: the tail of the old bottle, or the beginning of the new?
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It just so happens I'm watching a mechtech show* on Jack Daniels. Turns out that for the most part, they bottle two ways.
One way is with a blend of the whiskey from 50 barrels in order to eliminate variables, the other is where each bottle is filled with the whiskey from one barrel and dated and labeled as to which barrel it was filled from.
So apparently, storage and by extension, shipping methods, can make a difference.
I wonder what kinds of reactions they get from the two methods.
Terry, 230RN
* ETA Actually, it was only the first part of a show on Modern Marvels.
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The next delivery may be slightly delayed:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/portion-kentucky-bourbon-warehouse-collapses-175510319.html
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^^^^^If it is true that moving the bourbon in the barrel makes it better, those 5000 or so barrels of bourbon have been moved pretty well. Probably now $300.00 a fifth.
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With clever marketing they could probably up sell them.
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It just so happens I'm watching a mechtech show* on Jack Daniels. Turns out that for the most part, they bottle two ways.
One way is with a blend of the whiskey from 50 barrels in order to eliminate variables, the other is where each bottle is filled with the whiskey from one barrel and dated and labeled as to which barrel it was filled from.
So apparently, storage and by extension, shipping methods, can make a difference.
I wonder what kinds of reactions they get from the two methods.
Terry, 230RN
* ETA Actually, it was only the first part of a show on Modern Marvels.
I am not a jack guy by any stretch, but we had a run of cruise commemorative bottles of single barrel so I got some. Two were Jack drinkable, one was carb and choke cleaner grade.
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Interesting. I wonder how long it will take one of the small batch guys to give it a try (I guess depending on expense)? :)
https://jeffersonsbourbon.com/jeffersons-ocean/
Already been done. I had a bottle. It was good, but not amazing, but I'm not really a Bourbon guy.
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^^^Which was better: the tail of the old bottle, or the beginning of the new?
Beginning of the new.
The whiskey has a strong, smooth peat smoke flavor, very weak in the killed off bottle.
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https://jeffersonsbourbon.com/jeffersons-ocean/
Already been done. I had a bottle. It was good, but not amazing, but I'm not really a Bourbon guy.
I had actually meant what Millcreek suggested, about artificially infusing those components into a batch.
Interesting that they are doing it "the old fashioned way" though. I was quite surprised at the price. I would have thought it would be double that. I pay $85 for the higher end High West whiskies.
I'm interested in how that works on the ocean. Taking a trip on a river probably has a "more stable" variability than the route they're taking their stuff on in the ocean. I wonder how increased agitation from storms, etc. might affect specific batches, for better or worse?
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Put whiskey in small sealable drum/ carboy, add Oak spirals, build a large rock-tumbler apparatus, and let it tumble for a few weeks. Profit.
https://www.midwestsupplies.com/french-oak-infusion-spirals-heavy-toast
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I thought they routinely rolled the barrels around to agitate the whisky inside and keep all the barrel staves moist.
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I thought they routinely rolled the barrels around to agitate the whisky inside and keep all the barrel staves moist.
Routinely is significantly less movement than "constantly".