When news broke last month that the world’s supply of Scotch is being guzzled faster than properly aged replacement hooch can be produced, an air of melancholy set itself about InsideHook HQ.
First came denial and anger, followed by bargaining, then depression, and finally, acceptance.
And by acceptance we mean we came across something called the Oak Bottle, a charred white oak vessel that claims it drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to infuse an “aged” flavor into a spirit. Compatible with liquor, beer or wine, the bottles are available in two sizes and can be customized with flavors like coffee, maple, smoke and cinnamon.
But, uh, does it actually work?
Gizmodo asked two “career alcoholics” to test it out on a trio of different liquors.
Their takeaways:
Tequila (Sauza Silver)
In addition to imbuing the clear spirit with a darker, richer amber color, the reviewers found that “aging” the tequila in the oak bottle gave it a stronger, smokier, more añejo-like flavor.
Whiskey (Evan Williams)
Both reviewers commented that the Oaked version of the whiskey was much “smoother” and “easier” to drink than its unaged source material.
Wine (Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw Chardonnay)
“Dirty.” “Doesn’t taste good.”
So, in conclusion:
The Oak Bottle will, in fact, make bottom-shelf booze taste more like middle-shelf booze. Wine, on the other hand? Leave it the way that it was intended.
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