Public service announcement RE: Charred oak barrels.

[Ole]

Don't leave them in your patio when you're not making whiskey.

I started making whiskey again (new batch coming in a few days), so I thought i'd dust off my barrels.

The two that were in my patio: The wood shrunk up/dried out and as of yesterday, they're pretty much useless. There are 1/16-3/32" gaps between the wood sections that make the barrel (which isn't very conducive to holding a liquid).

I have one of the barrels soaking in a 5 gallon bucket of water and the gaps are less than half as big as they were yesterday. Hopefully i'll be able to leak proof these guys, since they cost me over $50 each.

If I can't use them to age my hootch, I guess i'll cut them up and use the charred wood to sit in jars and hopefully get something out of them.

[426HEMI]

You should send me a sample of that hooch when it's done.