Today we take a closer look at the Oak Barrel, a product you can purchase between $62 and $72 online at TopShelfBarrels.com. Ours is the 2L more expensive version as it has our logo burned into it, which runs the $72 price tag.
The bottle will last between 8 to 10 years and if you’re aging different spirits over that lifetime, you may want to clean it out before starting a new batch (unless your goal is to have some of the past barrel aging imparted on the new spirit, which may be desirable).
For those that plan to use it and then keep it around incase they want to use it again later, it is recommended you fill it with distilled water to keep the wood hydrated for the next use (so it doesn’t get dry).
The aging of the spirit? We picked Hornitos, to match that of our Oak Bottle (review below) and tasted them against each other as well, this was an interesting “battle” which turned into more of a compliment in the end. Our first instinct was around which barrel or bottle would age them “better” but that turned out to be a perspective situation because, if you like the smoke aged flavor more than the Oak Bottle is going to be your go-to product. If you like the creamy, buttery vanilla oak flavor of an warming oak aged bourbon you might find the oak barrel is your suited for your taste. Or, you may find that a combination of both gives you more master mixer quality: build your own taste profile with a hint of creamy butter in an overall smokey aged flavor with a blend of Oak Barrel in the results of an Oak Bottle. Go vice-versa for a buttery vanilla bourbon quality to your spirit with a hint of smokiness with more Oak Barrel and little Oak Bottle.
Blend them together or have one product feed into the other, you have more crafting ability than ever before. The Oak Barrel will give you around 1-year of aging for every two and a half months you leave it in the barrel. But, we recommend tasting every few weeks to get the flavor you like best.
In the end, we have an Anejo style tequila with the Oak Barrel that has a warm less aggressive flavor with lots of vanilla and oak all from that of a blanco tequila. If a Mezcal is more your play, the Oak Bottle might be the direction you go first.
Oak Barrel: http://topshelfbarrels.com
Oak Bottle: http://oakbottle.com
Oak Bottle Review: http://bit.ly/1Ily94H
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Critical Hit, by No More Kings. http://youtube.com/nomorekings
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