If you love bourbon, you must also love charred oak barrels for whiskey because they are responsible for making your whiskey smooth and musical. Due to the pandemic, people are looking to age their whiskey, tequila, wine, and other drinks at home.
If you are also one among those, you must look into the charred oak whiskey barrels as we will be bringing in some of the best oak barrels for whiskey in this article.
Why Are Oak Barrels For Whiskey Charred?
Charring is when distillers heat the oak barrels from inside to ensure that oak can bring the right flavor to the whiskey. The oak barrels are heated deeply, which leads to the formation of ash that is collected inside the oak barrel.
The wood ash is responsible for the sweetness and smooth flavor of the whiskey. One must also not be surprised to see dark-colored charred oak barrels because they are heated deeply.
Due to overheating, the color of the charred whiskey is also darkened. If you love deep tone flavors, you must shop for the best-charred oak barrels for whiskey below.
#1. North American Charred Oak Barrel
North American barrel companies believe that everyone has the right to age their drinks and foster high-quality North American barrels at budget prices. With North American Oak Barrel resting in your bar, you can customize any of your favorite drinks with ease. Apart from aging your whiskey, the barrels also add an aesthetic look and feel to your bar. Let us understand the features of this barrel.
Features:
Personalize Your Spirits: One of the best features of the North American 2 liter American oak barrel with black hoops is you can age your favorite spirits inside the oak barrel.
A beautiful option for decoration: If you don’t want to age your favorite spirits inside the barrel, you can still make the most of it by using it for home decor. The perfectly handcrafted oak barrel is a great decoration option available for your bar or counter.
Dimensions: Made from 100% real American oak 7 ½ inch height, five ¼ diameters, and six ¼ inch belly diameter.
Advantages:
- Customize your favorite spirits.
- Home decor options available.
- Made from premium quality 100% oak.
Disadvantages:
- Spirit might evaporate.
- It doesn’t taste really good.
- Low-grade tap.
#2. Oak Bottle Micro Barrel
Introducing the first oak bottle in the world from Oak bottle can rapidly shoot up the aging process of your favorite spirit. The handcrafted oak barrel is made from real American oak, and it is also the world’s first oak bottle. One of the best advantages of this oak bottle is that it only takes hours to provide your favorite drink. Let us understand its features in detail.
Features:
Accelerated Aging: One of the best features of the 100% American oak bottle is providing classic wine or whiskey taste in just two hours.
Versatile: The amazing feature of this oak bottle is it is not limited to wine and whiskey, as one can use it for various other cocktails.
Increased Surface Area: The 150 ml oak bottle is designed to have increased surface area, and the wood doesn’t touch to ground.
Hand-crafted: The oak bottle is 100% hand made which counts for its durability and quality.
Advantages:
- Real oak flavors in two hours.
- Fast flavors for modern drinkers
- Provides room to experiment with various drinkers.
- Designed with stainless steel rings.
Disadvantages:
- 150 ml is too little for heavy drinkers. The oak bottle is also available in a 335 ml option, but it is expensive.
- Heavily priced oak bottles.
- If you don’t hold the bottle firmly, you can spill the drink.
#3.Refinery And Co Miniature Oak Barrel:
Refinery and Co are popular in the American market for selling whiskey dispensers and various other accessories. The standard version of the Miniature American oak barrel is a great option for all whiskey lovers. One of the best takeaways of this product is that one can also age various other drinks.
Features:
Best for serving: If you want to surprise your guest with a new treat, then you can use this miniature barrel to age and serve whiskey.
Personalized options: One of the best features of the miniature American oak barrel is you can customize the aging period at home based on your taste preference.
Versatility: The miniature American oak barrel from Refinery and Co is a great option for people who are not only addicted to whiskey but also addicted to various other drinks.
Advantages:
- A perfect option for a gift to all whiskey lovers.
- Durable oak barrel to age whiskey.
- High-quality whiskey dispenser.
- Copper-metal hardware designs.
Disadvantages:
- Poor circulation of whiskey.
- Leakage is a concern.
- Great for whiskey but not the right option if you want to age cocktails.
#4. Sofia’s Finding-Charred Oak Whiskey Barrel
The whiskey barrels are perfectly charred for all the people who love to cherish quality over quantity. Sofia’s findings are also one of the reliable and trusted sellers on various e-commerce platforms. If you love to give a customized touch to the oak barrel, you can get it here as custom engraved options are available. Let us check the features of this brilliant product.
Features:
Materials: Handcrafted and made from 100% real American white oak.
90-Day Warranty: One can also return the barrel within 90-day of purchase if they are not satisfied with the purchase.
Personalized Engraved: Sofia’s finding store also offers custom engraving options to make logos and designs with laser technology.
Medium Charred: The white oak barrel is also medium charred; therefore, it is a great option for all the buyers who love medium charred.
Advantages:
- Available in different sizes.
- Personalized engraved options.
- Medium charred oak barrel.
- The best option for a gift.
- The oak barrel also comes with a stand which is the best tool for all the people who like to use it for home decoration.
Disadvantages:
- The users might experience variation in the wood because the oak barrel is made handi-crafted.
- One must also seal the barrel in the right way to ensure that the liquid doesn’t evaporate.
Buyers Guide: Best Charred American White Oak Barrels:
Wood: The first thing which all the buyers have to consider while buying oak barrels is the type of wood. The four common types of oak wood are American oak, European oak, Asian oak, and Japanese oak. Various types of oak wood offer different types of flavors.
Budget: It is also essential for all the buyers to limit their barrel purchase to a limit. If you want to buy a small oak barrel, then you have to spend less amount. The price of the barrel increases with the size of the oak barrel you see in the market. The quality of wood and different charred levels also affect the price of the American white oak barrels.
Toasting or Charring: There is not much difference between toasting and charring as both terms define the heating of the barrel. In charring, the barrel is heated intensely, while in toasting, the barrel is gently heated. If you like deep flavors and dark-colored whiskey, then you must go for charred flavor oak barrels. If you want light flavors, then you can go with toasted barrels. The charred oak barrels also melt the wood sugars adding caramel flavor to the whiskey.
Aging: Undoubtedly, you will have to be patient to enjoy the best flavors. If you don’t like to wait, you can go with fast aging barrels, but you will have to compromise with the quantity of the oak barrels.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How to Char Your Oak Chips, Cubes, or Staves?
The oak chips, cubes, and staves define the taste of your spirit. One has to char them on medium levels to enjoy the best flavor of the spirit. Overcharging is not bad, but it can provide deep flavors to the spirit, which cannot taste good for most whiskey lovers. Moreover, the average oak barrel is only burnt for 5 seconds.
Amount of Time Wood Is Left to Soak in the Moonshine?
For the best taste, you will have to leave the oak barrel for 15 days in moonshine by adding 15 oak chips per liter. One can also soak the oak chips in a liquid before adding them to the oak barrel.
What Species of Oak Wood Chips or Barrel Should I Use?
If you love to enjoy soft flavors, then you will have to go with French oak. Whereas, if you like dark-toned flavors, you will have to go with American oak. If you love spicy whiskey, then you will have to go Japanese oak.
Conclusion:
Char levels are not an accurate indication of the spirit, but the amount of heating you give to the barrel has a serious impact on the result, which is the spirit’s taste. If you don’t char your whiskey well, you cannot enjoy the authentic bourbon flavors despite aging the whiskey for years. We hope you guys enjoyed the ride to the best-charred oak barrels, and hopefully, you will share it with your friends and family.
