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I'll Drink to That! What is your favorite beverage to have with a cigar? Juice? Cola? Beer? Port? Single Malt Scotch? This room is for the discussion of beverages, especially alcoholic beverages that go well with cigars!

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Old 02-26-2008, 03:59 AM   #1
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For all of our CW Scotch whisky fans...

A brand new entry on the Cigar Weekly Magazine Pages for all of our resident Scotch whisky fans - check it out...

A Rich Pour - Column No.10: Saved by the Staves - Part 1

Hope you enjoy the read!
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Old 02-26-2008, 05:08 AM   #2
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Well Done Doug . Might have to pick me up a copy of the "Field Guide"
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Old 02-26-2008, 05:19 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JulietasRomeo
Well Done Doug . Might have to pick me up a copy of the "Field Guide"
Definitely time.
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Old 02-26-2008, 05:30 AM   #4
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Quote:
In Scotland, as opposed to Kentucky or Tennessee, the evaporation of alcohol continuously outpaces that of water, resulting in a loss of both volume of liquid and percentage of alcohol.
Doug, can you please expand on this? I read this to say that in Kentucky and Tennessee alcohol does NOT evaporate faster than water. Is that correct? Why is that?

You do say this in you article:
Quote:
During maturation, variations in temperature and humidity cause expansion and contraction of the pores of the oak cask as well as the spirit within
So I infer that TN/KY has a more stable climate. Ergo, the wood doesn't expand and contract as much and reduces the angel's share in Bourbon. Is there something else that reduced the loss in Bourbon? The use of new casks vs. refills? Something different in warehousing? The fact that Bourbon is, on average, aged less.
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Old 02-26-2008, 05:31 AM   #5
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Hmmm... Looks like it's time for some more Scotch "research." Thanks, Doug!
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Old 02-26-2008, 11:11 AM   #6
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As I said on my threads in other forums, I don't think there's a writer in ANY cigar magazine, in print or online that approaches Doug Kuebler in terms of descriptiveness and sheer eloquence along with readable prose.

This view is reinforced every time the man writes.
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Old 02-26-2008, 03:55 PM   #7
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Thanks so much, Tommy. I truly appreciate your kind words, even if I now feel an overriding need to pour myself a healthy dram and shake myself back to reality.

Quote:
Originally Posted by univibe88
Doug, can you please expand on this? I read this to say that in Kentucky and Tennessee alcohol does NOT evaporate faster than water. Is that correct? Why is that? ... So I infer that TN/KY has a more stable climate. Ergo, the wood doesn't expand and contract as much and reduces the angel's share in Bourbon. Is there something else that reduced the loss in Bourbon? The use of new casks vs. refills? Something different in warehousing? The fact that Bourbon is, on average, aged less.
Well, Karl, you've popped the stopper on yet another bottle. And as we both know, the contents are ever so much more complex than the label. Nonetheless, I'll do my best to explain some of the individual factors involved here:

1. Alcohol (or ethanol) evaporates at ~78.5șC, while water does so at ~100șC (atmosphere/altitude dependent, naturally). This would lead one to think that alcohol evaporation would, under most circumstances (i.e. whether in Scotland or Kentucky, for instance), outpace that of water. However, remember that we're talking percentages here and not absolute quantities, plus...
2. Bourbon, being matured in new (and freshly charred) oak, is exposed to wood surfaces of greater porosity than most Scotch encounters. Scotch is, in contrast, usually aged in refill barrels/casks, which therefore incorporate a form of coating from the previously held contents, as well as alteration of the fibrous nature of the interior, that mitigate the porosity of the wood. I think that's but one aspect you were addressing as a contributing element in your query above. I also recall Ken Weber of Buffalo Trace pointing this facet of Bourbon maturation out, going on to say that because the water molecule is smaller than the alcohol molecule, water tends to seep through the wood at a faster rate than the alcohol. (Of course, once beyond the confines of the barrel, both the water and alcohol will evaporate into the air.) This is why Bourbons can actually increase in alcoholic percentage over their periods of maturation. Other factors also come into play, such as...
3. The tightness of grain of an individual barrel as related to seepage/evaporation rates.
4. The location of the warehouse.
5. The construction of the warehouse (i.e. stone, brick, metal-clad, tile, concrete).
6. Temperature variations within the warehouse (cooler near the bottom and warmer near the top) as they relate to the specific locations of barrels, which in turn have a significant effect on the speed of ageing and the style of whiskey that finally emerges.

