What Happens to Old Whiskey Barrels?

July 2nd, 2007 6:30 PM

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!

If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.
     —David Daye