Without time in wood, whisky would lack its toasty, nutty, fruity, and sweet aromas and flavors. Many whisky drinkers think of barrels as synonymous with casks, but a barrel more correctly refers to an oak container with a capacity of 53 gallons. Almost all bourbon is aged in 53-gallon barrels, whereas scotch and other whisky producers use a wider variety of cask sizes for aging or finishing whisky.
Quarter Cask 50 liters/13 gallons
Barrel 200 liters/53 gallons
Hogshead 225-250 liters/59-66 gallons
Sherry Butt up to 500 liters/132 gallons
Port Pipe up to 650 liters/172 gallons
The bourbon industry is the primary source of barrels for the rest of the whisky world. Constructed predominantly of American white oak (Quercus alba), these barrels typically impart flavors of vanilla, caramel, baking spices, and coconut.
An empty white oak barrel weighs approximately 110 pounds. Fill that barrel with new make and it tips the scale at about 500 pounds which produces approximately 267 bottles.
