So I just need to stick my barrels in a greenhouse and voila fast aging....Remember that it has been estimated that a year in the tropics is worth 2 to 3 years in the north.
Aging Dept: Faster in the Tropics
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Capn Jimbo
- Rum Evangelisti and Compleat Idiot
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how does humidity
Split topic goes on...
There are at least three factors: first the diurnal (twice a day) temperature variation; second, the average temperature and last (I think) the relative humidity. We might want to add seasonal temperature variations, air flow in the warehouse, position in the stack, and so on. How about "ullage level" (the amount of air space in the barrel). Or geography, eg aging spirits near salt water. Not so easy, eh?
A higher temperature seems to speed aging, as warm air will hold (and draw) more water/alcohol than cool air. Same for increased air flow. Chemical reactions and oxidation speed up as well. Humidity is a tricky factor: high humidity means that the barreled spirit will lose more alcohol while low humidity will draw more water, ie under conditions of low humidity that percent alcohol will INCREASE in the barrel.
Here's another factor: in high humidity the loss of alcohol - which contains lignins, vanillans and tannins - will mean a concurrent loss of flavor, while the loss of water will result in loss of natural sugars and color. If a distiller has to give up something, he/she prefers to lose color, so in humid conditions some rums are aged at higher proof, to make up for alcohol/angel losses. Yet there's an exception here too: Barbancourt, who ages at lower proof, but makes up for it with much longer aging than the Martinque cane juice rums.
The real truth: aging is so complex, with so many often incongruous factors that great aging is anything but a science; rather it is high art. Unfortunately the monkeys confuse great age with great quality and of course, with great, look-at-me prices. In the real world, the number very old products that are also not overaged are very, very few.
One creat example is Pappy Van Winkle 20 and 23 - few if any bourbons successfully reach this age - that PvW does is an example of high art and the use of very tired barrels to prevent ruination.
Is there a magic number?
There is! It's 69 - oops, we're talking about spirits. Actually there IS a sort of consensus: the magic number for bourbon is 8 years, for Scotch whisky 12 to 15 years and for rum: 7 to 10 years.
There are at least three factors: first the diurnal (twice a day) temperature variation; second, the average temperature and last (I think) the relative humidity. We might want to add seasonal temperature variations, air flow in the warehouse, position in the stack, and so on. How about "ullage level" (the amount of air space in the barrel). Or geography, eg aging spirits near salt water. Not so easy, eh?
A higher temperature seems to speed aging, as warm air will hold (and draw) more water/alcohol than cool air. Same for increased air flow. Chemical reactions and oxidation speed up as well. Humidity is a tricky factor: high humidity means that the barreled spirit will lose more alcohol while low humidity will draw more water, ie under conditions of low humidity that percent alcohol will INCREASE in the barrel.
Here's another factor: in high humidity the loss of alcohol - which contains lignins, vanillans and tannins - will mean a concurrent loss of flavor, while the loss of water will result in loss of natural sugars and color. If a distiller has to give up something, he/she prefers to lose color, so in humid conditions some rums are aged at higher proof, to make up for alcohol/angel losses. Yet there's an exception here too: Barbancourt, who ages at lower proof, but makes up for it with much longer aging than the Martinque cane juice rums.
The real truth: aging is so complex, with so many often incongruous factors that great aging is anything but a science; rather it is high art. Unfortunately the monkeys confuse great age with great quality and of course, with great, look-at-me prices. In the real world, the number very old products that are also not overaged are very, very few.
One creat example is Pappy Van Winkle 20 and 23 - few if any bourbons successfully reach this age - that PvW does is an example of high art and the use of very tired barrels to prevent ruination.
Is there a magic number?
There is! It's 69 - oops, we're talking about spirits. Actually there IS a sort of consensus: the magic number for bourbon is 8 years, for Scotch whisky 12 to 15 years and for rum: 7 to 10 years.
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bearmark
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Time... flowing like a river
I think that the biggest factor that "fast aging" proponents miss is the most obvious one... time. It's not just about changes in temperature, pressure, humidity, etc. It's about how long the distillate is exposed to each change. In other words, it's as much about change and is it is about how long those changes persist. You can simulate aging, but you can't "fast age" anything... that requires TIME!
Mark Hébert
Rum References: Flor de Caña 18 (Demeraran), The Scarlet Ibis (Trinidadian), R.L. Seale 10 (Barbadian), Appleton Extra (Jamaican), Ron Abuelo 12 (Cuban), Barbancourt 5-Star (Agricole)
Rum References: Flor de Caña 18 (Demeraran), The Scarlet Ibis (Trinidadian), R.L. Seale 10 (Barbadian), Appleton Extra (Jamaican), Ron Abuelo 12 (Cuban), Barbancourt 5-Star (Agricole)
Re: Time... flowing like a river
Well said!bearmark wrote:I think that the biggest factor that "fast aging" proponents miss is the most obvious one... time. It's not just about changes in temperature, pressure, humidity, etc. It's about how long the distillate is exposed to each change. In other words, it's as much about change and is it is about how long those changes persist. You can simulate aging, but you can't "fast age" anything... that requires TIME!