I swear this article isn’t about what it sounds like. I recently got a cask for aging liquor, and I’m really excited for things to come. But in receiving the cask, I came to find out that a “bunghole” isn’t just a funny word for “butt”. It’s actually the name for the hole at the top of the cask where you pour in your ingredients. This new knowledge has created some childishly hilarious one-liners. So….. would you care to know about what I put in my bunghole?
Step 1 in this process was curing the cask. You need to pour near-boiling hot water into your bunghole. (See how easy the childish wordplay comes?) After chuckling helplessly to myself, I boiled up some water, and poured it in. The purpose of this is to make the barrel expand a bit so it can fill in any areas that may leak.
After 3 full days of it being filled with water, it was time to add the liquor. You can use just about any high-proof liquor such as whiskey, rum, tequila, or moonshine. I’m more of a rum kinda guy, so that’s what I went for. I opted for something somewhat cheaper, since this is my trial run into this process. Once I learn more about the process, such as adding different flavors, I may go to a more expensive rum. But if you want to shoot for the top shelf right away, more power to you.
After pouring the rum in my bunghole, a vast array of flavors can be added. Again, this being my first try, I decided to keep it simple. Your first batch in the barrel will set the tone for how future barrels will turn out. Unless you buy a cleaning kit and clean between each batch, your previous concoction will always bleed into your next batch. This isn’t inherently bad, as experimenting with the mixing of different flavors is part of the fun with barrel aging, but it’s worth keeping in mind. I will definitely be toying with the mixing of liquors in the future.
So now we play the waiting game. You can wait as little as 2 weeks, or up to 4 months. I’m letting this go for 2 months, tasting it a little along the way. I’ll surely keep you guys updated as to how this goes, and we’ll perhaps toy with more flavors in the future.
Is there something you’d like to see me pour in my bunghole next?
(Sorry. I HAD to do just one more.)
