david Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I am 'force aging' a spiced rum in an incubator to simulate the aging process on a store shelf for a year or so. Does anyone have a formula for time and temperature of force aging and how it translates to real life conditions. the spiced rum was filtered through a home wine making, 3 sheet plate & frame filter through 2 micron pads. This is an approximation of what I will do prior to bottling (my real filter uses 2.5 or 1.5 micron sheets). The temperature inside the incubator has leveled off @ 90 degrees F. The question is "how long should I leave it in there to simulate a year in the bottle under normal conditions"?... 2 years?... Thanks for any input anyone may have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mash Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 As far as I know there are no standards to simulate age or aging for the production of spirits. It would require experiments and careful collection of data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabtastic Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 to clarify, the spirit is staying at a static 90F? no other alterations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 actually the temperature did go up a bit more, but seems to now be static at 94-95 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabtastic Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I wouldn't think anybody leaves spices in their spirits for 2 years. I may be wrong, but in my experience typically a month is the longest I've let anything sit on botanicals and typically even less. Too much tannin comes through for me. As for the temperature, It would probably get a better extraction if the temperature fluctuated between hot and cold. Experiment though! most rum comes from consistently warmer climates than I have. They may be on to something. NAB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 No no, you misunderstand my initial post. The spices have already steeped in the rum for 2 weeks and were then removed. The spiced rum was then blended with white rum, sweetened and watered back to bottle proof (94 proof). I then filtered through the 2 micron pads. A bottle was then placed in the incubator. The force aging that I am trying to simulate is 'bottled product shelf life'. I want to see if, over time, this product will throw sediment or haze or will even lose it's flavor profile. So what I am wondering is, if a bottled product spends 1 month in the forcebox at 94 degrees F, that would roughly reflect a bottle sitting on a store shelf (maybe in the sun for a couple hours/ day) for how long? a year?.. 2? If it lasts a good long time and maintains the flavor profile as well as its clarity in the incubator, I can feel comfort about it's integrity in the market. Sorry for the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabtastic Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 oh, snap. That's a good idea. I wouldn't think that UV would effect it. There's been a lot of discussion about the degradation of flavor profiles in pre-prohibition absinthe. The general conclusion was that a negligent amount occurred. I think ultimately, your product shouldn't/wont be sitting on a shelf for a year. if it hasn't moved in 2-3 months the liquor stores will cut it down to cost and never order again. That's just my experience from running a liquor store though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 I finally got a solid answer from a contact who has done this type of testing with some of the big boys (Diageo, etc,) He says that 3 months at 100 degrees is roughly equivalent to a year in the market. If my rum looks/ tastes good after close to 3 months in the box, I'll be more than happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabtastic Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Right on, best of luck David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetT14 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Taking this idea a bit further.... Can you force the aging process in regards to aging liquor in charred wooden barrels. Possibly keep the barrel of whiskey, brandy, or what have ya, in an environment of 100 degrees??? Or heat up your liquor to 100 degrees and add wood chips to age it??? I would think this principal would still apply, the more you heat up your liquor, the faster the atoms are moving around in the solution which in turn causes more contact with the charred wood. of course you don't want to get it too hot where it builds up too much pressure in a container or starts evaporating. .........just thinking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabtastic Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Yup, thats why they build rickhouses so tall and paint them black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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