this may sound like a silly question but dose it matter wot time of day you tap a tree????day or night.
Birch Sap News
- Thread starter JonathanD
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Not really. Anytime is good.
Just make sure the wooden bung to plug the hole has steep sides so that it seals it perfectly with a few bangs of your axe or hammer. I have a template of the hole at home so that I can make some decent fitting wooden bungs in advance.
Damned straight. Ice cubes and single maltsSurely thats a beatable offence.
Plain ice is fine but anything else is criminal imo. Mint leaves pffft!
I'm tempted to tap some of the trees in my garden but I'm not sure that I see the point other than as a curiosity. It seems there isn't the sugar content to make it worth boiling down to a syrup like in the north american maples, and it definately doesn't have any kind of flavour worth putting into a wine. It was great to satisfy my curiosity and taste it though.
Sisyphus said:
Are you guys being sarcastic or serious? I may have said the wrong drink because the video where he says that on youtube has been taken off and I don't drink so I really don't know... Anyways, I'm waiting untill... Maybe the second week of march or something like that before I go try tapping one because it's still winter. So much to do and I need the spring for all of it!JonathanD said:
A bit of both really! A good single malt is like a fine brandy, it just shouldn't be tampered with and ought to be enjoyed on its own. In RM's defense an icecube made of birch sap with a mint leaf in it isnt *quite* as bad as mixing it with cola and drinking it with a straw, but I do get the feeling it's just something he came up with for the sake of finding a use for birch sap which sounds good on telly.
Yep, the mint will have more of effect on the taste than the sap. The sap is pretty much like water - I bet that a lot of people are disappointed in the taste the first time they try it, especially after all the who-har that's made about it.
Damned straight. Ice cubes and single malts
but if it is with a handfull of rolled up church papers then you will be dragged through the streets by a horse.
I hope the people who disagree with ice in single malts don't object to adding water.
If not then I most certainly do tamper with my malt and get a more flavourful drink as a result. A drop of water (not the chemical riddled stuff that comes out of most taps, mind) in a malt really opens up the flavours.
If not then I most certainly do tamper with my malt and get a more flavourful drink as a result. A drop of water (not the chemical riddled stuff that comes out of most taps, mind) in a malt really opens up the flavours.
You are soooo right. Cutting a single malt with water is 'the done thing' , although I prefer Islay malts like Ardbeg neat and as natural as possible, but cutting it does open up the flavours and should be done. Ice cubes in Scotch and the liquid is shocked much akin to you jumping naked in a freezing cold lake, and should not happen. As for Ray and his mint leaves and ice cubes, I'm sure he put that line in the script just to **** me off, not to mention most Scots
I have registered my disgust on many occasion 
I tried a Laphroig last night, cutting it with birch sap.... mighty good stuff
Never heard about shocked scotch before...
...my understanding is that it works on the same principle as "cold lager".
Why do some beers get served much colder than others? Because the cold numbs your taste buds and you don't taste how bloody awful the beer is.
I don't think the cold does damage to the whisky so much as it numbs your tongue making you miss out on the flavours.
Essentially it's the jumping into a cold lake thing - it sends you numb so you lose feeling.``
It'd be an interesting experiment to see if you could tell the difference between a malt cut with an amount of water, and a malt with an ice cube containing the same amount of water which was allowed to melt and then return to the same temperature as the properly cut malt.
I feel an experiment coming on.
...my understanding is that it works on the same principle as "cold lager".
Why do some beers get served much colder than others? Because the cold numbs your taste buds and you don't taste how bloody awful the beer is.
I don't think the cold does damage to the whisky so much as it numbs your tongue making you miss out on the flavours.
Essentially it's the jumping into a cold lake thing - it sends you numb so you lose feeling.``
It'd be an interesting experiment to see if you could tell the difference between a malt cut with an amount of water, and a malt with an ice cube containing the same amount of water which was allowed to melt and then return to the same temperature as the properly cut malt.
I feel an experiment coming on.
Certainly my father and grandfather usually drank it in a 50/50 ratio with icecold water. A couple of icecubes pretty much perform the same function but ensure it stays cold until it's finished without diluting it too much
I prefer Islay malts like Ardbeg neat and as natural as possible, but cutting it does open up the flavours and should be done.
I tried a Laphroig last night, cutting it with birch sap.... mighty good stuff
I'm with you on the Islay malts - but my preference is cask strength Caol Ila - straight it's like drinking a sweet alcoholic oil, with a touch of spring water it's another drink all together - in fact, I think I'll pour one
On the Birch sap subject - I've got half a dozen big birches but haven't had chance to try them yet this year - maybe tomorrow when I feel less depressed after Wales losing!
Quick question:
What sort of size in diameter is the best birch to tap?
I tapped a range of them the other day and got nothing. I simply tapped my Mora in with a tree stake. I plan to do it 'Pablo' style.
I got a good flow from one in my garden about 10" in diameter
Quick question:
What sort of size in diameter is the best birch to tap?
I tapped a range of them the other day and got nothing. I simply tapped my Mora in with a tree stake. I plan to do it 'Pablo' style.
Not all will flow at the same time. When I tapped last week most weren't flowing but then I found one bathed in sunlight and it was poring out plenty.
I tested a thumping big 3foot trunk last night and it was pumping like bugger, the sap is rising in north scotland.(well near me anyway)
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