What Happens to Old Whiskey Barrels?
Whiskey barrel graveyard
Credit: Clearly Ambiguous
Each batch Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey must be aged in new barrels, so what happens to the old ones?
I already knew that some of them were used for aging rum, tequila, and beer (the last wasn’t mentioned in the article, though). However, surprisingly, some of the end up being used for Scotch.
A Brown-Forman spokesperson says, “So the next time a friend of yours compliments the Scotch whisky he or she is drinking, you can tell them that one of the reasons it tastes so good is because it’s aged in a used Jack Daniel’s barrel.”
That’s right. Take that Scotch snobs!
Tags: barrels, scotch, Whiskey, whisky
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:03 pm
It’s also where Canadian whisky makers get the majority of their barrels. Why buy new when you can get slightly used at a substantial discount.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:49 am
Only a small portion of the empty barrels generated by distilleries comes from Jack Daniels. There are many more distilleries in Kentucky. The best use of the barrel is the first use. That is why Kentucky Bourbon MUST be made in NEW white oak barrels, and why the best whiskey in the world is Kentucky Bourbon. To learn more to to: http://www.kentuckybarrels.com/KentuckyBourbon.html