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We've covered the various factors in aging spirits that affect the final taste of a product as it comes off cask. But know we know how the flavors in an aged spirit are made, can we manipulate these factors to speed up this process without losing the final quality of an aged product?
Before we get started I want to address the obvious taboo im sure that we are about to breach, the one that has been preached to us for many years, that age in spirits automatically equates to a superior product.
If you look at the history of advertising for spirits, the aged spirit as a luxury item has onoy really been advertised since the late 1960s. In fact the best source of advertising for spirits, to see the rise of aged spirits and vodka in popularity in the American market (at the time the biggest global spirits consumers), is the most popular mens magazine of the time- Playboy. If you can get your hands on a wealth of vintage magazines it is interesting to track the development of advertising over a generational timeline (honest honey, I omly read them for tbe vintage rum advertisements!).
Aging for extended periods of time was never a viable economic option for small producers, and it still isn't today - it takes an incredible amount of capital to be able to put a large amount of distilled spirit down for 18-odd years, especially when even in the hands of the best cellar masters and blenders there is no guarantee it will taste good.
Sure, the ability of wood to strip out negative flavor compounds in a spirit was recognized, as it had been by winemakers for generations, but the marketing of age as defining a premium product is only a relatively new development, as we have come to realize that extended barrel interaction means more extraction of these tasty flavors consumers love so much.
A lot of purists will be quick to claim that messing with the aging process is verboten, lest we mess with the delicate craft of the cellar master. However large suppliers have already begun experimentation into how controlling and manipulating conditions can speed up the aging process.
At the end of the day the spirits business is a business at heart, and long aging times do not make for a happy accountant. Any method by which to increase aging without compromising quality can and will be explored.
One of the most traditional examples of manipulating the aging process is found in the Norwegian Aquavitt Linie. As the story goes, casks of the spirit were shipped to either Batavia (Indonesia today) or Australia from Norway in ex-sherry casks, with some merchant or another hoping to sell the spirit there.
No-one seemed to care for the spirit though, so the casks were shipped back to Norway, where the proprietor found the spirit had taken on a sweet, woody character from the casks, and thus Linie was born. Today the spirit still crosses the equator twice, going into barrel at 60% abv in 500 litre ex-oloroso casks strapped to the deck of a container ship.
The 19-week passage takes the aquavitt through fluctuating temperature, humidity and pressure zones, while the constant movement of the boat means the spirit is constantly washed against the oak of the barrels, increasing the percentage of spirit to wood surface area contact. This is a great example of manipulating variables to increase aging; 5 and a half months aging in Norway would not yield the results that the constant agitation and changing atmospheric conditions that Linie goes through on it's voyage.
Speaking of ships, Jefferson Bourbon recently released an extremely small batch (200 litres!) expression of Ocean-Aged Bourbon. Interested to see what effect the constant agitation, salt air and atmospheric pressure would have on barrel aging, he aged three 200-litre barrels on the deck of a...shark chasing research vessel?
So after four years of following sharks around the pacific, we can see the effect the agitation had on the spirit below - bear in mind the standard Jefferson's to the left and right of the bottle have been aged for eight years, not four.
So manipulating these factors can have an effect. But both of these methods still provide too many uncontrolled variables. How much agitation is applied? What if one batch goes through a particularly stormy month and the other suffers the doldrums of flat seas? What is the temperature fluctuation, the salt content of the air, how much do these change as the ship travels?
A better way to impart woody flavors to a spirit quickly and with much more control over variables would be to use gas pressure to force a 'flash' infusion. This requires an isi canister, or cream whipper, your white spirit, a gas canister, and wood chips. Wood chips have the added benefit of having a much higher surface area, so it is much easier to extract flavor from the wood.
While I went into further detail regarding the exact mechanics of how this process works in an earlier post, the basic science is that when released into the chamber, the gas forces its way into whatever porous material it can find as pressure increases. As the pressure is released so is the gas, and flavor compounds are quickly forced out of the material and into the spirit, instantly giving a cold infusion of sorts.
A plus side to this is you can infuse spirits with many types of wood that would otherwise be too porous for use for barrel aging. I've listed below a few different types of wood and their properties for aging.
Acacia - Robinia Pseodoacacia
Hard wood, low pore count on the oak; would require extended aging to extract any flavors. High in aromatic aldehydes: Vanillin, syringaldehyde (spicy, smoky, hot and smoldering wood aromas), dihydroxybenzaldehyde (cork must, organic matter).
