Monday, July 27, 2009

The Cask: Part 2





It's been about 2 months since I've put some of Wasmund's un-aged rye spirit into my little aging cask, which you can read about here.

According to heresay, the whiskey is about halfway done toward being appropriately aged. So of course, I'd like to monitor the spirit's progress. I turned the cask's nozzle to let loose some of the liquor. The color now is that of a gold rum, and perhaps about 2/3 as dark as I expect it will be in the end.



The smell of the spirit so far is still fairly strong... I imagine it's still fairly high above 80 proof, and will even stay so after a few more months; alcohol still wafts boldly from the cup. The aroma is mostly of smokey butterscotch, which is certainly not one that I've smelled on any whiskey before. Near the end, the slightest whiff of traditional rye whiskey comes through, finally.

The sip doesn't burn as much as it did when it was clear in color, about 2 months ago... now it's just warming, like a whiskey should be. My guess is that it's about 100 proof right now. As soon as it hits the tongue, there's a fleeting sweetness. The fullest flavor in the spirit is still that pungent rye which blooms on the tongue, and it's not without a touch of fruitiness, staying long after you swallow. Smoke again fills the throat once it's gone.

This would be quite an interesting spirit, if something like this were sold, but it's still a bit too fiery and bold, not unlike a tequila. I would indeed say that this stuff is halfway aged to something apropos, and perhaps a bit less than halfway toward perfection.... but that's a different post. :)

Cheers.

5 comments:

  1. This looks awesome. How much did everything for this setup cost?

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  2. Meekohi,

    The small cask (which is what I have) was about 40-50 dollars, and the unaged whiskey that I put into it was about 20 dollars each bottle. The small barrel has room for about 2 bottles. You can buy casks of various sizes on Wasmund's website (www.copperfox.biz). Thanks for checking out the site!

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  3. I am seriously tempted to purchase one of these casks, but I am even more seriously tempted to steal yours and drink its contents.

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  4. I'll have some of those to sell next month =:-)

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