Going to make my own Oak Barrel Reserve. Need Help, 1st Try

[dannyv45]

I can understand leaving the NIC out if your going to steep this for a year or more as the NIC would degrade and if the nic didn't loose it's strength it would most likely take on an undesirable taste. The only way to prevent this is to remove all the air from the barrel. I don't think that's possible.

 

[Muggs]

Thank you very much danny I'll be reading those blogs shortly. I appreciate the Hangsen recommendation and info on tobacco percentages, 5% to 15% sounds like a good range to start in. I will have many different samples before settling on the rescipe. I'm just doing an easy trial run. The 80% pg and 20% vg liquid will already come mixed at 18mg of nic so I'm just going to do different 5ml trials of variations of the 4 flavors I will be using.

Going to buy the 1 liter oak barrel Saturday.

Danny any particular tobacco essences you like from Hangsen? I need 2 tobacco recommendations to add to the vanilla and maple flavors I plan on using. I'm shooting for a lightly sweet full body tobacco flavor in the end.

 

[dannyv45]

I really don't like recommending flavor as every one has different taste. They are cheap enough in the 10ml bottles so choose several and experiment.

http://www.rtsvapes.com/Hangsen_Premium_Flavors_s/153.htm

 

[MarkyD]

I have vaped Steam Co.'s oak barrel Gentlemen's Reserve and there are many more flavors and complexity to it. It's a unique flavor.

I'm not sure how youre equating either of these with tobacco flavors. Anything that calls itself "reserve" is a liquor. 5 pawns nearly gives you all the ingredients right on their site... french vanilla, brown sugar, roasted almond, kentucky bourbon, and you already know where the other vanilla (madagascar vanilla they say, yeah right), coconut, and oak notes come from. Im sure that eventually, youll be able to make something equally as good or better than what theyre ripping people off nearly $40 for, but Im thinking itll take you a few batches of practice to get there. Time for you to go get mixing.

 

[Muggs]

Ok thanks danny.

Rough cost breakdown

1/2 liter (472ml) 80PG/20VG 18mg nic unflavored e-juice - $60
1 liter white oak barrel with cleaning kit - $50
4 X flavorings @ $6 each - $24
12 X glass 30ml bottles with droppers - $13
I already have about 20 empty 15ml plastic bottles for taste testing

Grand Total: $147 to make 472ml of reserve which is about $0.32 per ml which is roughly $5 per 15ml. Not bad.

I'm not sure how youre equating either of these with tobacco flavors. Anything that calls itself "reserve" is a liquor. 5 pawns nearly gives you all the ingredients right on their site... french vanilla, brown sugar, roasted almond, kentucky bourbon, and you already know where the other vanilla (madagascar vanilla they say, yeah right), coconut, and oak notes come from. Im sure that eventually, youll be able to make something equally as good or better than what theyre ripping people off nearly $40 for, but Im thinking itll take you a few batches of practice to get there. Time for you to go get mixing.

I hope so man. It's just too expensive for me but love the juice so I'm really hoping this works out well.

Brown sugar and roasted almond, never thought of that. Oh boy. I'm going to have a table full of samples by the time I find a good one I'm sure. Thanks Mark.

 

[Muggs]

Ok preliminary calculations and ingredients are as follows.

Ingredient ml Drops Percent
(24mg) 65/35 E-Liquid 3.75 ml 75 drops 75 %

PG 0.6 ml 12 drops 12 %
VG 0 ml 0 drops 0 %

(0mg) East Coast Tobacco 0.15 ml 3 drops 3 %
(0mg) Pipe Tobacco 0.15 ml 3 drops 3 %
(0mg) Maple Rum Tobacco 0.1 ml 2 drops 2 %
(0mg) Toasted Almond 0.1 ml 2 drops 2 %
(0mg) Madagascar Vanilla 0.1 ml 2 drops 2 %
(0mg) Brown Sugar 0.05 ml 1 drops 1 %
Totals 5 ml 100 drps 100 %

18 mg Nicotine per ml - 73.75%PG - 26.25%VG

I will make a few variations once the taste testing starts. Barrel and ingredients on the way.

 

[Muggs]

Please don't barrel, I belive its worthless and the liquid is not pulling any flavors from it, imo. I have made tons of my own beer\cider\firewater. I see almost zero differnce from using a full out barrel compared to chips. I would suggest getting a couple of flavor chips off amazon and making 3-4 10 ml vials and adding set amount of chips in each one including a zero chip one . Let it sit for 2 weeks or even a month and see if there is a taste difference.

