Make Your Own Barrel-Aged Orange Brandy at Home
Craft a smooth, aromatic Orange Brandy at home with the Swish Barrel Bootleg Kit™ from Thousand Oaks Barrel Co. This complete Orange Brandy making and barrel aging kit combines premium Orange Brandy Essence with a charred American white oak barrel, giving you the essential ingredients, equipment and instructions to create and age your own small-batch orange brandy-style spirit at home.
Orange Brandy combines the rich, warming character associated with brandy with the bright aroma and flavor of citrus. Our Orange Brandy profile features sweet orange, citrus peel, caramel, vanilla, subtle fruit, warm spice and toasted oak, creating a smooth and flavorful spirit with a bright citrus character and a warm, lingering finish.
Aging your spirit in a real charred oak barrel adds another dimension of flavor. As the spirit rests against the American white oak, it can extract additional vanilla, caramel, toasted wood and spice characteristics that complement the orange and brandy flavors.
Whether you're a brandy enthusiast, citrus-spirit fan, home bartender or simply interested in learning how to age spirits in a small oak barrel, the Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit provides a hands-on way to create a distinctive barrel-aged spirit at home.
Made in the USA. Alcohol is not included.
What Is an Orange Brandy Making Kit?
The Orange Brandy Making Kit is a home barrel-aging kit designed to let you transform a neutral spirit into an orange brandy-style spirit using Orange Brandy Essence and a real charred American white oak barrel.
Rather than simply flavoring a bottle and serving it immediately, the Swish Barrel Bootleg Kit™ lets you place the prepared spirit inside an actual oak barrel. The spirit then remains in contact with the wood as it rests, allowing you to experience how oak influences aroma, flavor and color.
The result is both a spirit-making project and a barrel-aging experience: prepare it, barrel it, taste it as it develops and decide when the flavor is right for you.
Real American White Oak Barrel Aging
At the heart of the Orange Brandy Kit is a charred American white oak aging barrel. Real oak is important because much of the familiar character associated with barrel-aged spirits comes from the interaction between the liquid and the wood.
As your Orange Brandy-style spirit rests inside the barrel, the charred oak can contribute flavors and aromas including vanilla, caramel, toasted wood and warm spice. These oak-derived characteristics pair naturally with the sweet citrus and fruit notes of the Orange Brandy Essence.
Small oak barrels also have a greater surface-area-to-volume ratio than traditional full-size commercial barrels. A larger proportion of the spirit is therefore in contact with the wood, allowing noticeable oak flavor extraction to occur in a shorter period of time.
That makes a small American white oak barrel an excellent way to experiment with home brandy aging, spirit aging and small-batch barrel aging.
Orange Brandy Flavor Profile
Expect a smooth, fruit-forward brandy-style spirit with bright orange character. Sweet orange and fragrant citrus peel lead the profile, followed by layers of caramel, vanilla and subtle fruit sweetness. Warm spice and toasted oak provide balance and a richer finish.
The citrus character is designed to complement rather than overpower the brandy profile. The result is a balanced combination of orange, fruit, caramel, vanilla, spice and oak that can become deeper and more rounded as the spirit spends time in the barrel.
Your finished Orange Brandy can be enjoyed neat, over ice, as an after-dinner drink or in cocktails. Its combination of orange and barrel flavors also makes it especially useful for experimenting with classic and contemporary brandy cocktails.
How the Orange Brandy Making Kit Works
Making your Orange Brandy begins by preparing and curing the oak barrel according to the included instructions. Proper barrel preparation helps hydrate the wood and prepares your barrel for the aging process.
Once the barrel is prepared, add your neutral spirit or grain alcohol along with the supplied Orange Brandy Essence. Gently mix the ingredients and allow the spirit to rest inside the charred American white oak barrel.
Begin tasting your Orange Brandy periodically as it ages. Because small barrels provide increased wood contact, oak character can develop considerably faster than it does in a traditional full-size commercial barrel.
As the flavor develops, look for the interaction between the bright orange and fruit notes and the vanilla, caramel, toasted oak and spice contributed by the barrel.
When the Orange Brandy reaches the flavor profile you prefer, dispense it directly from the barrel's wooden spigot or transfer it into bottles for serving and storage.
There is no single flavor profile you have to achieve. Experiment with aging time and decide for yourself when your Orange Brandy tastes just right.
