by bourbonv » Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:35 am
John,
I am not so sure that they could not reproduce it if they wanted to, but the expense would be great. They would have to make their own yeast, which some still do. They would have to use more barley and no enzymes, which some still do. They would have to distill at a lower proof and put it into the barrel at a lower proof. The lower proof should be less than 110 and the closer to 100 proof the better.
This would use more barrels and cost more, but it would still be radically cheaper than French Oak which seems to be a failure in my opinion. The whiskey would have more of those fruity flavors from the yeast and grain flavors that are hard to find in most bourbons today. The barrel would have less influence on the flavor, but what influence it had would be more sweet caramel and vanilla tones and less dry tanic wood tones, because the whiskey would not have to be over aged to give it some flavor.
Mike Veach
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873