Aging your own spirits?

[Curse The Sky]

Hi guys.

I recently got the itch to try a new project. I'd like to buy a young, cheap, "white" whiskey and try to age it / infuse it myself. I'd use oak products designed for home brewing, and probably infuse it with some cloves, vanilla beans, and whatever else sounds good.

First, is it legal to do this? Obviously it's illegal to distill your own spirits, but since I'd be using a commercial distilled whiskey, aging it on my own should be ok, right?

Second, is there anything I need to watch out for? I figure if I'm using food-grade products (not picking up a piece of lumber from the hardware store) everything should be ok, but if there's some lesser-known fact that can lead to a dangerous situation, I'd love to hear it so that I don't make a mistake.

Thanks!

 

[reverseapachemaster]

Nothing illegal about it. You aren't distilling anything.

You definitely need to use oak designed for food purposes only. Homebrewing products are great options because they are specifically designed for submersion in alcohol. They are also typically charred or toasted which is what you need to emulate barrel conditioning. (Barrels are charred on the inside for whiskey and generally toasted for wine.)

Personally I wouldn't dump spices into a whiskey but if you're dead set on doing it then I'd split the whiskey up into separate containers for each infusion and taste each every couple weeks. When the flavor is right you need to get it off the spice before it gets too crazy. You can always dilute if it goes overboard but if it gets too spiced you may find yourself having to dilute so much that you end up with a gallon or two of clove-infused whiskey. You may not want that much. You can always blend the different infusions together to create the right blend of spices and oak.

 

[Edcculus]

They sell kits to do this very thing. Someone actually had a thread about it recently.

For the simplest thing you can do, buy some oak cubes from a homebrew store, toast them in the oven, then put them in a jar with the unaged whiskey. Leave that for a few days, maybe a week until it reaches the level of oak you want. If you want to use spices, I'd wait until you remove the oak cubes.

There are no real safety concerns since nothing will grow in spirits. Just buy the oak from a homebrew store, and don't use treated lumber. Everything should be clean, but you don't need to go nuts on sanitation either.

 

[ByMyBeard]

Not sure on the legallity question. My understanding is that you can distill your own spirits (aka Moonshine) as long as you aren't selling it and it's only for personal use. But perhaps that's a state to state thing.

Yes, homebrew store products should be fine. You might also look for a "kit" where you get a mini-barrel. And as others have said, I'd be VERY careful infusing stuff. But that's also my personal preference is to not have flavors infused into my whiskey. If I want a little cherry flavor, I'll just put a cherry in my glass before pouring for example. But it's your drink, so have it however you want!

 

[TexLaw]

Not sure on the legallity question. My understanding is that you can distill your own spirits (aka Moonshine) as long as you aren't selling it and it's only for personal use. But perhaps that's a state to state thing.

It's actually a federal thing in the U.S. Unless you get a license from the feds, it is illegal to distill alcoholic beverages in any manner or for any purpose.

As far as I know, there is nothing at all wrong with infusing something that you've acquired through legitimate means.

As far as wood goes, you most certainly want to buy something "food grade" or whatever such things might be called. No treated wood. You can get oak chips, cubes, or spirals from most homebrew or winemaking supply stores, and you can even buy different chars (light, medium, dark) and varieties (American, French, etc.). I haven't priced them, recently, but I don't recall them being so expensive that you couldn't pick up a few things that interested you to play around.

I second that you probably want to start small with infusing with anything. You never really know how strong something can get, and it's much easier to dilute and blend. I wouldn't go infusing a full liter or anything like that. Just start with a cup or pint and scale up (or make a strong tincture for blending or diluting).

I am sure there are some pitfalls and true health dangers that fall beyond the collective knowledge of those that reply to this thread. Do some real homework.

Have fun!

 

[Mick]

First, is it legal to do this? Obviously it's illegal to distill your own spirits, but since I'd be using a commercial distilled whiskey, aging it on my own should be ok, right?

once the tax is paid you can do anything you want (i.e. you buy it from a store and not the trunk of a car and you should be fine)

The only reason distilling your own is illegal is a tax reason. Nothing more than money.

 

[ouch]

I bottle my own Ch. Petrus the same way.

 

[Edcculus]

once the tax is paid you can do anything you want (i.e. you buy it from a store and not the trunk of a car and you should be fine)

The only reason distilling your own is illegal is a tax reason. Nothing more than money.

Exactly. Home brewing Wine, cider, mead, perry, beer etc is all 100% legal. There are some limits on volume. Like 100 gallons per adult member of the household, up to 200 gallons. Obviously no selling whatsoever. Its all a tax reason though.

As far as I know distilling spirits is still not legal in any state, even for personal use. Once you own it, you can do whatever you want with it.

here is one of the kits that I mentioned. It comes with 1.5L of white dog (unaged whiskey) and a 2L oak barrel.

 

[TexLaw]

The only reason distilling your own is illegal is a tax reason. Nothing more than money.

That's pretty much true, but there are some safety reasons, as well. Distilling, done improperly, can create dangerous conditions and can produce some nasty, toxic stuff. You must apply for and receive a permit. But, yeah, it mostly comes down to paying the excise tax.

http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/home-distilling.shtml

 

[Mick]

That's pretty much true, but there are some safety reasons, as well. Distilling, done improperly, can create dangerous conditions and can produce some nasty, toxic stuff. You must apply for and receive a permit. But, yeah, it mostly comes down to paying the excise tax.

http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/home-distilling.shtml

It is like any product. Once you move from home to commercial all kinds of rules and regulations come into play.

I've known people who moved from home food prep to selling and no more home kitchen. Commercial processing plant and packaging line required along with inspections and licensing.

 

[TexLaw]

When it comes to distilling alcohol, the TTB doesn't care if you are doing it for home or commercial purposes as to whether you need a permit.