Used Bourbon Barrels
Using oak barrels has been an age-old tradition in the world of wine and spirits. These wooden barrels have created an opportunity for experimentation across beverages. Modern-day winemakers have started aging their wines in used bourbon barrels to obtain unique flavor characteristics. Early producers appreciated the advantages of an oak bourbon barrel for years before they acquired the technical knowledge that was required to understand the benefits of an oak bourbon barrel beyond the anecdotal theory.
In winemaking, barrels add distinct flavors to the wine and soften tannins by enabling tiny amounts of oxygen to enter. Traditional oak wine barrels were often toasted, due to this process the barrels are able to impart flavors of baking spices and vanilla to wine as it ages. They are toasted at different temperatures. Winemakers can select new bourbon barrels at different toast levels to suit the wine style they desire. Used bourbon barrels for brewing, on the other hand, are completely blackened from intense heat; these barrels have a layer of char that imparts smoky and caramelized flavors into the bourbon. This layer also acts as a carbon filter to soften the spirit’s natural harshness. When wines are aged in used bourbon casks, those same flavors – charred vanilla, dried herbs, caramel, honey, and toasted spice – appear in the wine.
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Apart from the newly charred barrels winemakers can also utilize barrels once used to age bourbon. Barrel-aged beer has become a signature feature of craft breweries across the country today, and local brewers have discovered the beauty of barrels as well.
