tonyhibbett
Landlord.
2 years ago I bought a 5 litre new oak cask. After the usual soaking and cleaning, I filled it with a 'port' made mostly with expired and leftover ingredients and fortified with various leftover spirits. New oak needs a certain amount of weathering to make it watertight, especially the wooden tap, so I left it outside. For a while, I monitored the level and topped up with a mixture of wine and cheap vodka. The tap continued to leak for ages and I gave up bothering to monitor the level. Today, I removed the bung and siphoned out the contents, a mere 3 bottles - less than half the original contents! Most of the loss was due to the tap which did finally stop leaking, but a fair amount had been soaked up by the wood. The port tasted excellent. I rinsed out the small amount of sediment and filled up with my new pinot noir, which I will leave probably no more than 3 months, leaving the rest in a polypin with oak chips, for comparison.
I had originally ordered a 20 litre cask, but the supplier was out of stock, hence the 5 litre one, which they had. The 20 litre one never materialised, as the supplier went out of business. I have now found an Italian supplier, who sells an 18 litre cask, complete with stand, bung and a steel tap (non-leaky) for £80, plus £20 delivery. The capacity is nominal and also increases when swollen with liquid, after a time. This is expensive compared to a 20 litre polypin which I can get for £18 post free, plus £2 for oak chips!
I had originally ordered a 20 litre cask, but the supplier was out of stock, hence the 5 litre one, which they had. The 20 litre one never materialised, as the supplier went out of business. I have now found an Italian supplier, who sells an 18 litre cask, complete with stand, bung and a steel tap (non-leaky) for £80, plus £20 delivery. The capacity is nominal and also increases when swollen with liquid, after a time. This is expensive compared to a 20 litre polypin which I can get for £18 post free, plus £2 for oak chips!