Galapadoc Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Does anyone here have any experience using Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) barrels for aging spirits? I'm in the Galapagos Islands and it's the only real wood available locally other than matasarno (Piscidia carthagenensis). I'm looking to make a local corn whisky. It's not a true cedar, more closely related to mahogany. I've read a few scattered mentions of it being used to age some whiskies and rums, as well as some scattered forum posts on hobbyist sites, but no real details about the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 It's listed in the FDA poisonous plants database, not sure why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galapadoc Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 18 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said: It's listed in the FDA poisonous plants database, not sure why. So are apples and pretty much every other plant found in North America. 🙃 (the seeds contain cyanide) Mile Hi sells Spanish cedar spirals and there's at least one Japanese whisky aged in Spanish cedar barrels. I know people out there are using it, I'm just curious to find out what kind of outcomes they've encountered. We're trying to bring as little as possible into the Galapagos to run our operation. Spanish cedar is an introduced species here. It was planted by the original settlers for construction, but now it's not used so much (replaced by masonry) and the National Park is trying to find ways to incentivize cutting them down so that the slower growing native plants can get some sun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galapadoc Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 20 hours ago, Brewstilla said: get into the cigar game instead I had some shares in a cigar operation in Nicaragua back in the day. It was nice to get all those free cigars, but the business is definitely going extinct. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlickFloss Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 I use Spanish oak extensively but not cedar. Would love to try it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williehrdale Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Hey Galapadoc, did you ever try Spanish cedar with your spirit? I would be very curious to see how that came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galapadoc Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 On 3/8/2024 at 10:13 AM, Williehrdale said: Hey Galapadoc, did you ever try Spanish cedar with your spirit? I would be very curious to see how that came out. Nothing yet. We just got the roof put on our distillery a few days ago. Floor is being poured this week, then I start assembling the still while the electrical engineer wires the place up. I'm going to give it a shot to see what happens. The Cuban cedar we have here is the only lumber tree on the island. They're an invasive species so the national park encourages us to cut them down. If nothing else, they'll make for nice decorative boxes for some limited edition spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williehrdale Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Awesome! That is very exciting. Keep me updated, can't wait to see how everything turns out! I think you have a lot of options for the cedar, even if it's just chips or decorative boxes, for sure. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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