Bourbon Barrel Syrup

[Gizzy]

Can maple syrup be put into a bourbon barrel for aging at room temperature, or does it need to be heated to 180-190 degrees and than put into the bourbon barrel.

[VT_K9]

It should be "packed" while hot. We put some in a bourbon barrel on March 7. We are getting ready to re-pack (after heating to 180-190) into retail containers.

Mike

[maple flats]

I always heat the syrup to 190-200 and fill the barrel. I just bottled my 5th batch this week. Since making my first batch last year and bottling it in Aug. 2017, the product has been my #1 selling item. The time necessary varies based on the barrel size. I did 2 batches in 5 gal barrels, they took 3-3.5 months to be ready, the rest have been in 10 gal barrels and they took 6-7 months to be ready. I spray each barrel every day with water and turn it. I find that the barrel shrink with time and leak, the water spray reduces the leaks a lot. I built a dolly like a moving dolly, set it down on a large baking sheet (mine are about 16" x 30") and the wheels facing up. Then the barrel turns easily on the wheels. On a 10 gal, I pop the bung after about 5 months and get a sample, then based on how much taste it has I try again every 7-10 days until I consider it perfect. My customers seem to agree, based on sales.
Then when the taste is right, I pump it into my finisher, heat it to 195-200, mix DE and filter it and send it to my bottler. There I density test it, I usually end up adding a little distilled water to thin it, this last batch I had to add about a qt of water. Then I blend it, taste test it and draw a sample to save. Then I'm ready to bottle it and sell it.
It is a good value added product, I use my darkest syrup to age, and the char in the barrel makes it darker, but this product does not need to be graded. The Char in the barrel is what gives bourbon it's color.

[Kh7722]

Where does one go about buying barrels at? Other than 50 gallon drums, would like to try a small batch 5-10 gallon size, i tried a place online last year, they took my money and never sent the barrel, very annoying. A good distributor would be nice to find .

[maple flats]

Try member Grimmreaper, he is in Rome, NY (actually in Blossvale) and ships them all over the country. I buy mine from him, but I drive there to pick them up since I'm only 20-25 minutes from him. If you can't find his contact info, send me a P.M. and I'll send you his phone number, or even better, send an email to: dave@cnymaple.com
Last I knew he had both 5 and 10 gal bbls in stock. A 5 takes about 3 months to age and a 10 takes about 6 months to age and pick up a perfect balance of maple and bourbon flavor. I have never made any using a different size.

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

I used a 30 last year and aged from 4/1-8/1 good flavor but not as strong as i was hopping for, but i sold out with rave reviews. This year i filled a 53 at the end of march and i am going to wait until early November to bottle.

[maple flats]

I age 5 gal batches starting at 10 weeks I taste test then weekly until ready, usually are perfect at 12-15 weeks. I do the same with 10 gal batches but I start testing for taste at about 22-23 weeks, usually ready at 26-28 weeks. So far all 5 bottled batches have to my taste been as identical as possible and my customers really like them. Those are the only sizes I have made. The larger the barrel the longer it will take to get enough of the bourbon taste. I pack mine when it tastes like the maple and bourbon flavors are perfectly balanced, neither one over powers the other.
I am now waiting on batch # 6, all in one year. Batch # 1 was bottled Aug 21, 2017. Batch 2 only 2 weeks later, those were both 5 gal barrels, since then all barrels have been 10 gal.

[sugaringman85]

I'm currently working on aging my first barrel ever. Had a 53 gallon barrel given to me and took the chance on how the product would age, and how it would sell. I know that I probably will not do another barrel until we have a better way to store and keep the barrel from leaking. Most likely I've lost 5-10 gallons out of the barrel. Since I work full time and have a newborn, my time available to check on the barrel, which is at the sugar house 10 minutes from the house, is limited. All the major leaks I've sealed with paraffin wax, which solved most of my leaks. The biggest problem I see is that with out a temperature controlled room for the barrel to age in the white oak moves to much with the humidity and change in air temps. My guess is the big guys (Runamuck and others) us a temperature controlled room to store all these barrels in. Otherwise they wouldn't be doing it because of way to much product loss. I think Dave's method is the way to go, if you have the time and ability to get to your barrel every day. If not expect puddles of syrup under your barrel. I don't have any doubt though that the product will sell.

