Bourbon Barrel Sourcing

[jsrudd]

I've recently been reading how certain scotch distillers (e.g., Highland Park, Glenmorangie) are very particular about the barrels that they use. They are so particular in fact that they own forests from which there barrels are used. Wine producers also are very particular, thinking that barrels made from slower growth trees are best. 

 

As far as I know, barrels are seen as a commodity in the bourbon industry, with most of the emphasis being on the level of char. I know Buffalo Trace did some stuff with barrels in their experimental collection, but do any bourbon producers really concentrate on the type/quality barrel for mass produced expressions? Or is this even important if you're going to char the inside anyway? 

 

I found this article, but it doesn't help much with specifics. 

Edited April 23, 2016 by jsrudd

[b1gcountry]

It seems to me like bourbon producers are very particular about where they source their barrels. I know bt did their single oak project and mm did a lot of experimenting to come up with m46.

Aren't scotch barrels typically reused bourbon or port barrels?

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[jsrudd]

11 hours ago, b1gcountry said:

Aren't scotch barrels typically reused bourbon or port barrels?

Scotch is normally aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Often, however, the Scotch producers will make barrels to exacting standards and then simply loan them to a bourbon or sherry producer for a few years.

[Flyfish]

On ‎4‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 8:09 PM, jsrudd said:

Scotch is normally aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Often, however, the Scotch producers will make barrels to exacting standards and then simply loan them to a bourbon or sherry producer for a few years.

Bourbon makers have caught on to finishing their product in other people's barrels--mostly for marketing purposes, it seems to me. Meanwhile, Scotch makers have been using old bourbon barrels for years in a vain attempt to make their product taste better.