Barrels

Working with us, you will design the recipe using your own blend of grains.  Bourbon Whiskey has a requirement that at least 51% of the grain mash must be corn, but that means you have 49% of the recipe available to design as you wish!  Other than a few guidelines that are necessary for proper fermentation, you will be able to design a blend of raw and malted grains in order to create your own signature whiskey.  We will provide you with the list of available inputs and basic guidance, but other than that it will be your recipe!!!

There will be several steps in the process that, while it is not necessary that you participate, we would encourage you to do so in as many steps as you can.  Here is a summary and time expectations for this:

• Mashing – this is our process of our grain cook and preparation for proper fermentation, and takes approximately 6 hours from start to finish.
• Stripping Run – this is the first distillation of the fermented mash and occurs 4 days after mashing. This lasts about 10-hours but little “action” happens other than monitoring the process and preparing the collected spirit for the next run.
• Spirit Run – this occurs the day after the Stripping Run and is where we determine the spirit that is kept as finished product and then collect the remaining spirit for future use.
• Blending to Proof – this typically occurs on the same day as the spirit run, where water is added to the spirit to dilute spirit to barreling proof.
• Barrel Filling – can occur any time after the spirit is proofed. It can be done on the same day as the Spirit Run, but some time is required for the water and spirit to mingle so that we can accurately gauge the alcohol content and fill volume once we fill the barrel.
• Barrel Sampling – periodically as the spirit ages in the barrel. As the spirit ages, you are welcome to stop in from time-to-time and check the progress (generally one year after barreling is a great time to sample). With our input and guidance, you will make the final determination as to when the whiskey is ready for bottling!
• Barrel Harvest and Blending to Bottling Proof – takes less than an hour. We will empty the barrel and measure the proof and volume of the final product. If we bottle at barrel strength, it can be bottled right away. If you choose to cut it, it is best to allow the water and spirit to properly mingle overnight so our proof is accurate.
• Final Proofing and Bottling – can occur any time and will take up to several hours depending on the number of bottles.

While the spirit is aging, we will work with you to create your own custom label using your choice of logos, images, colors, etc.  We have a Federally approved label that has a basic structure, but allows us a variety of changes we can make specific to your needs!