[maple flats]

I've aged barrels of bourbon syrup in 3 locations. The first 3 barrels were all filled within 2 weeks of each other, 2 @ 5 gal and 1 @ 10 gal, I aged them in the sugar house and sprayed them to keep the outside damp 2x a day for 2-3 weeks. Then I set up a drip irrigation on a timer. It sprayed a mist and turned on for 1 minute every 12 hrs. It was pulling water from my permeate tank using a diaphragm pump. That worked fine but I decided the sugarhouse was far to cramped to use that much space, especially when I needed to bottle more regular syrup. My SH never gets over the low 70's even when the weather gets hot.
Then my next 2 batches were in my brother in law's cellar, where temps stay at 50-60F. That worked well.
My next (the current batch aging) I put in my shop. It gets far too hot in there, with full sun and on a hot day, it can reach 95-105F often. I spray it with water mist 1-2X daily.
While I lose a little I have never lost over about a qt or two in any of my batches so far. I was just thinking I may try to do my next batch. I think I'll try getting a tank large enough to set the 10 gal barrels in, filled with syrup, then fill the tank enough so the whole barrel it covered with water. I'm thinking that should keep the barrel swelled enough to get no leakage and I could add ice rather than water to make up for evaporation. Once I get my walk in cooler built next year I could age it in there.
On all of these I built a dolly like a furniture moving dolly, place it upside down so the wheels support the barrel and I rotate each barrel each time I spray them, I think I may only need to turn it 1-2x a week. If that method fails I will lose part or all of a batch, but I think it will work. I'll report back after I try it. In cold weather I'd need to pump out the water so I could get the barrel out after aging.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I wonder why soaking the barrel until its saturated then hot packing it and then shrink wrapping it. If you want to add water to the interior of the shrink wrap you could wrap a spiral of the perforated irrigation tubing the kind you lay under the mulch to water plants and flowers. you could add water as it soaks up. You could also get the shrink wrap they use on boats and encapsulate the entire barrel.

[maple flats]

I'll look into those ideas, they may be simpler than my idea. On mine I'd need to make a way to hold the bbl down in the water because it may try to float with a small portion above the water line since the syrup may not quite be heavy enough to hold it completely under, but I think it would be close.
Those sound like good ideas, thanks Haynes.

[Maplewalnut]

Why does the barrel need to be rotated say any more than 20 degrees?

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

The key is regulated temperature and humidity. I've had two barrels aging since Feb and have had no issue with leakage. I have not wet the barrels; just filled and left alone.
Neil

[Haynes Forest Products]

Could the problem be with the quality of the barrel your using? How long has it been sense it had the Bourbon in it? Was it stored with the bung in? Trying to hydrate the barrel with finished syrup doesn't seem feasible because of the lack of water in finished syrup? Was the drum allowed to dry out past its ability to be swelled back up to original spec's? Should the drum be hydrated with the very Bourbon that was stored in it from the beginning? I would think that there is very little moment of the syrup in the barrel causing it be building up a very thick sugar layer stopping any ability to hydrate the drum from the inside?
Could it be that you need to pack under density syrup with the idea that the hot thin syrup will give up water as soon as it hits the sides of the drum swelling it and also giving up a point or two bringing it to a safe density? I have a feeling that there is more to CONDITIONING the barrel than just dumping finished syrup in it and hoping for the best.

[maple flats]

All of my barrels have been just recently emptied and the bungs were left in tight. While none of the leakage has been very much, they have all had some minor leakage.
Neil, how do you control the humidity and temperature on your barrels?
For mine, the ones that had the least leakage were the ones that aged in my brother in law's cellar, but even then, they lost between 1-2 qts. His cellar stays cool and slightly damp but not wet. Even there the barrels were sprayed with a water mist every day or 2.
I think turning the barrel routinely helps get the bourbon flavor mixed into the syrup better, but then, I've never done it any differently. I just know that my finished product always comes out perfectly and my customers reorder often and in multiples.

[Super Sapper]

A friend of ours works for a new distillery and it seems that the barrels are getting in pretty high demand and are being presold for as much as they pay for them new if not more. I would expect this if for the larger barrels but could affect the smaller ones also. Just an FYI.

[Walling's Maple Syrup]

A dehumidifier runs constantly in my sugarhouse keeping it right around 50% relative humidity year round and the temperature is always 65-70 degrees. It is my assumption that with temp and humidity swings, the wood in the barrel "comes and goes", and makes them more susceptible to leaks.

[maple flats]

I will check my humidity in the sugarhouse, I don't know what it is. The temperature in there is between 60-70 all summer. My problem there is I don't have enough room to bottle more syrup very easily when I have a barrel or 2 aging in there. My shop has the room, but the temp swings are far greater, like from near what ever the overnight low was up to the day time high + up to 8-10 degrees if the sun is out. Next year, when I get the walk in cooler built I will be able to hold it to whatever temp I decide, right now I'm thinking 45 or 50, but I will be able to go as low as 35 if I feel the need. The lower I go the more electric I will consume. Right now with net metering and my solar power I send power to the grid 10 mos every year which is credited to my home bill (and my highest total I had to pay at the sugarhouse for the other 2 months any year since 2012 was under $10.00 total, and that is during the early part of maple season), if I use more I may only send to my home bill for 3-4 months a year.

