Making Home Bourbon

I started my first home bourbon the week of Feb 18. I just randomly cut some white oak floor boards I had from a project.  They measured  were about 1.625 inches wide and 6 inches long 3/4 inch thick.  I cut the piece in half so there are two floating in the jar pictured above.  I charred them with a propane torch and got a good burn so there is lots of checking or cracking in the wood.  I constantly put the flames out in a bucket of water to keep the wood cool.  This started out as 200ml of Everclear (195 proof) cut with 200ml of water which works out to about 12 oz.  The color was very yellow the first day but after a week it is almost identical to Beam Black and Woodford not as red as Craig 12 year.  I plan on doing a surface area calculation next week and starting a new batch based on a ratio of surface area to ounces.  I will post pictures from the first day on. 

Week Two

I checked the color and it is looking really good after two weeks it is very close to three bourbons.  I did the calculation for surface area to volume and found that I used about 6 times more wood than a distillery.  I did some reading and found that small barrels claim to age faster due to more wood in contact with the whiskey.  I was planning on doing a test using the exact ratio of surface area to ounces of alcohol but according to that theory it would take about 4 years to have a good bourbon.  The commercial kits claim that a good bourbon can be had in about 3 months with 3 times the wood contact so that is what I am planning for my next test. 

Sample Calculation

Given that a barrel is roughly 53 gallons and measures 21 inches around and 35 inches high I calculated the surface area assuming a perfect cylinder (which a barrel is not). 


Surface area= area of the lid +area of bottom + circumference of top times height. 
Surface area=(21*21*pi)/4+(21*21*pi)/4+21*pi*35
Surface area=346.4+346.4+2309
Surface area=3002in^2


Then 53 gallons is 6784 ounces or .4425in^2 per ounce therefore for 12 ounces I need 5.3in^2 of wood.  I will aim for 16in^2 of wood and age for 3 months. 


I cut a block of white oak 1.75x2.875 doing a quick calculation of the surface area yielded 16^2.  I toasted it for 45 minutes at 400 degrees in the oven then burned it with the propane torch and placed it in 12 ounces (6 oz distilled water and 6 oz alcohol).

Toasted @400deg for 45min

After burning on all sides with torch

White alcohol/water mix 3/3/12

Block added to the white alcohol 3/3/12

Here it sits next to the two week old first bourbon.  I will update the pictures on regular intervals to look at color progression.  My first impression is that the color is taking much slower than the first bourbon that had two blocks of wood.  After about 30 minutes it is still white.   

Week Three

I sampled a glass of the first bourbon it had an unbelievable vanilla nose nice caramel middle and a pretty awful smokey burnt finish that resembles barbeque smoke.  This may be a result of using too much wood or since I cut a piece in half to inspect it, then re-burnt it.  I hope it will diminish over time with aging, only time will tell.  The color is perfect and sitting next to a glass of WR the color is darker and richer.  A colleague and bourbon aficionado contributed the name Kentucky West, since I live closer to the west coast than he does.   

On the left WR, Kentucky West on the right 3/8/12

The second bourbon started just last week has taken color much slower than the first.  Using half as much wood this is to be expected.  Only time will tell how long and if it will achieve the same rich color.  

Three week vs one week 3/9/12

It is 3/17/12 and the color has progressed quite nicely turning from a yellowish now taking on that red-ish bourbon color.  I check the bourbon every day and it seems to get darker every day.  Notice now that the wood has sunk as well.  

3/17/12 The bourbon is taking on a red-ish color

 I thought I would try a glass of the first bourbon to see if any major changes occurred since last week.  As I hoped since the block of wood sunk there was a major change in flavor.  It now resembles Graig 12, in that it is very bland, an amazing change in just one week; the smoke is gone!!  It has very subtle tones, I am not a flavor expert so I just can describe it as weak, sweet bourbon.  I actually hope it gets a stronger wood flavor. 
 

Second glass of Kentucky West 3/17/12

The only alcohol I have readily available and mass produced is Everclear.  So I did some research this week regarding the type of alcohol used to make bourbon.  Again not an expert here and not ready to get into a philosophical discussion about what makes a bourbon bourbon.  This project started to determine if I could create a bourbon using white oak scraps and a Mason Jar.  My research lead me to several corn based white whiskeys made by bourbon manufacturers.  A co-worker suggested I look at Buffalo Trace and they make a white whiskey.  The reviews say that corn mixed with rye and wheat give the alcohol different flavors that when mixed with the wood are masked but still distinctive.  Since my base is Everclear, which is considered "neutral" I may end up with a very smooth and flat tasting bourbon.  

I have decided that the next test has to be using a corn based white whiskey.  The Buffalo Trace is available locally so that is probably a good first choice.   

Corn Based Whiskey

Last weekend some family members made a trip to Montana, and on a hunch I asked them to check local liquor stores for white whiskey.  Lo and behold, Roughstock Handcrafted Montana Original, 100% Sweet Corn Whiskey!!!  My bottle is hand lables at being from batch 2.  This is 100 proof or 50% alcohol the same basic proportion I used in the tests.  This is made using 100% sweet yellow corn, mountain spring water, and is double distilled in copper pot stills.  It has a fruity nose to it that is very different from EverClear which has a distinctive alcohol smell.  I think this is going to make a great bourbon.   

Montana 100% Corn Whiskey

This bottle is 750 ml which works out to about 25 ounces.  I cut two white oak blocks 1-11/16 by 1-3/16 and toasted in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 min before burning them with a torch.  I put 12 ounces of Montana Sweet Corn Whiskey in each Mason Jar.  I will post periodic pictures of this as it progresses.     

Montana Sweet Corn Whiskey added to jars with toasted white oak

 

Montana Corn Whiskey day one 4/7/2012

Montana Corn Whiskey Day 3 4/10/2012

On 4/15/2012 I started a new experiment looking for something to do that is better suited to neutral grain spirits, i.e. Everclear.  The following images show raspberry and strawberrys soaking in 400ml of Everclear.  This will soak until all color is extracted from the fruit, then a simple syrup mixture of 400 ml of water and sugar will be added to the strained Everclear.