American Oak Ex-Bourbon 6.4L Barrel

American Oak Ex-Bourbon Barrel for Spirit Aging

These barrels are made from genuine used bourbon barrels. The staves are carefully planed flat while preserving as much of the original character as possible. Stains, stamps, paint, brands, wax, spile holes, saw marks, and other signs of their previous life may still be present. No two barrels will look exactly the same.

Each barrel is available with either Original Char or Char 2.

Original Char: We preserve the original bourbon barrel char, trimming back loose and excess char as needed so it doesn't gum up our tooling during production. The remaining char is the original char from the barrel's previous use.

Char 2: The original char is removed as part of the preparation process, and a fresh char layer is applied before the barrel is assembled and tested.

We repair the joints as needed and pressure-test each barrel before it leaves the shop.

Includes: Two bungs, one used during testing and one spare.

Before filling: Used bourbon oak is more porous than new oak and can shrink more when left empty. Because of this, these barrels may take longer to seal after sitting dry.

We recommend soaking the barrel with water for at least 24 hours before draining and filling it with your spirit. Some initial leaking is normal. Give the wood time to swell before assuming there is a problem. If the barrel has been stored dry for an extended period, it may take several days, and occasionally longer, to fully settle and seal.

These barrels do best when kept filled. Avoid leaving them empty for extended periods whenever possible.

Our bourbon barrels are sourced through a broker, so complete distillery or barrel history isn't always available. Original stamps, brands, and other markings are left intact whenever possible and may provide clues about where the barrel came from.

Production Notice: Ex-bourbon barrel production is paused during the summer. High temperatures and low humidity make it difficult to build these barrels to our standards. Production typically resumes around the end of October when cooler, wetter weather returns.