Page 39 - Beverage MasterAug Sept 2020_Rev

Craft Distillery

sel. Barrels impart this flavor and color by sucking ery to “finish” a whiskey in Chardonnay barrels. The
whiskey into the wood and through the char and flavor notes found in such barrels, like citrus, apple,
layers of sugar behind it during the winter. When pear and vanilla, are also found, Morris said, on the
summer comes, it pushes the whiskey back out. Woodford Reserve flavor wheel.
That process repeats itself several times before it’s
ready.” “The ‘finishing’ barrel is selected so that it will
highlight and enhance an existing Woodford
Brown-Forman has two cooperages, one in Reserve flavor,” he said. “This will create an out-
Louisville, Kentucky, and the other in Decatur, of-balance flavor presentation by design, therefore
Alabama, both of which making the ‘finished’ expression ‘flavor focused.’”
use American white oak
to custom craft barrels Canton Cooperage is also headquartered in
for time-honored brands Kentucky. Its master coopers handcraft barrels for
including Jack Daniels, Old wineries and distilleries worldwide, using American
Forester, Canadian Mist and white oak, aged in open air. The company creates
Woodford Reserve. Few “Spirit by Canton,” a line
know better how barrels of branded barrels for its
impact the end product than distillery clients, who place
Woodford Reserve Master orders based on specific
Distiller Chris Morris. barrel details, including the
age of the barrel’s wood.
“When crafting a straight whiskey, such as Bruno Remy, a veteran enol-
Woodford Reserve Bourbon or Rye, the use of a ogist, is Vice President and
new, charred oak barrel is required by the federal Sales Manager for Canton
standards of identity,” said Morris. “The pros of Cooperage.
using a new barrel are that we achieve the prod-
uct type and descriptor we desire. The cons would “At Canton Cooperage, our production is limited
be that if we filled a used barrel, we wouldn’t. to craft premium spirit barrels,” said Remy. “We
There are additional pros and cons as well—those make our barrels by order with American oak
of crafting a desired flavor profile. A new barrel wood seasoned for 12 months, called ‘Spirit by
is an intense source of color, aroma and flavor, Canton;’ two years, called ‘Spirit Premium;’ three
while a used barrel is not. During our initial use of years, called ‘Spirit Grand;’ four years, called ‘Spirit
a new barrel, we extract approximately 85% of the Limited Edition;’ and even a very limited produc-
heat-induced oak character. Therefore, to create tion of barrels with five-year-old wood called ‘Spirit
the product profile that consumers expect, we must FIVE.’”
use new wood.”
Remy told Beverage Master Magazine that distill-
However, Morris said, that doesn’t exclude using eries pay attention to a barrel’s every detail. He
barrels from another beverage class, a technique said that list includes dimensions, the thickness of
he calls “finishing.” staves and headings, logo branding on the heads,
number of hoops, position and diameters of the
“We have finished Woodford Reserve in wine bar- bunghole, toasting recipe and charring.
rels, port, sherry and cognac barrels for a specific
flavor formation purpose. Of course, by finishing Another critical factor that distilleries look for in
a straight whiskey in a barrel that was previously a barrel is the percentage of leakage, with 0%, of
used in any form or fashion causes us to lose the course, being ideal. That’s where handcrafted bar-
straight whiskey designation. That con is supersed- rels have the edge. Industrial barrel production can
ed by the pro of getting a unique finished product.” show a higher percentage of leakers compared to
artisan production.
Morris told Beverage Master Magazine the con-
cept of using finishing barrels is an innovation that As for the life span of a barrel, some barrels can
Woodford Reserve Distillery introduced to the whis- last 30, 40, 50, even 100 years or more, provided
key industry in 2006 when it became the first distill- they are well-kept. Barrel recycling is fundamental

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