Page 62 - Craft of Whiskey Distilling

AmErICAn DIstIllInG InstItutE | 51
When whiskey in a barrel has reached its peak, it’s impor- tant that the whiskey be taken off the wood... If a whiskey is aged too long in the barrel, it will become astringent and bitter, and the flavor will lose its balance.
After the whiskey in the barrel has finished aging and is ready to be packaged, it must be prepared for bottling, and bottled.
The aim of this chapter is to explain the processes involved in the preparation of whis- key for bottling, and to give instructions on how to bottle the whiskey in the barrel from Chapter 5.
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Throughout the barrel-aging process, the whiskey will have been tasted periodically so as to determine when it’s ready for drinking. When the whiskey has a nice balance of caramels, lignins, vanillins, tannin bitterness, and the smell and taste of burnt wood has mellowed out into the rich and elegant flavor of good whiskey, it’s time to take the whiskey off the oak, prepare it for bottling, and then bottle it.
When whiskey in a barrel has reached its peak, it’s important that the whiskey be tak- en off the wood even if the facility is not ready to bottle it. If a whiskey is aged too long in the barrel, it will become astringent and bitter, and the flavor will lose its balance. So, when the whiskey is ready it must be moved out of the barrel and into containers made of inert materials such as glass or stainless steel. As long as the containers are tightly sealed so no evaporation can take place, the whiskey will keep indefinitely.
Volume and Percent Alcohol: The first thing that needs to be done when preparing the whiskey for bottling is to measure its exact volume and percent alcohol. The barrel will have started out with 53 gallons, but over the aging period, a certain amount of the whiskey will be lost due to evaporation, the angels’ share.