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BARREL REPAIR
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ot long ago I released my first book, Cask Management for Distillers. (Available through White Mule Press and Amazon, with a possible feature film starring Tom Cruise as a barrel if I could just get his agent to call me back.) The book covers an array of subjects including cask chemistry, warehouse conditions, wood types, and so on. The final chapter, however, covers one of my favorite topics: barrel repair. I know. I can just hear your neck popping with the vigorous nod of agreement on that one… Barrel repair is more art than science. It is also sadly misunderstood and not often talked about in our industry. Perhaps it’s not ‘sexy’ enough. No matter. I thought it would be fun to tackle this subject head-on. Barrels are made out of wood. Jaw-droppingly obvious, I know. However, wood is organic, dynamic, and somewhat mutable. Therefore, it can sometimes feel like the cask has a mind of its own. My casks will seemingly be perfectly impregnable to air or liquid during some months of the year and then all of a sudden, a change of seasons brings rapid changes in climate and I get little leaks developing all over the warehouse. It drives our owners into a panicked frenzy before I have to explain to them that barrels do in fact leak from time to time and that there is no cause for alarm. If I’m being completely honest, most of the time I don’t even bother with fixing the developing leaks as I know that most of them will seal on their own within a few days. It’s all part of the natural cycles and rhythms of my warehouse. Then again, every so often I come across 80
figure 1: BARREL ANATOMY a cask with a leak that causes me immediate concern. I know that if I don’t take the appropriate corrective action quickly, I will run the risk of losing some valuable liquid. So, I break out the repair kit. This is one of those scenarios where the best offense is a good defense. I try to institute preventive measures early on in the life of the cask so that leaks don’t have a chance
to form in the first place. This involves selecting good cask wood, inspecting the cask thoroughly upon delivery, and storing it in the appropriate conditions. I then ensure that the cask is well treated and inspected again just prior to filling. Finally, I try to make sure that the filled cask is placed inside a climate-appropriate warehouse and that conditions don’t change too quickly. Even with all these W W W . ARTISANSPIRITMAG . C O M