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.
Filling the Cask
Well, an update. exactly 4 weeks after filling my mini cask with Port, I decided to pour in a spirit.
The instructions in the manual stated that I should let the initial liquid should stay 2 weeks, and I doubled it.
The spirit I poured was already a whisky. A 12 year old, cask strength Glen Moray from the SMWS. I liked that whisky, but I also found it a little to soft for my liking. So, let’s give it a Port finish!
Because the cask is a ‘wet’ cask, the liquid immediately gained a darker color then the whisky had. And I hope to see some more change over the coming weeks.
I will be pouring a small dram out of the cask every two weeks. So keep reading my updates!
Small sidenote: I did not pour away the Port when filling the mini-cask. I tried it. And to be honest: It improved a lot! Now some thick vanilla has been added to the Port and I did enjoy drinking it!
Two weeks in!
Today we are two weeks in and I decided to take a look and a small sample. Before I start, it might be good to mention that a box is in front of this experiment, so I did not see the mini-cask for two weeks. I was surprised.
First thing I noticed was the dark almost tea like coloring the whisky now has. And I noticed that a small cloud of even darker liquid was lingering in the bottom 30% of the cask.
This looked promising! I took a small sample bottle and poured out a small dram to taste and save for later to compare. (In doing so, I kinda spilled half a dram as well, so that’s a learning for next time.)
First things first: Although the color has changed incredibly, the nose and palate did not change that much. A little more tannins have joined the bouquet, but that is about it. No major flavor shifts.
To be honest, I did not expect the color to be that different and I expected way more on flavor/nose.
This is a little disappointing, but maybe in two week time, it is better!
4 weeks in!
After 2 more weeks of practising some patience, I was allowed to check my experiment again. Let me repeat the fact that during this periods, I have no visual of the min-cask and cannot see any progress. Each check-in is a new surprise.
This time I removed the covering and noticed a slightly darker whisky in the cask. It is a minimal difference with two weeks ago, but it is visible. On the picture you can see the two samples next to each other. It almost looks a little reddish. But what about other aspects.
On the nose it is very fruity. Dried plums and fresh blackberries. A very slight hint of dried strawberries.
It is promising.
The first sip however, is giving me more flavor than two weeks ago, but based on color and nose I was expecting more.
Maybe in two weeks?