Topping Off

3-28-09, I have enjoyed several drinks from the cask. They have changed as time went on. They seemed to pick up more of the whiskey flavor. I decided to top it back off. I poured the remainder of the red wine in and bought more port to put in. After I poured the port in I discovered that I bought the wrong type of port. I did not get a tawny, I go a New York port. It does taste different. Not as good. Maybe some age will help. It is not bad, just not as good as it was. As I drink some out I will add a little brandy in an attempt to bring back the good taste.

Week Two

02-15-09, The port blend is coming along fine. I took another sampling today and shared it with a friend that came over. It is still very smooth and the taste has changed. I still do not detect an actual oak taste. It is a little darker in color and the aroma is beautiful. It still goes down real smooth. No bad after taste, actually it has a pleasant after taste that stays with you. I am already talking about getting a larger barrel to blend the port in and then put bourbon in the 2 liter port barrel. As we were sitting outside tasting the port and listening to some music the song Strange Brew by Cream came on. It is now the name of my port blend. Here is a picture of the port in a glass.

I Cheated...........

02-10-09, Okay, I cheated. I said I was going to wait a week before I took my first taste of the blend. I could not resist. Every time I would walk by the cask I wanted to try some. I finally got a tall shot glass and decanted some into it. The color was a surprise first of all. It was a dark amber. It was beautiful. The aroma was very pleasant. Sweet and fruity (I guess so being that most of it is wine). Then I tasted it. WOW! It was awesome. Very mellow and warmed you as it went down, but not that strong alcohol burn. It was not what I was expecting at all. I was ready to decant it into bottles and start drinking it, but I am going to give it time. If this gets better with time I have stumbled upon a gold mine with my blend. I am glad I wrote it all down. Come by for a taste sometime.

The Blending

02-08-09, Today I removed the brandy and started the blending of my port. The brandy that was removed had a nice taste after a week in the cask. I put it back in the bottle for future use.

I poured in my two bottles of Taylor Tawny Port, one bottle of Wiederkehr Tawny Port from the Wiederkehr Winery in Altus, AR (www.wiederkehrwines.com), about a third of a bottle of Rosemount Estate Shiraz Cabernet (something that was left here from a party), a couple shots of the brandy from the barrel earlier, and a couple of shots of Old Charter 12 Year Old. I did not taste it. I want to wait a week and give all the flavors time to blend together. It is a mystery and I can not wait to see how it comes out.

Curing the Cask

The cask was full of water for about four days. I have emptied it and I am curing it with brandy. I am using E&J V.S.O.P. Select Reserve. I did not completely fill it, so I will rotate it every so often about a quarter of a turn. Next Friday or Saturday I will take the brandy out and fill it with the tawny port. It is a very cheap port. I think Boone's Farm was more expensive. I will add a little red wine, a touch of brandy and a touch of bourbon. For the brandy, I will use some that was removed from the cask. For the red wine, I don't know what I will use. For the bourbon, I will use Evan Williams Single Barrel. I will let this sit for about a week and then taste it. I am excited to see how it comes out. The port is so cheap that if it does not come out very good I am not out much of anything. I will give it at least three weeks before I make a final determination.

The Cask Have Arrived!

01-27-09, As I mentioned on the other pages here, the cask have arrived. You can see pictures on the Backroom Bourbon page. They are full of water and will sit for at least three days if not more. I am willing to go five to be sure we have a good seal. I have not purchased the Port, but have really been thinking about it. I am going to cure the cask with some spirit before I introduce the Port into it. Stay tuned.

Waiting on the Cask to Arrive

01-01-09, I am waiting on my cask to arrive so I can begin this adventure into maturing port wine in an oak cask. Stay tuned for the start of an adventure.