Used whiskey Barrel

One, dry barrel is not really that enticing. Maybe a homebrew buddy would want it?

If not, cut it in half as they make great planters.

 

It might be worth dropping a message to enlightenment ales. He's an up and coming nano brewery near boston, could use a barrel to do something special with. Search Facebook, I know he doesn't have a lot of resources to buy barrels but I bet he would give you some of the final product...

 

Buffalo Trace barrels are great. That is what we use to age our bourbon barrel stout and our bourbon barrel wee heavy at work. If you look at the barrel markings, you can give a bit more info to your potential buyers/traders. They have a date and a mash number. Our favorite barrels have been 8 year aged- Mash #2. These give a very sweet bourbon flavor with a pretty prominent vanilla taste.
Typically, Buffalo Trace has about a gallon of liquid left in each barrel, not including what is soaked into the wood. They have been shown in our experiments to give a much more significant bourbon flavor than other barrels and we have had to blend with un-barrel aged beer in order to back it off a bit. If it is well sealed and there is still a good amount of liquid in the barrel, this would be a good pick up for a homebrew club.

 

Does this mean used once since leaving Buffalo Trace? If so, for what?

 

It's also worth noting that Buffalo Trace barrels are becoming very scarce to the public. Buying from a cooperage, they are valued at $105, guaranteed freshness of within a week of emptying.

 

Where do you look for these barrels?

 

We just got 15 from Speyside Cooperage. Not sure if they sell one at a time or not. A year ago we got them straight from Bourbon Trace, but the demand for barrels has greatly increased in the last year. A year ago, we paid $80 per barrel. Next year we expect to pay closer to $130 per barrel. Apparently bourbon barrels are gaining popularity in Scotland for Scotch and it's driving the price up.

 

Am. bourbon barrels have been used for many, many years, in Scotland. My guess would be the price is being driven up by the popularity of aging beer in bourbon barrels, more than an increase in Scotch production.

 

That was my guess also. When I asked the cooperage manager about it though, he said that craft beer is such a small amount of his barrel sales that it had nothing to do with it. Apparently he sells 3,000 barrels a week out of that facility, 10,000 this year are to craft breweries.

 

That does seem like a small percentage...but I just can't see the price being driven up because of higher demand in Scotland. I mean, there have only been approx. 5 new distilleries in the last 20 years...and there have been 20 or so closures since 1975.

I certainly wouldn't be more "in the know" than the guy selling the barrels though.

 

Perhaps more distilleries are starting to use bourbon barrels instead of sherry butts.

 

It's possible, but many of them were already doing a first aging in bourbon barrels, then transferring to sherry or something else. I'm thinking specifically of Auchentoshan (first that comes to mind).

I suppose I do recall reading somewhere that world wide demand for scotch was up. So, if the distilleries are ramping up production...we wouldn't really see an impact in the market for several years.

 

WOW! Buffalo Trace happens to be my absolute favorite Bourbon! I'd love to get my hands on a barrel. I'm just doing 5 gal batches though so it is way too much barrel for me. I've been thinking of inquiring about a small barrel though but not sure where to go for that either.

I did get a free barrel from Heaven Hill in Kentucky. It's been outside my house for a year waiting to be cut in half for a glass top coffee table.

 

I have heard fantastic things about.. http://www.blackswanbarrels.com/
They also have "Honeycombs" which are a full barrel alternative that fits in your carboy. I am looking to pick up a 5 gallon barrel and some honey combs post holidays unless the wife surprises me for Christmas.
Although I would not destroy the barrel... just my opinion that someone will want it.

 

Ha! Nice find...didn't know about these people. It's not the same as purchasing a wet whisky barrel...but you could definitely "season" your own.

If you were here, I would give you a hug.

 

A nice cold homebrew would do nicely!! Also seasoning your own seems like a capital idea take 1 awesome family made barrel with 1 awesome whiskey & then have at with with homebrew!

 

Leebo,
If you don't brew I would just visit your local homebrew supply store, they may be able to find someone that might want to buy it or trade. Realistically it will have to be local because no one is probably going to pay to ship one barrel and most home brewers don't have the set-up to brew 55 gallons anyway. I have heard of some brew clubs doing a collective brewing day and then dumping all their batches in a barrel to see what happens. Hope that helps.