Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks are made from wet, freshly-emptied, bourbon-soaked American White Oak bourbon barrels (not dry barrels like cheaper staves and chips).
The carefully selected barrels have been aging bourbon for 4-10 years in Kentucky, USA. The unique chunking process ensures each chunk captures the charred inside of the barreland gently opens up the bourbon-soaked oak. Each litre of spirit is in contact with a huge surface-area of barrel to enable aging in only seven days. Unlike dry ‘staves’ or ‘chips’, Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks will create genuine bourbon without the need for other flavouring.
Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks can be used in different ways depending on your beverage and taste. Basically it comes down to the original spirit flavour, versus oaking.
- The more Chunks you use per measure of neutral spirit (or vodka), the more
original flavour imparted in a shorter time.
- The longer the Chunks are in contact with the spirit, the more oak imparted.
SUGGESTIONS FOR USE
Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks can be used to rapidly barrel-age neutral spirit or vodka, bourbon, whiskey or beer. We recommend a process of soaking, draining and filtering. You can test along the way, or blend different batches to your own taste.
- SOAKING
First Soaking
Add 2.5 litres of alcohol per 500g of Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks.
Cover and soak for up to 7 days. Test daily after 4 days. Drain and Filter as below.
Character: Flavour - High, Colour - Dark, Oak - Low.
Use for: Drinking or blending
Second Soaking
Add a further 2.3 litres of alcohol per 500g to the used Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks. Cover and soak for up to 19 days. Test daily after 10 days. Drain and Filter as below.
Character: Flavour - Medium, Colour - Medium, Oak - Medium.
Use for: Drinking or blending
Third Soaking
Add a further 2.3 litres of alcohol per 500g to the used Essencia Bourbon Barrel Chunks. Cover and soak for 5 - 6 weeks.
Character: Flavour - Low, Colour - Light, Oak - Heavy.
Use for: Blending, or add 1 x 28ml Essencia Tennessee or Kentucky Bourbon Spirit Flavour for drinking.
- DRAINING
Putting the Chunks in a straining bag while soaking them makes the draining process easier. It also reduces the amount of sediment carried over to the filtering phase. A small - fine straining bag is ideal. After draining the Chunks, allow the sediment to settle for a few hours before filtering as this sediment clogs the filter and slows down the process a lot. Ideally the sediment is left until the end of filtering.
- FILTERING
Use a coffee filter paper in a funnel, or 2 x cotton wool balls pushed down the neck of a large funnel. This process should take time. The product should only drip out of the filter.
TESTING
Because everyone's tastes are different, the soaking times stated above are suggestions only. To obtain the best results for you, it is suggested that you test your product regularly during the first two soakings. Trying not to disturb any sediment, use a syringe to draw off about 15ml (1 nip) each test and try it. You will notice a marked difference in the character of the product with each test.
BLENDING
The Essencia Barrel Chunk process not only produces amazing results, it allows you to be the blender, just as they do at the distillery. Once you have the product from the three soakings, all you need is a syringe, a glass, a notepad and some time, to blend your own personal favourites.
Note: All photos shown are for illustration purpose only. Due to differences in monitors, colors of products may also appear different to those shown on the listing. Actual product may vary due to product enhancement or batch difference.
