And the missus ain't home, so who else to share it with but you? Now hold on tight. Here is some more information. On what it is and on what it costs. What it is? It's blocks made out of American white oak. Not just any American white oak, but the white oak used by Jack Daniel's to make his whiskey in. After these barrels are used, they are usually sold to other distilleries. Or they are turned into furniture. And some are chopped up into chips or blocks. Why? Well, mostly because people want to throw them on the BBQ. To impart some of the nice wood and whiskey flavour into the meat they are grilling. But ... they are a great way to age whiskey too, if you find a 225 liter barrel a bit too big. The advantage of this wood (aproximately 5 x 5 centimeters) is that American white oak is low on tanines and has a relatively open structure. And much of the tanines present originally ... well, they got into Jack's whiskey. They won't be bothering yours. The blocks can be used as is. Like 20% of the total volume of the drink you want to age or wood. So if you want to age 10 liters, you need 1 liter of these blocks. For how long? Decide by colour and taste, but 5 weeks is a good estimate to start with. At what abv? About 60% if you want to go for a more complex whiskey. Closer to 50% if you are looking for that sweet vanilla touch. You can also decide to toast the wood. Light, medium, medium plus, heavy. Whatever makes your clock tick. In general, toasting makes for a more complex whiskey. But you have to be careful not to over oak. Use around 6 to 8 grams per liter. So that's the info on what it is, but what does it cost? I just struck a deal with a company importing JD barrels and cutting them up themselves. And I think it is a good deal. At least for those not living in the States and not having easy access to American white oak. A 10 kilo container costs EUR 69,95. As an introduction offer from the supplier: the first 5 containers will go for EUR 64,95. Container? Yes, it is packed in a container. That way the whiskey taste and aroma stay in. For whomever wants to know ... it is a plastic container. Shipping in the Netherlands will be free. Shipping to other countries will bring additional costs. I will try to put up a general post on costs of shipping to other countries later. And for my friends outside of the Euro Zone: the website and webshop will have a currency converter for ease of use. How to order, as long as the website/webshop is not in place? Easy, just send a message to istillmessage@gmail.com. Don't forget the delivery address!