[Maplewalnut]

Thanks for sharing experiences. my two cents.....I guess I still do not see a reason to turn and rotate barrels during aging, in fact probably does more harm than good. Assuming you are hot packing a barrel full and removing as much air as possible before inserting bung, the head space should be very little even as syrup cools and condenses. Also recognize that the flavor almost all comes from contact with the char not residual bourbon left inside so diffusion of bourbon flavor will naturally take place due to density. You also will dump, heat and filter syrup after opening the barrel and before dispensing into bottles. That process alone will provide adequate mixing and provide a nice homogeneous product rid of any concerns over some bottles stronger than others. My effort is going to be on controlling humidity as Neil mentions, that seems much more important. Be careful with 'refrigeration' like temperatures it has an adverse effect on humidity you will probably see more leaks than at held room temperature.

Mike

[GeneralStark]

Seems like this is one of those things where if you ask 10 different folks about how they are doing it, you will get 10 different answers. For instance, some say to hot pack the bourbon barrel, other say to not... some say storage temp. is key... others say it is not. Some say use dark syrup...others say use light. Some are adding spices...others say that is crazy. So, who is the true authority on this and is there any real sense of what the final product should be like?

If I filled a bourbon drum with syrup and "aged" it and it turned out like crap... what's to prevent me from selling it and telling my customers its the best thing in the world? Seems like a lot of grey area to me.

[maple flats]

I don't know about Vermont, but in New York State you can not add anything to the syrup unless you list it on the label.

[maple flats]

I fill my barrels to the top, then the only air space is from when the syrup cools. My thought on turning the barrels is to help blend the flavor. If the barrel is aged static it seems (and I'm only guessing) that the syrup in contact with the barrel would take on the flavor but that in the center would not. I realize as you empty the barrel it will get blended but would you gain as much flavor in the same time span if you leave the same portion of the syrup in direct contact with the char? The flavor is in the char from when the barrel was used to distill the bourbon.
My method works perfectly for me and I will not change the part about turning the barrel. I may however try to find an easier way to keep the staves swelled.

[maple flats]

Haynes, I tried one of your ideas. I put one of the large plastic bags that come in cases of plastic syrup jugs over the barrel now aging. I spray with a mist of clean water, then put the bag on. It did help a little. I now only need to spray every second day. As I spray I turn the barrel. I never tried to do it without turning the barrel and even on that first year when I set up the automatic misting every 12 hrs, I turned each barrel about 1-2 times a week.

[Haynes Forest Products]

For about $150.00 for a cheap irrigation controller a selinoid valve and some mister heads you can set up a automatic system to water your barrels every day 3 times for a few minutes.
Heck with a relay and some rollers a washing machine motor and big belt you can use the master valve option and it will spin your barel as it waters it.

[OneLegJohn]

https://youtu.be/96niRz8PBLg

[maineboiler]

Dave——I bottled our first batch of bourbon barrel aged syrup this past weekend. After 3 months of aging in the 5 gallon barrel it came out with a mellow, not overpowering bourbon flavor. Very good. Nice addition to our product line. Thanks for your advice on this.
I am wondering what to do with the barrel now. You mentioned that you had used yours for planters. How did you clean them out? Did you you split them? Any other ideas out there on what to do with a used bourbon barrel?

[jmayerl]

Dave——I bottled our first batch of bourbon barrel aged syrup this past weekend. After 3 months of aging in the 5 gallon barrel it came out with a mellow, not overpowering bourbon flavor. Very good. Nice addition to our product line. Thanks for your advice on this.
I am wondering what to do with the barrel now. You mentioned that you had used yours for planters. How did you clean them out? Did you you split them? Any other ideas out there on what to do with a used bourbon barrel?

Find a home brewer, they would like to buy a small one like that. I sell my 15 gallon ones for $100.

[maple flats]

Dave——I bottled our first batch of bourbon barrel aged syrup this past weekend. After 3 months of aging in the 5 gallon barrel it came out with a mellow, not overpowering bourbon flavor. Very good. Nice addition to our product line. Thanks for your advice on this.
I am wondering what to do with the barrel now. You mentioned that you had used yours for planters. How did you clean them out? Did you you split them? Any other ideas out there on what to do with a used bourbon barrel?
If you aged it another 2 months it would be even better.
I was going to cut mine in half to make 2 planters, but then I saw an old barrel at a novelty/antique shop who sold a 5 gal barrel at $89.00. All they did was clean it up and stain it. Thus I decided I'll do that. I still have 4 of my empty barrels, soon to be 5, the other 2 sold for $75 each as is. I will just rinse mine with a little water/chlorine, dump it then double rinse to get rid of the chlorine, then pressure wash the outside, let fully dry and apply some finish. I'm thinking I'll try $89 for my 2- 5 gal ones, and $109 for the tens. They will then be sold for decoration in the same shop I saw the other one. It is also where I sell lots of syrup, in fact I need to restock weekly from Oct thru Dec, otherwise every 2 weeks does fine.
I age mine until the bourbon taste and the maple taste are pretty much in balance.

[maineboiler]

Thanks Dave. I’ll hang on to the barrel. I’m looking forward to the next batch of barrel aged syrup. It takes some planning with getting the barrels and having enough syrup to age——