Still Spirits Oak Cask, what it does and how to use it

What Oak Cask is for

Wood is what turns a raw spirit into something you want to drink slowly, and at home almost nobody has a barrel or the patience a barrel demands. Still Spirits Oak Cask is the shortcut, and it goes in heavier than the Mellow Oak does, so it's the one to reach for when you want the spirit to taste like it has spent proper time in wood.

Think of the two as a pair rather than as competitors. Mellow Oak is the gentle end and Oak Cask is the deep end, and which one you want depends entirely on the spirit and on how far you're trying to push it.

How to dose it

The rate is on the bottle and that's what to follow, because these get reformulated and a figure in a post doesn't. The part the pack can't tell you is that oak is the easiest flavouring in the whole range to overdo, and once a spirit has gone woody and bitter there's nothing you can do about it.

So start under the rate, stir it through properly, and taste. Adding a little more is slow and boring and it's the only direction you can come back from.

Wait before you judge it

Oak keeps developing for a week or two, so what you taste on the first night isn't what you're going to end up with. This is where most people come unstuck. They taste it early, decide it's weak, add more, and then find themselves a fortnight later with something far heavier than they wanted.

What it works on

Anything meant to taste aged takes it well, so a whiskey or a bourbon is fair game, and so is a dark rum. It does nothing useful for a gin or a vodka, where a clean base is the entire point.

If you would rather use real wood, the oak soakers and the barrel chips do a similar job more slowly and with less control over the outcome. Plenty of people run both and compare the two, which is the most enjoyable way to work out what you actually like.

Shop related products

• Still Spirits Oak Cask 50ml. This is the bottle the post is about.
• Still Spirits Mellow Oak Spirit Flavouring 50ml. This is the gentler oak and it is the one to start on.
• Still Spirits Top Shelf Whiskey Essence 50ml. Set the whiskey profile before the oak goes near it.
• Still Spirits Top Shelf Distillers Caramel 50ml. Deepens the colour once the flavour has landed.

Did you know we also hold the Sam Willards oak soakers in bourbon and in whiskey, plus a rum one and the bourbon barrel chips, in the shop where none of them make it onto the website. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.

Where to go next

The homebrew range has the rest of them, and Brewhilder will talk you through what suits the spirit you are making.

Worth reading next: Still Spirits Mellow Oak, what it does and how to use it and How to store and age a spirit you made at home.

Oak is the ingredient I'm least to be trusted with, so read the pack rather than watching me do it.