Make Your Own Barrel-Aged Cachaça at Home
Craft your own distinctive Cachaça at home with the Swish Barrel Bootleg Kit™ from Thousand Oaks Barrel Co. This complete Cachaça making and barrel aging kit combines premium Cachaça Essence with a charred American white oak barrel, giving you everything you need to create and age your own small-batch Brazilian-style sugarcane spirit at home.
Cachaça (also commonly searched as Cachaca) is Brazil's famous sugarcane spirit, known for its fresh, lively character and distinctive flavor. Our Cachaça profile combines fresh sugarcane sweetness, light tropical fruit, subtle citrus, gentle spice and a smooth warming finish. Aging your spirit in a real charred oak barrel introduces additional vanilla, caramel and toasted wood notes while adding depth and complexity.
Whether you're a Cachaça enthusiast, a fan of Brazilian cocktails, a home bartender or simply interested in experimenting with unusual barrel-aged spirits, this kit provides the essential equipment and step-by-step guidance you need to create your own distinctive barrel-aged Cachaça-style spirit.
Made in the USA. Alcohol is not included.
Real American White Oak Barrel Aging
At the heart of the kit is a charred American white oak aging barrel designed for aging spirits at home. Instead of simply blending Cachaça Essence into a bottle, barrel aging allows your spirit to interact directly with real oak as it rests and develops.
During aging, the spirit draws flavor and aroma from the charred wood, developing additional notes of vanilla, caramel, toasted oak and warm spice. These barrel-derived characteristics complement the bright sugarcane and fruit notes of the Cachaça Essence, creating a richer and more complex finished spirit.
Small oak barrels have a much greater wood-to-spirit ratio than traditional full-size commercial barrels. This increased contact with the oak allows flavor extraction to occur faster, making small barrels ideal for experimenting with Cachaça and other barrel-aged spirits at home.
Cachaça Flavor Profile
Expect a bright, smooth and slightly sweet sugarcane-style spirit with fresh cane character, subtle tropical fruit and citrus, balanced by gentle spice and a clean, warming finish.
As the spirit rests in the barrel, American white oak contributes additional vanilla, caramel and toasted wood notes that complement the fresh sugarcane character and create a deeper, more rounded flavor.
Enjoy your finished barrel-aged Cachaça-style spirit neat, over ice or use it to put your own barrel-aged twist on Caipirinhas and other Brazilian, tropical and craft cocktails.
How the Cachaça Making Kit Works
Before making your first batch, cure and prepare the oak barrel according to the included instructions. Add your neutral spirit or grain alcohol along with the supplied Cachaça Essence, then gently mix the ingredients inside the barrel.
Allow the spirit to age in the charred oak barrel and begin tasting it periodically as the flavor develops. Because smaller barrels provide increased wood contact, barrel character can develop considerably faster than it does in traditional full-size commercial barrels.
When the flavor reaches your preference, simply dispense your finished Cachaça-style spirit directly from the barrel's wooden spigot and enjoy.
Experiment with aging time to find the balance you prefer between the bright sugarcane character of Cachaça and the richer vanilla, caramel and toasted flavors contributed by the oak.
Everything You Need in One Cachaça Making Kit
Each Cachaça Barrel Aging Kit includes:
- Charred American white oak aging barrel
- Wooden barrel stand/cradle
- Wooden bung
- Wooden spigot
- Cachaça Essence — quantity matched to barrel size
- Paper funnel
- Barrel cleaning/restoration kit
- The Bootlegger's Bible: A Spiritual Guide to Aging
- Step-by-step barrel preparation and aging instructions
Alcohol is not included.
Choose Your Barrel Size
The Cachaça Barrel Aging Kit is available in 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20 liter sizes, making it easy to choose the right barrel for a first home-aging experiment, home bar or larger batch.
| Barrel Size | Approximate Dimensions |
|---|---|
| 1 Liter | 6.5" × 4.5" × 4.5" |
| 2 Liter | 7.5" × 5" × 5" |
| 3 Liter | 8.5" × 5.5" × 5.5" |
| 5 Liter | 9.5" × 6.5" × 6.5" |
| 10 Liter | 12" × 8" × 8" |
| 20 Liter | 15" × 10.5" × 10.5" |
A Unique Gift for Cachaça and Cocktail Lovers
The Cachaça Barrel Aging Kit makes a memorable gift for Cachaça drinkers, rum and sugarcane spirit enthusiasts, home bartenders, cocktail lovers and anyone interested in barrel aging.
The real oak barrel also makes an impressive display piece for a home bar, cocktail room, kitchen, tiki bar or bar cart while your spirit ages.
Instead of simply giving someone another bottle of spirits, this kit gives them the experience of making, aging, tasting and serving their own barrel-aged Cachaça-style spirit.
Why Age Cachaça in a Small Oak Barrel?
Cachaça can be enjoyed unaged or matured in wood, with barrel aging creating an entirely different flavor experience. Wood can contribute additional aroma, color and flavor while softening and complementing the spirit's fresh sugarcane character.
A small aging barrel provides a greater surface-area-to-volume ratio than a traditional full-size barrel, meaning a greater proportion of the spirit is in direct contact with the wood. This allows oak flavors and aromas to develop more quickly and makes a small barrel especially useful for experimenting with Cachaça aging at home.
As your Cachaça-style spirit ages, the American white oak can contribute vanilla, caramel, toasted wood and gentle spice characteristics that complement its sugarcane, fruit and citrus notes. Your finished flavor will vary depending on your base spirit, barrel size, aging time and personal preference.
From Brazil's Famous Sugarcane Spirit to Your Home Bar
Cachaça is best known as the signature spirit behind Brazil's famous Caipirinha, but its distinctive sugarcane character makes it an exciting spirit for much more than a single cocktail. Barrel aging adds another dimension and gives home bartenders an opportunity to experiment with a richer, oak-influenced interpretation of this Brazilian favorite.
Serve your creation neat, over ice, experiment with a barrel-aged Caipirinha or use it to create your own signature cocktails.
Craft It. Age It. Taste It. Make It Yours.
The Cachaça Barrel Aging Kit turns a simple spirit into a hands-on barrel-aging experience. Start with your spirit and Cachaça Essence, age it inside a real charred American white oak barrel, taste the transformation as it develops, and decide when your creation is ready.
Craft your own barrel-aged Cachaça-style spirit at home.
Made in the USA. Alcohol not included.
