Bourbon-soaked chips? Non-oak?

[whiskeydrinker]

Hey y'all, what are the benefits of using a bourbon-soaked chip? Has anyone tried this with anything besides oak? I know oak is more common because whiskey is made in oak barrels. 

 

[noboundaries]

No benefit I can see.  I'd rather drink the bourbon.  Bourbon works in sauces, but that's about as far as I'd take it. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

If you are a fragrance designer for Dior and can smell and taste in parts per million? Have at it. Everyone else will never ever taste the Bourbon. Hell, most can't taste the difference between Hickory, Oak and Apple once the meat is smoked. There is the Meat flavor, copious amounts of Rub, some Sauce and the chip smoke being 99+% whatever wood...How many molecules, that may or many not contact the meat, are needed to make you sit up and say, " Oh that's Bourbon soaked wood l am tasting on those ribs. " That goes for the companies making Bank on chipping used whiskey and wine barrels and selling them to the public. Enjoy your Sippin' Whiskey on the rocks. It's a waste on the Wood...JJ

 

[48willys]

I add whiskey to my apple juice and water in the water pan.

 

[dward51]

The Jack Daniels, wine barrel, and Bourbon chips and staves I've seen are from the barrels.  That would have a different flavor profile than just soaking some chips in any of the above alcohols as the staves have developed flavors from a very long time in contact with the alcohol blend in the barrel.  I would think the flavor from just soaking chips would basically burn off in the first 2 or 3 minutes in the heat of the smoker.  So I would rather drink the Bourbon whilst tending the pit....

That being said, I have used wine barrel staves and staves from old Jack Daniels barrels and the results were nice.  But they were cut to 5 or 6" lengths just for smoking.