Small Oak Barrels
Do small oak barrels age liquor faster than larger ones? The folks at Red Head Oak Barrels say yes, they do! And significantly so. This can be determined by simple geometry. Red Head Oak Barrels offers barrels that range in size from one liter to twenty liters and each size has its own calculation of how fast the liquor will age. The calculation goes like this:
In a one liter barrel, spirits age in 58 days to the same maturity as compared to one year in a full sized oak barrel. In a two liter barrel, the equivalent will take 80 days and on it goes. The largest size barrel offered by Red Head Oak Barrels, the twenty liter, will give you results in 173 days compared to 365 days in a full size barrel.
We do advise that you age to taste you first couple of batches. This is because the smaller barrels age so much more quickly and it is easy for a first timer to over oak their spirits. Red Head Oak Barrels recommends trying your first batch no later than fourteen days after you’ve put in in the barrel to keep this from happening. However, you can wait a little longer for the larger barrels.