Different Barrels For Whiskey Around The World

A whiskey barrel is a hollow cylindrical container made of wooden staves surrounded by wooden or metal hoops. Modern wooden barrels are made of white oak, French common oak and American white oak. Whiskey distillers have been doing experiments with barrels and whiskeys for the last few years. This has led to the creation of an array of more interesting whisky. Most favoured barrels for aging whiskeys are white oak barrels. White oak barrels are strong, plentiful and do not leak. White oak allows a certain amount of oxygen to transfer in and out which is a crucial part of the whiskey aging process. Most important fact about white oak is, it provides a host of known flavour s to whiskey including coconut, caramel and vanilla.

Canadian whiskey is a blend of individual whiskeys prepared from different grains. It is blended after aging in red oak. Red oak barrels are strong flavoured and very spicy. These work best with a rye-based whiskey. Red oak barrel-aged whiskey gives strong flavors which can give you an eye-watering experience. One more Canadian whiskey is collingwood whiskey. The effect of collingwood whiskey is pleasant with reduced astringency but not overwhelming maple sweetness. This whiskey is allowed to rest on toasted maple staves and then matured in a stainless steel tank with special staves inserted into it. This is because collingwood barrels are not great for storage. This technique can be used with different kinds of woods.

Barrel maturation of whiskey is one of the most influential processes that defines the taste of whiskey. Different barrels offer unique flavors. Most common types of barrels used for whiskey aging are bourbon barrels, quarter cask, butt, puncheon, standard hogshead, blood tub, baroque cask, Bordeaux, cognac, Sherry hogshead, port pipe and Madeira drum barrels. Most commonly the whiskey barrels are made up of American white oak and European oak. American white oak offers caramel soft, mellow and vanilla effects. European oak imparts bitter, spicy and sting on the wood effects. Whiskeys undergo steady faring processing oak barrels of varying capacities. Smaller barrels promote faster creation of aromas.

• Puncheon barrels: capacity of these barrels is 480-520 liters. These are formed of American white oak. Puncheon barrels were introduced in 1960. These are popularly used for maturing grain Whiskeys.

• Sherry butts: capacity of these barrels is 480-520 liters. First sherry barrels were introduced in vita de Jerez in Andalusia. These barrels are increasingly not easy to find and are the most expensive barrels in the market.

• Hogshead barrels: liquid holding capacity of these barrels are 250 liters. These barrels are created from former bourbon barrel staves combined with some used or new staves.

• Bourbon barrels: capacity of these barrels is 180 liters. Bourbon barrels were first introduced in 1930 in Scotland. These are used to age American Whiskeys. These barrels are taken apart and sent to Scotland as staves. Once reassembled, they then undergo the process of charting to a lesser or greater extent as per the requirement.

Conclusion:

A whiskeys maturation in barrel is not merely storage. It is an ongoing interplay and chemical evolution between spirit, wood and air. During the process certain new compounds emerge, filter out and transform overtime.