Browsing Posts in: Casks

The theme of  Whisky Show 2019 is The Journey of the Cask – a journey which begins prior to, then runs parallel to, the journey of whisky itself. To help you get excited about casks…

There are lots of technical terms bandied around when talking about casks. This list will demystify some of them. Amburana – a South American hardwood, occasionally used for maturing cachaça and very occasionally for maturing…

The concept of the wooden cask hasn’t changed much since it first came into being, but the practice of making it has gradually been refined over the past few millennia. That’s not to say there…

How big is a barrel? Or a hogshead, or a butt? Casks play a big part in the making of some of the most famous wines and spirits in the world, but navigating what they…

In honour of this year’s Whisky Show and its theme – The Journey of the Cask – we’ve put together a brief rundown of the various types of wood used in whisky maturation, and what…

We take casks for granted. In fact, we take all waterproof containers for granted. I think it’s fair to say that in all of human history it’s never been so easy to transport liquids, from…

[This is the continuation of an old series. Here are the previous instalments if you’d like to catch up – What was a sherry cask, What is a sherry cask and What goes into a…

[You can find the first two parts of this series at: What was a sherry cask? and What is a sherry cask?] In the last post, I talked about how the type of wood that makes…

[If you missed it, here’s part one: What was a sherry cask?] These days, the vast majority of sherry casks used to mature Scotch whisky are specifically built for the whisky industry. They are still…

Once you start getting into whisky, one of the first things you notice is the various types of cask that the spirit is matured in. While they all have their own distinctive character, the most…