I wouldn't think the climate of either Tennessee or Kentucky is more "stable" than that of Scotland. And it's certainly, by and large, warmer. Wood expansion/contraction rates will consequently not be inhibiting factors in terms of the "angel's share". Not only that... I'd hazard that most of the warehouses in Scotland are, by design (many of them old stone edifices with exposed dirt floors), intrinsically cooler than their American counterparts, regardless of climatic differences. These differences are likely the primary reasons that Scotch whiskies of a premium nature, as marketed, tend to hover around a higher age mark than similar Bourbons or Tennessee spirits.

To summarize: Yes, it's all in the wood and what passes through it. But at least we get to taste what's left behind.
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Old 02-28-2008, 05:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazznut
Thanks so much, Tommy. I truly appreciate your kind words, even if I now feel an overriding need to pour myself a healthy dram and shake myself back to reality.

Quote:
Originally Posted by univibe88
Doug, can you please expand on this? I read this to say that in Kentucky and Tennessee alcohol does NOT evaporate faster than water. Is that correct? Why is that? ... So I infer that TN/KY has a more stable climate. Ergo, the wood doesn't expand and contract as much and reduces the angel's share in Bourbon. Is there something else that reduced the loss in Bourbon? The use of new casks vs. refills? Something different in warehousing? The fact that Bourbon is, on average, aged less.
Well, Karl, you've popped the stopper on yet another bottle. And as we both know, the contents are ever so much more complex than the label. Nonetheless, I'll do my best to explain some of the individual factors involved here:

1. Alcohol (or ethanol) evaporates at ~78.5șC, while water does so at ~100șC (atmosphere/altitude dependent, naturally). This would lead one to think that alcohol evaporation would, under most circumstances (i.e. whether in Scotland or Kentucky, for instance), outpace that of water. However, remember that we're talking percentages here and not absolute quantities, plus...
2. Bourbon, being matured in new (and freshly charred) oak, is exposed to wood surfaces of greater porosity than most Scotch encounters. Scotch is, in contrast, usually aged in refill barrels/casks, which therefore incorporate a form of coating from the previously held contents, as well as alteration of the fibrous nature of the interior, that mitigate the porosity of the wood. I think that's but one aspect you were addressing as a contributing element in your query above. I also recall Ken Weber of Buffalo Trace pointing this facet of Bourbon maturation out, going on to say that because the water molecule is smaller than the alcohol molecule, water tends to seep through the wood at a faster rate than the alcohol. (Of course, once beyond the confines of the barrel, both the water and alcohol will evaporate into the air.) This is why Bourbons can actually increase in alcoholic percentage over their periods of maturation. Other factors also come into play, such as...
3. The tightness of grain of an individual barrel as related to seepage/evaporation rates.
4. The location of the warehouse.
5. The construction of the warehouse (i.e. stone, brick, metal-clad, tile, concrete).
6. Temperature variations within the warehouse (cooler near the bottom and warmer near the top) as they relate to the specific locations of barrels, which in turn have a significant effect on the speed of ageing and the style of whiskey that finally emerges.

I wouldn't think the climate of either Tennessee or Kentucky is more "stable" than that of Scotland. And it's certainly, by and large, warmer. Wood expansion/contraction rates will consequently not be inhibiting factors in terms of the "angel's share". Not only that... I'd hazard that most of the warehouses in Scotland are, by design (many of them old stone edifices with exposed dirt floors), intrinsically cooler than their American counterparts, regardless of climatic differences. These differences are likely the primary reasons that Scotch whiskies of a premium nature, as marketed, tend to hover around a higher age mark than similar Bourbons or Tennessee spirits.

To summarize: Yes, it's all in the wood and what passes through it. But at least we get to taste what's left behind.


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Old 03-11-2008, 09:35 AM   #9
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The second installment of my 2-part article on barrels and cask-strength single malt Scotches is now 'up' on the Cigar Weekly Magazine Page.

Hope you enjoy it!

A Rich Pour - Column No.11: Saved by the Staves - Part 2

And for those who may have missed Part 1...

LINK
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Old 03-11-2008, 11:04 AM   #10
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I've been looking forward to this ever since I read Part 1. AMAZING job, Doug.
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