CASKS FOCUS CASK MANAGEMENT
WOODEN MAGIC IT IS HARD NOT THINKING THERE IS ALCHEMY INVOLVED. YOU POUR A BARELY DRINKABLE SPIRIT INTO A CASK AND AFTER AGING, OUT POURS A GOLDEN LIQUID WHICH SENDS AN ERUPTION OF FLAVOURS ACROSS YOUR TONGUE. VELO MITROVICH REPORTS.
I
f you invented a time-machine
the Distilling Board of Examiners for the
and brought back a Celt from the
Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Not
year 350 BCE, there are few things
only does he knows the subject of casks,
he would recognise except for
he has literally written the book, Cask
a wooden barrel. They’ve been
Management for Distillers, available here
around that long and there really hasn’t
in the UK through Amazon.
been much change in their appearance or purpose.
FLAVOUR FROM THE BARREL
Which makes you wonder, why in the
One ‘fact’ that always keeps batted
distilling industry do we still seem a bit
around is that barrels make up anywhere
lost and confused around them. Almost
from 70 to 90 percent of a spirit’s flavour.
like the story of the seven blind men
However, like a lot of ‘facts’ that you hear
trying to feel and describe an elephant,
mention only during distillery tours, you
distillers seem to know bits and pieces of
have to wonder how true is this?
barrels, but few really grasp the big cask picture.
“Yeah, I think it depends on how you look at that – I’ve never been entirely sure
But, if you want your whisky, rum,
where they’ve gotten that metric from. In
cognac, rye or pretty much any other
the UK, distillers typically say around 70
spirit to stand out in a crowded field, it
percent, while when you’re in Kentucky,
starts with that wooden barrel in your
they typically say around 90 percent,”
warehouse.
says Strickland. “This actually makes sense since the
A proper barrel can bring out flavours
contribution of the barrel is a bit more in
in your spirits that are otherwise
American whiskey styles, versus that of
unattainable. But, if you want to buy that
the UK.
“proper” barrel, you’ll need to do much more that ‘click’ on the first one you see.
“When the spirit comes off the still, it’s generally not something you’d want to
In the quest to find a barrel expert,
drink. There are sharp edges to it, fusel oil
one name Distillers Journal found
notes and it can have a bit of sulphur in it.
being mentioned repeatedly was Matt
During a visit to Macallan distillery, they
Strickland of Montreal, Quebec.
let you drink a couple of whiskies at the
Along with Strickland having a Masters
end, including new spirit. It’s not that it
in Food Science & Technology from
was bad, but it wasn’t particularly good,”
Oregon State University, he has worked
he says.
at a number of distilleries and is currently the master distiller at Distillerie Cote des
“You think of Macallan as being this very
Saints in Quebec where he focuses on
luxurious, pristine spirit and it absolutely
single malt whisky.
is, but the stuff that goes into it has a lot
And if that wasn’t enough, Strickland
of edges that have to be smoothed away through Macallan’s fantastic wood policy.
owns and runs DRAM Services and
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Consulting, a distillery production
“A lot of those negative flavours get
consultancy that focuses on small start-
removed in the cask. You get the
up distilleries.
addition of colour, you get wood sugars,
He is also the only American to sit on
you get tannins, vanillin, and all these
DISTILLERS JOURNAL