No presence of eugenol (That spicy clove & menthol note)
Mulberry - Morus Alba
Tender, elastic wood. Too soft to construct barrels from, low organic compounds, low eugenol content. High in fatty acids (creates unpleasant esters)
Chestnut - Castanea Sativa
Too porous for barrel aging, but excellent for flash infusing. Contains very similar volatile compounds to Quercus Robur, namely vanillin, syringaldehyde, eugenol, and alpha terpineol (floral, similar to lilac; present in Lapsang Souchong teas). Notably lacks any of the whiskey lactones (cis- or trans-).
Cherry - Prunus Avium
Again too porous for barrel aging, but excellent for flash infusing. Low aromatic compounds, low eugenol, low fatty acids. No real draw to this wood, except for something called trimethoxyphenyl, which I can only find described as 'bland'.
One downside of flash infusing is that it does not have the effect as extended barrel-aging, that of the evaporation of either water or ethanol, the "angel's share" we discussed last time, does not occur when the effects of the wood are meted instantaneously. By equal parts, you also avoid the potential development of unpleasant esters and acetone odors that can be present in spirit aged for longer periods.
Sure, the ability of wood to strip out negative flavor compounds in a spirit was recognized, as it had been by winemakers for generations, but the marketing of age as defining a premium product is only a relatively new development, as we have come to realize that extended barrel interaction means more extraction of these tasty flavors consumers love so much.
A lot of purists will be quick to claim that messing with the aging process is verboten, lest we mess with the delicate craft of the cellar master. However large suppliers have already begun experimentation into how controlling and manipulating conditions can speed up the aging process.
At the end of the day the spirits business is a business at heart, and long aging times do not make for a happy accountant. Any method by which to increase aging without compromising quality can and will be explored.
One of the most traditional examples of manipulating the aging process is found in the Norwegian Aquavitt Linie. As the story goes, casks of the spirit were shipped to either Batavia (Indonesia today) or Australia from Norway in ex-sherry casks, with some merchant or another hoping to sell the spirit there.
No-one seemed to care for the spirit though, so the casks were shipped back to Norway, where the proprietor found the spirit had taken on a sweet, woody character from the casks, and thus Linie was born. Today the spirit still crosses the equator twice, going into barrel at 60% abv in 500 litre ex-oloroso casks strapped to the deck of a container ship.
The 19-week passage takes the aquavitt through fluctuating temperature, humidity and pressure zones, while the constant movement of the boat means the spirit is constantly washed against the oak of the barrels, increasing the percentage of spirit to wood surface area contact. This is a great example of manipulating variables to increase aging; 5 and a half months aging in Norway would not yield the results that the constant agitation and changing atmospheric conditions that Linie goes through on it's voyage.
Speaking of ships, Jefferson Bourbon recently released an extremely small batch (200 litres!) expression of Ocean-Aged Bourbon. Interested to see what effect the constant agitation, salt air and atmospheric pressure would have on barrel aging, he aged three 200-litre barrels on the deck of a...shark chasing research vessel?
 | ||||
| Insert 'Jaws' reference here |
 |
| Wow |
A better way to impart woody flavors to a spirit quickly and with much more control over variables would be to use gas pressure to force a 'flash' infusion. This requires an isi canister, or cream whipper, your white spirit, a gas canister, and wood chips. Wood chips have the added benefit of having a much higher surface area, so it is much easier to extract flavor from the wood.
While I went into further detail regarding the exact mechanics of how this process works in an earlier post, the basic science is that when released into the chamber, the gas forces its way into whatever porous material it can find as pressure increases. As the pressure is released so is the gas, and flavor compounds are quickly forced out of the material and into the spirit, instantly giving a cold infusion of sorts.
A plus side to this is you can infuse spirits with many types of wood that would otherwise be too porous for use for barrel aging. I've listed below a few different types of wood and their properties for aging.
Acacia - Robinia Pseodoacacia
Hard wood, low pore count on the oak; would require extended aging to extract any flavors. High in aromatic aldehydes: Vanillin, syringaldehyde (spicy, smoky, hot and smoldering wood aromas), dihydroxybenzaldehyde (cork must, organic matter).
