GnarlyApple

As a part of my cooking and baking, I typically use alcoholic spirits. In an effort to get flavors that are only available in very expensive spirits, I started to research how aged spirits traditionally get their distinctive flavors and aromas and see if there was a way to replicate the process at home.

I have been able to do a lot of field research due to the growth of the craft distilling industry in my area. I have been able to find out how spirits are made, how they are aged, and what can affect the color and flavor.

I started by aging spirits and giving samples of the aged product to friends and family, later bringing samples to people with lots of bar tending experience. Based on the feedback received, I have refined my kit to its current state, offering flavors that are not typically available to the consumer and the conventional oak from professional barrel companies.

The exotic wood products are fairly traded and harvested from wild forests in the Continental US. The wood is cut and split using hand tools (no oiled blades), debarked, and then oven toasted.

I plan to keep refining the kit as money allows, adding upgrades that will allow the home consumer to age and flavor spirits in ways that only the most expensive commercial liquor provide.

Aging in a jar is less expensive than barrel aging. Wood can be used 1-3 times before it becomes too weak to provide flavor. If you buy an expensive barrel, you will get a lot of flavor the first time you use it, but by the third time, it will not impart as much flavor and take much longer to age things. For example, think about the number of uses a teabag can provide.
Barrels are also much larger than jars and you will have to buy a lot more liquor to start a single batch, whereas a quart sized jar will conveniently hold the 750ml that a conventional liquor bottle will hold as well as a piece of the flavoring wood. You will also be able to see the progress of your aging project (unlike a barrel). If your spirit didn't have much color, you can see that the color will change.
This kit also provides flavors that cannot be attained using a barrel because barrels are typically only made out of a single type of oak. If you wanted a different flavor, you would be mostly limited to buying a different type of oak barrel. With this kit, you will be able to get 2 different types of oak flavor as well as sugar maple, birch and cherry wood.

Beware of kits that say you are "making" spirits. US Federal laws prohibit people from actually distilling any spirits without a license. What you typically get in those types of kits is a bottle of artificial flavoring and a display barrel for alcohol that you will still have to buy at a licensed liquor shop.

This kit will allow users to take spirits and add complex flavors and aromas that typically take years of aging in commercial settings and produce them in weeks at home. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions about the product or aging.