Whiskey sticks

Or as we say in Swedish: whiskypinne 🙂

I wanted to find out what all the hype about maturing alcohol rapidly is all about, so today I started my own liquer experiment. To get some taste in plain ol’ 100 proof I took and split the offcuts from the kayak ribs I just bent to hold the seat in another post. These will be washed and put in the oven a few hours, then soak in the Whiskey-to-be in a glass jar. After that… either a nice gift or to bring out The Flask on a cold evening on an island far, far away. Preferably reached in a kayak.

Ok, so I rinsed and then soaked the sticks overnight. After that 5 hrs in the oven for drying at about 150 degrees C. The last half hour I increased it to 180 degrees to get a little more tan and hence, hopefully, a more smoked taste. Of course I did some research on the ‘net, this is just a quick boil down of what I know and want.

Ok so what’s the verdict you might think? Well, ummm, not so yummy. With the fresh oak I used, the taste after a month is far to much oak oil, if there ever was any, and far too little smokyness. Maybe I should have heated the sticks much more, but they were in the oven 4x the time recommended so I don’t know…