All About Aging Spirits

Aging is a critical step in the making of whiskey, rum, brandy and other aged spirits. But why are these spirits aged? What’s so important about the oak casks? And how long do spirits need to age? Below we’ll break down everything you need to know about aging spirits.

Why are Spirits Aged?

Aging spirits is done to achieve the desired flavor and taste from the liquor. After distillation, the raw spirit needs to be refined. This is done through the wood barrel. The goal of aging is to remove harsh flavors from the raw alcohol, while adding specific flavor characteristics found in the wood barrel. Aging does allow for some of the undesired flavors to “burn off”, but mainly barrel aging gives time for the ethanol itself to break down the charred wood sugar, which imparts the smokiness and sweetness in aged spirits.

It’s easy to taste the difference between a spirit that has only aged 5 years and one that has been aged 20. At Eight Oaks, we age a minimum of two years, with barrels set aside for four year vintages. Eventually we’ll have six and eight year vintages. At two years old you can have a dark whiskey with tons of flavor, it just doesn’t have the depth of flavor or mouth feel that an older vintage would have. However, much of the taste profiles come from the types of barrels used in the aging process and EVERY BARREL is different.

The Many Kinds of Barrels

The mighty Oak – not only a beautiful tree – but it is the primary wood for the creation of barrels, or casks. American White Oak and French Oak are the most commonly used in the aging process – each of these have their own distinct flavor profiles. In fact, many distillers enjoy experimenting with different types of barrels to find new and interesting flavor notes for their spirits.

Barrels can also be reused. It is common for some spirits to be aged in barrels previously used for wine or sherry. These barrels can give the spirit a sweeter flavor.

However, Bourbon and Rye Whiskey cannot be aged in a barrel that was previously used – only new charred oak barrels can be used in the creation of bourbon and Rye Whiskey. Why charred? Toasting or charring an oak cask changes the wood’s chemistry. The charing creates new elements in the wood for the spirit to extract during the aging process.

What Effect Does Aging Have on the Spirit?

When the alcohol enters the barrel it’s clear and has little flavor outside of heavy grain flavors and unfavorable burning finish. After sitting in the barrel, the spirit takes on the color and flavor of the barrel. This is why aged liquors are more amber or golden brown, while unaged liquors are clear.

There are three main ways spirits change during the aging process:

1. Subtractive – meaning that lesser valued flavors are actually removed from the spirit

2. Additive – this is where the colors and flavors are added into the spirit from the barrel

3. Interactive – the spirit reacts with the wood, oxygen, and with the char of the barrel

How Long Do Spirits Need to Be Aged?

The amount of aging time depends on the particular spirit. Some spirits have requirements for aging, while others have fewer limitations and therefore the aging time is left up to the distiller.

Añejo tequila must be aged for at least one year but no more than three years (after three years, it is considered an extra Añejo).

Single malt scotch and Irish whiskeys must all be aged for a minimum of 3 years.

Bourbon must be aged for at least 2 years to be considered straight bourbon. This is also true for rye whiskey to be considered straight rye whiskey.

Bonded Whiskey, or anything labeled “bottled in bond”, is required to be aged at least 4 years, up to 20 years.

We do not sample a barrel unless it’s two years old, so all of our Bourbon and Rye is considered Straight.

Other spirits, such as rum, vodka, and gin have no requirement for aging and are typically unaged (although Aged Gin is gaining in popularity).

Other Aging Considerations

Location. Location. Location. Not just in real estate, but in the aging process as well. The climate where the barrels are stored has a big effect on the aging process. Humid climates, such as the carribean where most rum is aged, typically takes less time to age than spirits aged in dry climates. For example, if Rum is prepared in New England it will take 2-3 years longer to age than the rum prepared in the Carribean region.

Of course, these days, there are also warehouses that are kept at certain levels of humidity and temperature control to assure the proper aging environment.

The Angel’s Share

Due to the nature of the environment and the barrel, you naturally lose a percentage of your spirit to evaporation. Typically it’s 10% in the year, and 2% after that, which is called, “The Angel’s Share.” This is why the older vintages are much more expensive because you get out a lot less than what you started with.

At Eight Oaks we use a variety of barrels, depending on the spirit we’re aging. Learn more about our spirits.

Cheers!