The aged whiskey is better than the cheaper stuff, but it can also be more expensive. You can age your cheaper whiskey in your own whiskey barrel to make it a drinkable liquor.
It can be difficult to choose the right whiskey barrel for you, especially if you are new to whiskey aging. It can be difficult to know where to begin, especially if you don’t know what makes a good whiskey barrel.
Many brands rely heavily on their history and traditions to provide objective tastings of flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, and taste. There are many oak whiskey barrel types available, making it difficult to choose the right one for you. This guide will help you understand the differences and allow you to choose the right one.
List Of 9 Best Whiskey Barrels Reviews
1. Engraved 2 Liter Charred American White Oak Aging Barrel
- Are you looking for more drink per buck? Only the top-shelf liquor has a longer age than the top-shelf. What would the 20-year-old scotch taste like for an 8-year-old? You can also turn your inexpensive bottle of whiskey, tequila, or rum into a single barrel, handcrafted reserve. You can make what took years in a 55-gallon oak barrel in just a few months at home.
- You can! A $40 bottle can be turned into a $400 bottle. In just four to six weeks, you can make it all with a Red Head Oak Barrel. This mini American Oak barrel is handcrafted by a Cooper over many generations. These barrels make great gifts and can be personalized for personal pride. Now you can age your wine and liquor to suit your taste. You can choose the size of our oak barrels.
- A barrel’s size is determined by how many Liters it can hold. For example, a One Liter Barrel holds 1 Liter of your standard liquor bottle while a Twenty Liter Barrel holds approximately 5 Gallons. Also, we offer Cigar Infusing Barrels. This American white oak barrel is charred inside. This caramelizes the sugars in the wood. The barrel is sealed with a bung and then aged to give it depth and character.
- The spirit (or wine), literally draws flavor from the wood, infusing it with vanilla and earthy tones. Warmer temperatures expand the spirit and push it into the wood. Cooler temperatures draw out the liquid and flavor. This cycle is repeated for several months, each day. The barrels come with a stand, a bung, and a spigot and are pressure sealed with steel hoops. Red Head Oak Barrels’ American Oak Aging Barrels can be ordered with or without engravings.
2. AIMEE-JL 1.5L Whiskey Barrel Dispenser Oak Aging Barrels
- This whiskey barrel is a great addition to your home. It is beautiful and can hold quite a bit of liquid. It can be used for whiskey, wine, and ginger beer as well as root beer and butterbeer. Wood will retain its flavor and allow the contents to breathe. You don’t have to worry about temperature fluctuations.
3. Custom Whiskey Barrel – Personalized Wine Barrel
- This barrel is the best and most recommended wine or liquor connoisseur of a person’s entire life. This barrel is a wonderful gift for birthdays, weddings, and groomsmen. It can store any spirit, and it is fully functional.
- This 2-liter steel-banded cask comes with a stand and bung. It also has a spigot, which makes it easy to fill and serve. Each barrel comes with enclosed sides.
4. Personalized American Oak Whiskey Aging Barrel
- American Oak Barrel started out as an independent resell for a mid-Atlantic bar company. It then branched out to be a premier Oak Barrel company that specializes in oak barrels specifically designed for aging spirits. It takes great pride in its customers’ satisfaction and provides exceptional service for wholesale and individual clients.
- American Oak Barrel Aging Barrel is a 4-pound, 2-liter barrel made of American white oak. It’s available for purchase at $75.00 (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price). The barrel has a medium toasty char, which allows spirits to age ten times faster than normal.
- You can reuse the barrel for as long as 8 years. The barrel has a functional spigot, which makes it easy to serve. The barrel comes with an instruction card, funnels, and bung as well as a storing tablet. The oak barrel comes with a 90-Day guarantee/warranty seal.
5. Personalized – Custom American White Oak Aging Barrel
- Sofia’s Findings Custom American White Oak Aging Barrel is very similar to American Oak Whiskey Aging Barrel. Sofia’s Findings is not a barrel maker, but it does specialize in American oak.
- The barrel manufacturer offers a variety of wood products. Although they don’t specialize in barrel manufacturing, they have extensive experience and expertise using wood.
- The barrel will leak if it isn’t cured. The barrel leaking when stored without curing was evident. The medium charred interior gives whiskey and other spirits a smoky taste.
- The whiskey was kept for 90 days. We then observed the results. Four experts with experience in spirit testing were involved and they enjoyed the results of the aging barrel.
- Manufacturers offer a 90-day guarantee on their products. There are many barrel options depending on the barrel’s capacity.
6. Personalized – Customized American White Oak Aging Barrel
- Laser Engraved. Medium Charred Interior This barrel is ideal for aging your own spirits, wine, beer, and tequila as well as honey, vinegar, and other home decoration. Instructions to cure & seal must be followed prior to using it.
7. MGP Master Garden Products WB-35 Oak
- Originated in the Pacific Northwest, this oak barrel was made. They are beautiful and easy to see. You can keep them looking great with character marks or stains, or make your own. They have a distinctive look, measuring on average at 26 inches wide and 3 feet high.
- These barrels were originally 59-gallon and came from Washington. Both inside and out, we remove dirt and debris. Each barrel is unique.
8. North American Barrel American Oak Barrel
- North American Barrel is a supplier of high-quality oak barrels. These barrels are great for home distillers as well as lovers of whiskey and fine spirits. It takes great pride in the quality of its products and provides excellent customer service. Customers can choose from a variety of sizes and have their personal details laser-engraved on the barrels. These barrels allow users to age their spirits to suit their tastes.