No presence of eugenol (That spicy clove & menthol note)
Mulberry - Morus Alba
Tender, elastic wood. Too soft to construct barrels from, low organic compounds, low eugenol content. High in fatty acids (creates unpleasant esters)
Chestnut - Castanea Sativa
Too porous for barrel aging, but excellent for flash infusing. Contains very similar volatile compounds to Quercus Robur, namely vanillin, syringaldehyde, eugenol, and alpha terpineol (floral, similar to lilac; present in Lapsang Souchong teas). Notably lacks any of the whiskey lactones (cis- or trans-).
Cherry - Prunus Avium
Again too porous for barrel aging, but excellent for flash infusing. Low aromatic compounds, low eugenol, low fatty acids. No real draw to this wood, except for something called trimethoxyphenyl, which I can only find described as 'bland'.
One downside of flash infusing is that it does not have the effect as extended barrel-aging, that of the evaporation of either water or ethanol, the "angel's share" we discussed last time, does not occur when the effects of the wood are meted instantaneously. By equal parts, you also avoid the potential development of unpleasant esters and acetone odors that can be present in spirit aged for longer periods.
One Last Thing...
A few months ago the story of Miami Club Rum, a rum that aged it's rums by playing Cuban Salsa at the barrels during the aging process, made the rounds to differing reactions of bemusement and derisiveness. At first I gave little thought to this very unique method, as it sounds at best like a marketing gimmick, and at worst like the sort of psuedo-scientific claptrap that drives me to drink.
It wasn't until later (in the pub, of course) that I started to give the idea some more thought, specifically the science behind the idea. You see, sound travels in waves by creating pressure in the medium through which it travels, decreasing in pressure and intensity as it propagates.
However, when a sound wave intersects with another sound wave, there is no affect on the propagation of the wave, but if pressure is measured at the point of wave intersection, there is a change of pressure. If two low points in the wavelength intersect, they end up with a higher pressure reading, and if a high and low point collide they cancel each other out and no change in pressure is recorded.
The first time I came across this particular occurence was when I was introduced to something called "Tibetan Bowl Therapy", a particular theory wherein several copper bowls are placed on various parts of a patient and rung at certain tones to illicit a muscular response.
I originally approached this method with a healthy dose of skepticism, partly because it was being administered to me by an old man in the attic of a church in eastern Switzerland who didn't seem even slightly Tibetan. It was a...strange time.
Anyway, it did do wonders for relieving muscle strain, and I later contemplated the science beyond the mysticism that these treatments are often presented with. By creating low-frequency vibrations in a circular arrangement, the bowls created an intersecting point of increased pressure within muscle tissue, effectively 'massaging' with sound.
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| Propagation of Sound Waves Intersecting on Barrel |
As you can see in the diagram above, if you were to arrange speakers around a barrel as above and constantly play music at it, the sound waves would intersect at multiple points on and inside the barrel, creating pressure around the staves and inside the barrel content, agitating the liquid contents in a similar method as leaving it on a sea-bound boat, and forcing liquid into the wood faster than it would if left alone.
Moreover, if you were to play music that had high shift between low-frequency high pressure notes and higher, less decibel heavy notes (like for example, Cuban Salsa music) the effect would be similar to the capillary effect in the wood caused by day-to-night atmosphere transitions experienced by traditionally aged barrels.
So is the method employed by the Miami Rum Company a legitimate attempt at artificial aging based on sound science, or just a marketing gimmick? Well, I'd tend toward the latter myself, but this is all conjecture.
What we have now however, is the potential for two experiments to test the theories and science we have discussed in this series.
Experiment 1:
Does playing sound at barrel-aged spirits affect their maturation speed?
By setting up a control and a few test cases, we can see if there is any reality behind these claims, and more importantly, which type of music makes liquor mature faster and by extension taste better?
And the big one:
Experiment 2:
By manipulating atmospheric conditions, can we reduce the maturation time of a spirit?
We've talked a lot about the different atmospheric conditions that affect the aging of a spirit in wood. But by taking a barrel and filling it with new make spirit, can we recreate an equivalent quality of an aged spirit in a fraction of the time?
So here is the challenge we set ourselves:
Can we mature and recreate the quality of a 3-year aged spirit in only one week?
We will keep the blog updated with progress on each of the experiments as they happen, but follow us on twitter @Zero_G_Drunk to keep up to date with this and our other news.
Thanks for reading this series as it's progressed, it's been fun.
See you next time Space Cowboys.
BG
