THANK YOU!

Before using your barrel, you should cure the barrel. Your oak aging barrel is made of wood and stored empty so your barrel may need to swell back up before use.The barrel comes with a fair a mount of moisture however if you wait too long to cure the barrel it could dry out and not seal itself totally. We normally recommend you use the barrel within the first 30 days especially since there is a limited 30 day warranty and waiting too long will allow the warranty to expire.

There are a few steps to take when aging liquor in an oak barrel. The barrel should be cured as to rid the barrel of any leaks. This process makes the oak of the barrel swell to close any gaps in the wood

Inserting the valve into the front (if not pre-installed):

1. Lightly tap the valve into position with a rubber mallet until it is secure

2. Check for leaks after inserting the bung. You may need to insert it further to seal leaks.

Inserting the Bung in the bung
hole:

Be sure when you put the bung in
the bung hole to place it at about
a 45 degree angle while twisting
and pressing the bung against
the side of the bung hole to help
preserve the gasket from pushing
up and off the bung

Curing the barrel

1. Start by rinsing out your barrel
three or four times to get any
wood debris out. Fill it, cover the
holes, shake it and empty it.

2. When curing your barrel you
need to find a sink or tub that can hold the barrel because this process will seal the barrel, and
its immediate surroundings, get
wet. Try to find a tub that is big
enough to hold the keg’s stand.
Fill a container with hot water;
enough to fill the barrel. Hot tap
water is okay and boiling is NOT
necessary.

3. The oak barrel should come
with a bung, which is a cork for
the hole in the side (top), and a
spout or spigot. Carefully pour
the water into the barrel until the
barrel is full. Close the barrel
with the bung and let it sit.

4. Keep an eye on those leaks as
they should seal up as the wood
swells. When the leaks are sealed
you are good to go. It can take
from a few hours to several days
(could be a week or so for 10 liter
or larger barrels) depending on
the size of your barrel. If you still
have a leak after a week send us
an email with your order number
and pictures will help.
We suggest if you see water
leaking from the barrel in the
first 48 hours, dump the water
out and use bees wax to get in to
the groove where the water is
coming from. Make sure to let the
area to dry before using the wax.
Wax can be picked up at
hardware stores such as Home
Depot and Lowes.

5. The heat of the water is going
to help with expansion of the
barrel to seal the barrel up nice
and tight, therefore curing the
oak barrel. All oak barrels should
be cured before using them to
age liquor or wine.

Please note: There still may be
small pieces of char inside the
barrel even after rinsing and
curing. This is normal and a part
of the charring process. We
recommend straining your spirit sand wine when removed from
the barrel.
NOTE – Do not submerse the
barrel in water. This will cause
your barrel hoops to bleed and
rust and it may cause it to get
black all over the outside of the
barrel and it won’t look very
good.

Once your barrel had been cured
DO NOT LET IT DRY OUT. Once a
barrel has been cured and dried
then it may not seal back up once
you fill it again.
Once liquid has been inside the barrel you’ll want to keep the inside wet to deter the barrel drying out.

If you are going to store your
barrel with water for more than a
week then you will want to use a
campden tablet (1 tablet per
gallon of water) inside to keep
mold from growing. Do not store
with water for more than 2 weeks
or so or else you will have mold
and mildew.

If your barrel is still leaking after
7 days and applying the wax,
please send pictures and contact
us immediately – Waiting too
long may cause mold and may
void your warranty.

Email – info@unclewhiskey.com

Sealing instructions:
You basically want to wipe the
wax on the affected areas (after
drying) and press it into the pores
of the wood. Then you can wipe
off the excess with a rag. The wax
will fill the pores in that area and
seal it up