The Cask Finish Experiment

I think I’d like to experiment. Sometimes with cooking, sometimes with flavors and sometimes with taking a risk.
And for this story, I took a risk.
At a cask selection process, I met Jimmy. Jimmy runs a small whisky business called Whiskybozz.
He collects, resells and even created something fun: Mini casks for cask experiments.
We talked, connected and before I knew it, I had a 500ml cask at my place. With some pretty clear instructions: Master your own Cask.
In this blog, I will update you on my experiment and progress of my own cask finish.
If you are interested to try something like this yourself, you can get your cask at whiskybozz.com.
Use tim10%bozz for a 10% discount on the casks available.

The cask

I have been looking at small casks to start experiments with. For example: An infinity cask. Or indeed a cask able to give a finish to a whisky.
However, I found some problems with that:
Smaller casks start at 5 liters. I don’t want to pour 5 bottles of the same whisky in a cask for a finish. That would be a rather expensive experiment.

The second part is that if you do an experiment, you want to be close up to the fun. Most casks are closed. Showing nothing of the magic happening inside the cask.

Enter this product: A 500ml (or 3L if you want a larger experiment) cask with two glass panes that offer the opportunity to see your whisky change.
Fun! Although I would have loved the option of my own logo on that glass.

The start

The cask comes in an awesome package and with very clear instructions on the use. Which I did not completely read.
So when filling the cask with water, I noticed it streaming between the seems and panicked. I immediately contacted Whiskybozz and he reacted fast: Fill it, lay it flat and let it rest for 1-2 days. The wood might be a little dried out. (Plus: Fast support!) That settled, it was time to pour in my flavor maker: The liquid that will give the whisky a finish.

I decided to use Port: the Cockburn’s Ruby Soho
I filled the cask for 80%, according to the instructions. And now we wait.