Dream diary, 1/2/10: Oak Aged Scotch

I dreamed that there was a fancy, high-end Scotch that, instead of being aged in oak barrels, was aged in live oak trees that had been hollowed out specifically for this purpose. I was a little confused as to how the oak trees could survive this process, but was told that the whisky functioned like sap.

Comments

[JustDucky]

I'm getting an image of drunken oak trees, sort of wobbling even though there's no wind...

[Anne Hawley]

The juxtaposition of two things that become more powerful and beautiful with age is lovely.

Scotch whisky as a kind of maple syrup, too. I like that image!

[Jack]

I would like to be reincarnated as one of those trees.

[Maria]

Drunk trunk? :-)

[Robyn Slinger]

What beautiful dream!

[Benjamin]

It's not totally out there as it may seem at first blush. We get maple syrup from trees, after all, and if there's one thing that human history has taught us, it's this: given a great enough sugar content, some human somewhere will find a way to make booze out of it.

That being said, I'd be far more interested in helping you make your dream a reality if you had dreamed of bourbon trees.

[hoverfrog]

I'm not an expert on trees but as I understand it the truck functions as a support mechanism to hold the weight of the branches above it. The bark is what contains the sap and therefore what carries the water and soil nutrients up and the fuel from the photosynthesis of the leaves down. Hollowing out the tree shouldn't kill it if it were done carefully.

I think that the biggest problem would be sealing the "cask" properly so that it didn't spoil.

However the colour of whisky comes from the sherry casks that they are aged in. Well they used to. Now the colour comes from spirit caramel which is added for the purpose. Not as romantic an idea but certainly practical.

Is is sad that I've given this so much thought? ;)

[Maria]

We get maple syrup from trees, after all, and if there's one thing that human history has taught us, it's this: given a great enough sugar content, some human somewhere will find a way to make booze out of it.

You can make wine from birch tree sap rather easily. I've tried it a few times.

[John the Drunkard]

If a 2x4 in a industrial sized steel tank qualifies Bud as 'Beechwood aged,' there must be a marketing angle here.

A hollow in the depths of the trunk shouldn't harm the tree, think bird's nests etc, think how you could entrance the woo-woo crowd with 'live tree aged' booze.

How many vitalist tropes can you spin on the notion?

[Happiestsadist]

That made me think of a very happy, drunken dryad.

[Fire Alarm Systems]

Thanks for your efforts in writing this post. I found it very informative and interesting. I'll be looking out for more pieces from you.