America has few commodities it can call its own, and bourbon is one of them. Experts know that real bourbon is all about the barrel, and it doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, the wood aging process alone can take up to two years, and that’s before the actual barrel crafting even begins.
In order to legally claim the term “straight bourbon,” distillers need to meet a long list of government-mandated requirements, with one being that the spirit is aged in barrels made of oak. The rules are kept in place to keep products consistent in quality, but they’re critical to bourbon’s defining flavor. Part of the long barrel-making process is attributed to the fact that distilleries don’t re-use the barrels for the next batch of bourbon, which is another legal regulation. They repeat the process all over again, and that’s part of what makes bourbon so special — each batch is unique.
While building the barrel itself doesn’t have as much hands-off waiting time, it’s still a tedious task with specific guidelines. After the staves are shaped to fit, they’re arranged together in a steel ring and then heated over a fire. The heat makes the wood pliable, allowing it to bend into the traditional barrel shape. After the interior of the barrel is briefly set ablaze to get a good char, the top and bottom pieces of the barrel are fitted. The final touch is adding steel hoop connectors so the barrels can endure just about anything.
Bourbon’s flavor comes from the barrel
There are over 600 varieties in the oak tree family, but the most commonly used for barrel staves is American (or white) oak. The wood is notorious for being leak-proof but also for providing a warm, deep flavor that’s hard to replicate. The oak’s sugars break down as it ages, expelling that toffee-like aroma. The aging process is what gives bourbon that strong, caramel-like flavor, but the type of wood is just as important. Oak is the designated wood for bourbon barrels due to its durability and flexibility, and the wood’s distinct properties, especially with the charred center, translate into the flavor. Just as the wood we use when smoking up the grill alters the taste of what’s cooking, the type of wood holding the bourbon determines the flavor.
According to U.S. federal regulations, bourbon has to be aged for at least two years once it’s trapped in the barrel, but most producers aim for closer to five to seven years. Maker’s Mark and Blanton’s Single Barrel both hit that six-year mark, whereas Wild Turkey claims to take longer. If a bourbon is aged for less than four years, that needs to be specified on the packaging, so many brands try to reach that benchmark. Bourbon labels tend to highlight those specs front and center, emphasizing a well-aged bottle with rich flavor.