- North American Barrel Oak Aging Barrel is a 1.8-pound 2-liter barrel made from American white oak. It retails for $69.00 (Manufacturer’s Suggested Price). You can have the barrels varnished for decoration or left unvarnished on request. This is great for aging liquor.
- The package includes a stand, spigot, and bung as well as a paper funnel and an instruction manual. The barrel is a great gift item because it is beautifully made. It gives flavor to whiskey, brandy, rum, and scotch. It is decorated with black hoop banded barrels.
9. Custom Engraved 20 Liter Oak Barrels
- Red Head Barrels is a top manufacturer of oak barrels. If you’re looking for large 5-gallon barrels, we recommend this manufacturer. This barrel is the same as those we mentioned in this previous list. It is only a combination of wood and quality construction that makes it more efficient in aging large amounts of alcohol.
- We like the barrel’s design. We were especially impressed by the lack of leakage that is often the case with uncured barrels. It was sealed tight and ready to use within one hour of its arrival.
- Red Head Barrel Oak Barrels For Aging would be a good choice if you need a barrel that can hold 5 gallons of spirit. It’s quick and doesn’t require curing.
Buying Guide for the Best Whiskey Barrels
Making barrels to age alcohol is an art just like making any liquor. We discovered that many gift companies are producing aging barrels while searching for the best. Many barrels don’t work well with aging spirit. But you will not be able to tell the difference between barrels that work and those that don’t. To distinguish between real and fake barrels, you need the right information. These are some important facts about barrels that can help you.
1. Type
Although each barrel looks the same due to its construction, there are two main differences. The first is the type of wood used and the treatment it receives.
This barrel is the best-charred. Wood is toasting by heating it with a controlled fire to give it a dark brown color. This adds spice to liquor and lightens the liquor’s color.
2. Curring
Curing is the process of tightening the barrel to prevent leakage. The barrel must be exposed to liquids like water during curing. This will cause wood to expand and create pressure inside the barrel. Curing is essential in order to make a barrel last. Check the average curing times when you’re looking to purchase an aging barrel. Good-quality barrels usually require at least a day to cure. Always verify with the company before purchasing a barrel. Also, ensure that you have the instructions manual.
3. Warranty
A warranty is essential for any barrel that has been aged. The majority of manufacturers that specialize in making liquor barrels offer a 90-day warranty. The manufacturer will replace any barrel that fails to work after curing. Look for barrels that come with a warranty from brands such as American Oak Whiskey Aging Barrel and North American Barrel American Oak Barrel. These brands all offer a 90-day warranty.
4. Construction and Design
The type of oak an oak barrel was made from will determine the quality and type of wine it produces. Each oak type has its own unique flavors and ages wine or mellows it within a certain time. American oak gives wine or spirit a sweeter, more vanilla taste. It also produces wines with heavy tannins that require a shorter aging time. American oak reduces wine’s harshness faster than its French counterpart. This is true if the wine will age between 6 and 12 months. French oak is slower in aging wine, adds fruitiness and sweetness, and produces wines with lighter tannins that require longer aging.
Barrel Charring is the amount and duration of time a barrel has been charred. This will affect the flavor of wine or spirits. A barrel that has been heavily charred will have stronger flavors. Lightly charred barrels will produce sweeter flavors. The chemical process that breaks down the oak’s lignin, vanillin, and tannin compounds gives the spirit its color. The ideal situation is for spirits to stay in barrels for longer periods of time. When buying an aged barrel, it is important to consider how long the barrel was charred. This will allow you to determine what type of wine and spirits can be aged in a specific barrel.
5. Performance and Ease of Use
When choosing a barrel, it is important to consider its reusability and ability to age wine or spirits. As long as the barrel is properly cared for, good aging barrels can last up to ten years. You must first heat the barrel before you can age it in your own home. Also, ensure that the water is not drained from the barrel. Barrels can leak if they are left dry for too long.
The climate and temperature at the barrel’s aging is crucial to the quality of the wine or spirit that results. Warm climates can cause more changes and result in the loss of components. To ensure that you don’t waste your barrel’s contents, make sure to keep it at the right temperature.
6.Size
Depending on the brand, you will find several versions of the same product. We have found the American Oak Whiskey Aging Barrel to be the smallest, while the Red Head Barrel Oak Barrels For Aging are the largest. You can purchase any size depending on your needs.
7. Price
The price of a product is usually what determines whether we will buy it. However, wine lovers know that some of the most valuable things in life can be expensive, such as wine aging barrels and wines. You should be careful about your budget but it is also important to focus on finding the barrel that will produce the flavor you desire in your wine in record time. Don’t look for cheap ones. We did not review any cheap barrels that we found during our research. Our intention was to provide information about the best functional and most value-adding barrels.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does an aging barrel do?
An aged barrel is intended to impart flavor, maturity, aroma, and color into the contents. It allows the chemical inside to oxidize and gives the beverage the expected characteristics. The whiskey example is usually characterized by a brownish or amber color and a strong flavor.
2. Can other materials be used for the dispense of whiskey?
Whiskey can be dispensed from many materials, other than wood. Glass, stainless steel, and stone are all possible options. Many of these are too reactive chemically to be used as aging containers. Glass is the exception, but it is susceptible to shattering so doesn’t fit the overall aging concept.
Conclusion
This guide is a great resource for buying a wooden whiskey barrel of your choice. It covers all grades and their particular qualities. Before you make a purchase, ensure you have an accurate picture of the crate. You should consider the barrel size, engraving, color, as well as other specifications in this manual.
We’ve provided a guide that will help you understand the various flavors you can get from different aged casks. It all depends on what oak is used and how it affects the environment. We hope that you find this informative and entertaining.