The Most Used Oak Barrel In The Whiskey Industry - Bourbon Barrel

At present, the most used oak barrels in the Scotch whiskey industry are bourbon barrels (American Standard Barrel, ASB). About 90% of whiskey is matured in bourbon barrels. The reason why bourbon barrels are widely used is mainly because of the large quantity and low price (the price of Sherry barrels is about 10 times that of bourbon barrels). Bourbon barrels are oak barrels that have aged bourbon (and Tennessee whiskey). Because bourbon whiskey can only be aged in new American oak barrels, the used barrels are exported to Scotland as a substitute for Sherry barrels (it is said that the Scotch whiskey industry used to basically use Sherry transport barrels). The standard capacity of the bourbon barrel is 53 gallons, about 200 liters, and it is made of American white oak, which is about 30 years old. Bourbon barrels need to be grilled during production. The grilling level is generally divided into 4 levels from light to heavy. The heating time of high fire is about 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds and 1 minute respectively. Carbonized to form a bumpy, black and shiny structure like crocodile skin, so it is called "alligator char". In fact, the grilling time can be customized according to the flavor requirements of the winery.



Because the barrel is made by barbecue, the wood surface is carbonized, and the aged bourbon whiskey uses corn as the main grain raw material. After it is used to mature other whiskeys, it can release various sweet flavors such as vanilla, cream, coconut, almond, etc., as well as delicate Floral and fruity. Generally speaking, in terms of color, body and taste, whiskey aged in bourbon barrels is not as rich as that aged in sherry barrels. Whiskey matured in bourbon barrels will show a lighter golden yellow color Softer and more delicate. In addition to directly using bourbon barrels, the Scotch whiskey industry also uses some oak barrels that have been reprocessed on the basis of bourbon barrels, such as Hogshead and Gorda barrels.



Hogshead, also known as pig's head barrel, when the bourbon barrel is transported from the United States to Scotland, in order to save space, the barrel will be disassembled and reassembled when it arrives in Scotland. When reassembling, some distilleries will use standard bourbon Barrel expansion, from 200 liters to 250 liters, is to assemble 5 standard bourbon barrels into 4. This kind of oak barrel will be crowned with "dump" or "remark". In addition, there are newly made oak barrels with a capacity of 250 liters, sometimes called reconstituted barrels, with a height of 100 cm and sides with a diameter of 60 cm. The most commonly used bourbon barrels are reconstituted barrels.

Gorda barrels were originally the blending barrels of the American whiskey industry. The American whiskey industry would blend the whiskey in several bourbon barrels and store them in the Gorda barrels for a period of time to fully blend them. Later, this barrel was also used by Scotch whiskey distilleries to mature whiskey. Gorda barrels have a capacity of approximately 600-700 litres, the largest oak barrels allowed in the Scotch whiskey industry.