Everything You Need in One Orange Brandy Making Kit
The Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit brings the key components of home spirit making and barrel aging together in one package. Each kit includes:
- Charred American white oak aging barrel
- Wooden barrel stand/cradle
- Wooden bung
- Wooden spigot
- Orange Brandy 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 Orange Brandy Barrel Size
The Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit is available in 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20 liter sizes. Choose a smaller barrel for an introductory home-aging project or a larger barrel when you want to prepare a bigger 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" |
Why Age Orange Brandy in a Small Oak Barrel?
Brandy and oak are natural partners. Traditional aged brandies spend time in wooden barrels where the spirit can develop additional aroma, color and flavor from its interaction with the wood.
With Orange Brandy, those oak-derived flavors create an especially interesting combination. Vanilla and caramel complement the sweetness of orange, toasted oak adds depth, and gentle spice balances the bright citrus character.
A small barrel increases the amount of wood contact relative to the volume of spirit. This makes it possible to observe noticeable changes in flavor over a comparatively short home-aging period and gives you the opportunity to taste those changes along the way.
Your finished Orange Brandy will vary depending on your base spirit, barrel size, aging time, storage conditions and personal taste. That variation is part of the experience of creating your own small batch.
A Brandy with a Bright Citrus Twist
Orange has a long history of pairing with brandy and other aged spirits because citrus can bring brightness and aroma to the deeper flavors of fruit, caramel, vanilla and oak. The Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit brings those complementary flavors together in a spirit you create yourself.
The result can be enjoyed simply in a glass or used as a flavorful foundation for cocktails. Try your finished Orange Brandy neat or over ice, pair it with sparkling mixers, or experiment with cocktails featuring orange, lemon, bitters, warming spices and other complementary flavors.
A Unique Gift for Brandy and Cocktail Lovers
The Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit makes a memorable gift for brandy drinkers, whiskey and spirits enthusiasts, home bartenders, cocktail lovers and anyone interested in oak barrel aging.
Instead of simply giving another bottle of spirits, you're giving someone the opportunity to participate in the process. They can prepare the barrel, make their Orange Brandy-style spirit, taste it as it ages and determine when their batch is ready.
The real oak barrel also makes an impressive display piece for a home bar, kitchen, cocktail room, man cave or bar cart while the Orange Brandy ages.
Orange Brandy Making Kit FAQs
What is included in the Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit?
The kit includes a charred American white oak barrel with stand, bung and spigot, Orange Brandy Essence, paper funnel, barrel cleaning/restoration supplies, The Bootlegger's Bible aging guide and step-by-step instructions. The quantity of essence is matched to the barrel size selected.
Does the Orange Brandy Kit include alcohol?
No. Alcohol is not included. You supply the neutral spirit or grain alcohol used with the Orange Brandy Essence and oak barrel.
Is this a real oak barrel?
Yes. The kit includes a real charred American white oak barrel, not simply an oak-flavored additive or decorative container. The spirit is aged in direct contact with the barrel's wood interior.
What does Orange Brandy taste like?
The flavor profile combines sweet orange and citrus peel with caramel, vanilla, subtle fruit, warm spice and toasted oak. The barrel can add additional vanilla, caramel and wood character as the spirit ages.
How long should I age Orange Brandy in the barrel?
There is no single aging time that is right for every batch. Small barrels provide substantial wood contact, so begin tasting your Orange Brandy periodically and remove or bottle the spirit when it reaches the balance of citrus, sweetness and oak that you prefer.
What size barrels are available?
Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kits are available with 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20 liter American white oak barrels.
Can I serve the Orange Brandy directly from the barrel?
Yes. Once the spirit has reached your preferred flavor, it can be dispensed directly through the barrel's wooden spigot or transferred into bottles.
Is the Orange Brandy Kit good for beginners?
Yes. The kit is designed to provide the barrel, essence, accessories and step-by-step instructions needed to guide someone through the home barrel-aging process, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced spirits enthusiasts.
Craft It. Age It. Taste It. Make It Yours.
The Orange Brandy Barrel Aging Kit turns a simple spirit into a hands-on brandy-making and barrel-aging experience. Start with your spirit and Orange Brandy Essence, age it inside a real charred American white oak barrel, taste the transformation as the citrus, caramel, vanilla, spice and oak flavors develop, and decide when your batch is ready.
Craft your own barrel-aged Orange Brandy at home.
Made in the USA. Alcohol not included.
