Barrel Aged Old Fashioned and Smoked Ice
Like a lot of my fellow bourbonites, I have procured a miniature charred oak barrel in which I can experiment with various libations. I've been to bars where the bartenders are aging pickle juice and vodka and hibiscus and honey whiskey and all sorts of crazy concoctions. I just don't know how to feel about them.
For me, following the directions that came with my barrel, (because I am "By the Book Betty,") I twice seasoned my barrel with low dollar bourbons for no more than 35 days.
The result was noticeable. Nothing too crazy that makes me think I'm a Master flavor profiler by any stretch of the imagination. It is fun to experiment with seasoning the barrel. However, there will be no pickle vodka (or any vodka for that matter) in my future, but I'm still playing with it.
Once seasoned, per the rules, I set out to try something new. I landed at a Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned.
My barrel is a smaller one — a 1.75 liter. If you have a smaller or larger size, you'll need to adjust the measurements to fit your needs (enjoy that metric math). For the 1.75 liter barrel-aged old fashioned you’ll need:
3-4 oranges, sliced
1 cup of sugar
1.5 liters of Bourbon or rye of your choice (I used Bulleit rye)
8 ounces of water
2-4 ounces bitters
Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned (directions)
In a large bowl with a lid, place your orange slices.
Cover with sugar and 1 ounce of bitters.
Pour in water and all but 8 ounces of your whiskey. (Save the Bottle)
Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Smooshing the oranges as you mix.
Feel free to taste often (but not too often or you won’t have anything left to put in your barrel). Continue to add bitters as you see fit. Some like a little, others like a lot. If you start with too much, you can't take it out, so go slow.
Seal the bowl and let sit overnight. The next day you are ready to fill your barrel.
Using a strainer, remove the orange slices. Place the oranges in cheesecloth and squeeze the juices into the bowl. Repeat as necessary.
You will need to filter out any sediment from your liquid. Using a strainer or coffee filters, pour the liquid into a pitcher. You may have to do this a couple of times. The pulp will clog things up quickly. Just dispose of the pulp and keep on straining.
Now, using a funnel, pour your old fashioned into the barrel. Take care as it fills up; you may have a little extra. (Just pour the excess in a glass and enjoy)
Now we wait. I tested it weekly and liked it at three weeks, so I pulled it. Using a funnel, I poured it back into the 1.75-liter bottle for safekeeping.
