Small Oak Barrels at the OC Fair

[Brewfoo]

I enjoy the OC Fair more than anything else for the gadgets and new products on display. I don't believe this is a new company but for some reason I noticed them this year...

http://www.deepsouthbarrels.com/

Inside one of the product buildings was the above company out of Texas who hand made 1L to 5 gallon oak barrels for aging alcoholic beverages. It sounded gimmicky when the lady tried to sell it as a way of making cheap booze taste better. Some of their signs read, "ask us how to drink more, drink better, and drink cheaper." These little oak barrels were really solidly made and the stand/shot glasses were extra. One of their selling points was for the consumer to add vodka and a small bottle of their essence (herbal flavoring) inside the barrel and create a cheaper version of their favorite drink.

Another point was if you added regular Jack Daniels, in 30 days you will get Gentleman Jack. In 45 days you will get Single Barrel Jack. This sold me. I bought a 3L barrel with a stand. You pay about $15 more for any extra personalized carvings on the barrel.

I already went to Costco yesterday and dumped a bottle of 1.75L of Jack and almost all of another 1.75L bottle of Johnnie Walker Red in my barrel. It's deceiving how small the barrel looks but it's holding 3L of whiskey. If you do buy one, make sure you cure it with hot water for 5 mins-24 hours.

More importantly, I told them I was a homebrewer and they offered me a 5 gallon oak barrel for $145. They don't sell them very often and I bet you could get a good deal if you made them an offer. If you buy at the fair, you will save a lot of money from shipping.

My baby barrel.

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Its final resting place by the bed stand, full of whiskey. My own propitiatory blend.

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Is having an oak barrel full of whiskey near your pillow a sign that I might be an alcoholic? Nah.

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[backyard brewer]

That's pretty cool! I think having a 1 gallon barrel around would be awesome for experimenting with different beers and meads. Is it toasted?

One thing that I find disheartening, however, is their sales pitch to you: "Another point was if you added regular Jack Daniels, in 30 days you will get Gentleman Jack. In 45 days you will get Single Barrel Jack. " The differences in Jack Daniel's are not a factor of the time they are aged but rather technique. Gentleman Jack is still a blended whiskey like Black Label but it has been double filtered to make it smoother. Single Barrel is just that, bottled from a single barrel. This would typically be a barrel from the top of the barrel house where the dramatic temperature swings (relative to lower positions in the barrel house) impart much more flavor on the whiskey. Typically, Single Barrel is a 'harsher' whiskey but more flavorful and with more interesting aroma.



It's hard to see, but the bottle on the left is signed by the late (and great) Jimmy Bedford who was the Master Distiller for JD for years and the bottle on the right is signed by Jeff Norman, the current Master Taster for JD and all-around really cool guy. I have a good friend who is THE Jack Daniel's Tennessee Squire and invites me to these cool Single Barrel dinners.

[Brewfoo]

You can read more about these small oak barrels on their website but it is charred inside and smells like it too. Their sales pitch was a bit of a joke, I know. If you have time, go by the fair and check it out. They claim to make everything here in the U.S. and the quality is really good.

I'm not expecting much more than it being a novelty piece. I would imagine it would give the average whiskey more of a woody oak flavor and aroma. The 5 gallon barrel would be useful for the individual homebrewer looking to make that awesome barley wine I tasted at the last meeting.

Like I mentioned eariler, if anyone is interested in these small novelty barrels, it's worth it to buy it now at the fair to save on shipping. I also bet if you go on a weekday, you can make an offer on that 5 gallon barrel they can't refuse.

[lexuschris]

From the same stave.... I've been checking out http://www.bucket-outlet.com/oakbarrels.htm too!

From the little reading I've done on this, the smaller barrels will oak faster than the bigger onces, since the surface_area-to-volume ratio is higher.

Then of course, you may need to properly prepare the empty barrel after each batch, so that it won't sour, etc. Have never tried it.... so, let us know how it turns out!


--LexusChris

[Brewfoo]

Even better, I'll bring the barrel to our next meeting and let all taste it.

[Brewfoo]

Well, I'm drinking a first sample of a whiskey blend I had in my 3L oak barrel since I bought it at the fair. Again, it has regular Jack and Johnnie Walker Red for the past month. It still taste like average hooch with a bit of oak flavor. Nothing to write home about.

These oak barrels do look nice on a table top or a bar but I would not recommend them for anything else.