The oak barrel in two lines
A 2 litre oak barrel for ageing cocktails and spirits, complete with a food grade plastic tap, a bung and a wooden stand. It weighs 1.6kg and it is not waxed inside.
Who it is for
For anyone after the classic ageing profile. Oak is the wood whisky, rum, brandy and cognac are matured in, and the reason is not tradition: it is its make-up, which gives the liquid the compounds behind the vanilla, coconut and sweet spice notes we associate with aged spirits.
Two litres move fast, and want watching
In a small barrel the ratio of wood surface to liquid volume is many times higher than in a barrique, so the extraction is very quick: weeks instead of years. The right point is passed in a few days, and a drink left too long turns bitter and woody with no way back. With a 2 litre oak barrel the rule is to taste every two or three days and bottle when you like it, not when a time decided in advance has run out.
Specifications
- Material: oak
- Capacity: 2 litres
- Included: food grade plastic tap, bung, wooden stand
- Weight: 1.6kg
- Inside treatment: none, the barrel is not waxed
Not waxed, so it wants swelling
That is the step to take before anything else. With no inside coating the staves arrive dry and the barrel leaks at first: the wood has to take up water and swell until the joints close. Fill it with cold water, stand it upright until it stops dripping, change the water and repeat if needed. Anyone who skips the swelling pours the spirit in and finds it on the counter, and that is not a fault of the barrel: it is how a real barrel works.
What oak gives
Vanillin and lactones, which is to say the molecules behind the vanilla and coconut notes typical of spirits matured in this wood, plus the tannins that give structure. It is the profile almost everyone recognises as the taste of ageing, and that is why oak is the natural choice for whisky, rum and brandy. Anyone after a drier, more tannic and less sweet note takes chestnut instead.
What to age
All-spirit stirred drinks work best of all: Manhattan, Negroni, Boulevardier. They stay stable in the wood because they contain nothing fresh, and time works only on the aroma. Drinks with citrus or fresh elements do not go in a barrel: they ferment and spoil. A single spirit works very well, and on small barrels it is the best way to learn how the wood behaves before risking a batch of cocktails.
Where to keep it and at what temperature
Cool and out of direct light, on a surface that does not mind moisture: a barrel breathes and leaves a mark under the stand. Temperature sets the speed: in a warm room the extraction runs and the two or three days between tastings become one. Never leave it empty, because the staves shrink back and the next time it leaks again.
How many times you can use it
Many, with different yields. The first pass is the strongest, then the wood gives less and less and the times stretch out: after three or four ageings the barrel goes almost neutral and works more on oxygenation than on aroma. That is not a fault, it is a cycle, and it pays to keep a note of how many passes it has done.
FAQ
How long does a 2 litre oak barrel take? Weeks: taste every two or three days.
Does it leak at first? Yes, it is not waxed: swell it with water before first use.
What does oak give the drink? Vanilla, coconut and sweet spice, plus tannic structure.
What should not go in it? Anything with citrus or fresh elements: it ferments.
What is included? Tap, bung and wooden stand.
The more you buy, the less you pay: 4 pieces -5%, 6 -7%, 8 -10%, on the same item.
Dispatched from Rome, Italy. 15-day returns, free of charge. Questions before you order? Message us on WhatsApp on +39 351 929 6937.
To compare the woods there is the barrel guide.
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