I don't have to much experience using barroles with VG\PG but imo its full of .....

See my thought is the alcohol pulls the barrel flavors out making whiskey. My flavor concentrates are made of PG and little alcohol. That little amount of alcohol will pull some barrel flavors and make a unique flavor. Either way there is no way it will be that bad so totally worth a try for me. Something to do when the kids go to sleep. I have liked the unique barrel juices I have tried.

 

[Blueser]

Well I guess if this is something you like doing, then by all means...altho I'm not so sure what you are perceiving or contributing to the so-called barrel marketing hype is actually an ingredient...

 

[Muggs]

Yeah it could be an ingredient. Maybe some smoke flavor or something along with the maples, vanillas etc. I'll give my honest opinion when it's done because I'll be able to taste the difference between the test flavor and the barrel steeped flavor. If I don't taste much of a difference then barrels don't work and I'll save a bunch of people a bunch of money.

 

[Wingsfan0310]

Are you going to make the same exact recipe with one steeped in the barrel and the other one steeped in a regular bottle? If yes, You should do a blind test, have a friend fill up 2 of the same toppers with each formula and see if you can taste a difference, I think sometimes we taste what we want to if we know which is which. I'm not saying whether it will or won't help, but to be sure, I think a blind taste test would be best.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Muggs]

Are you going to make the same exact recipe with one steeped in the barrel and the other one steeped in a regular bottle? If yes, You should do a blind test, have a friend fill up 2 of the same toppers with each formula and see if you can taste a difference, I think sometimes we taste what we want to if we know which is which. I'm not saying whether it will or won't help, but to be sure, I think a blind taste test would be best.

Cheers,
Steve

I like that idea. I will definitely do that to make sure. This way they are technically steeped the same amount of time. I have 3 employees that vape, they will be perfect I'll give all 3 both samples. I'll load up 2 fresh tanks with fresh cartos 1 of each steeped flavor.

 

[Muggs]

Ok first sample is steeping right now. The barrel is soaking to tighten up the seams.

After a few samples are tasted and I come up with the final recipe, into the barrel it goes for 3 weeks. I'll be making a 180ml batch for the first run. Lets see if barrel steeping really makes a difference.

 

[dannyv45]

Should be interesting. Keep us posted.

 

[ambientech]

Alcohol will pull the oak flavor from a barrel the same way it will pull it from oak chips. I know because my father has made his own alcohol for over 30 years this way. The charred oak barrel is my favorite. Castle long reserve has a distinct charred oak barrel flavor in it and my local B&M has one of the barrels 5 Pawns steeped it in. My guess is they indeed do steep it in them and it does pull flavor from it. Time for the anti 5 pawns bunch to get their panties in a bunch

 

[Muggs]

I have had 5 Pawns and Steam Co.'s reserves and they are good. I want to see if it's the barrel giving a distinct flavor or their flavorings.

Sample's 1 and 2 are steeping and I couldn't resist loading some of sample 1 up last night. Sample 2 is a richer sample as you can see by the color difference. More samples being made today. I'll get a pic of the barrel up today at some point.

 

[Hoosier]

Just wanted to say I am watching this experiment with great interest...

I think this kinda' stuff is the best part about this sub-forum.

 

[f1vefour]

Subscribed and best of luck.

 

[Muggs]

Thank you very much gentlemen. I was thinking the same thing too Hoosier. So I have 5 samples done and tomorrow me and my employees are going to taste test them all and pick the one that's going in the barrel. So barrel steeping will start tomorrow after the best sample is picked.

That means the taste test of the barrel steeped juice will be Thursday February 13th.

I'll keep a 15ml bottle of the non-barrel steeped juice as a control to taste the exact affect an oak barrel has on e-juice.

 

[dannyv45]

Please please please do make sure you keep an extra sample of the one you pick for the barrel available so you can do a side by side comparison as you mentioned. I'm following this with great interest.

 

[Muggs]

Please please please do make sure you keep an extra sample of the one you pick for the barrel available so you can do a side by side comparison as you mentioned. I'm following this with great interest.

I absolutely will danny. I'm going to put a 30ml non-barrel sample to the side for the exact same amount of time.

Since you have helped me along the way and you would have an unbiased opinion on the samples I am going to mail you one 15ml bottle of both the barrel steeped and non-barrel steeped juices so you can voice your opinion here for everyone.

When it's ready I will PM you and grab a ship to address from you. I hope you enjoy them and we all will be looking forward to your opinion on the oak barrel steeping. I'll give my honest opinion the day I try it and ship it to you. Thank you