The oak casks that house the spirit are small masterpieces of craftsmanship. Today, the traditional process of coopering has become more mechanical yet the manufacturing is still done by hand by skilled coopers. In order to construct a cask the staves must be bent into shape which, traditionally, was done by arranging them around a fire. This also chars and toasts the inside of the stave, changing the chemistry of the wood and impacting the depth of flavour.
In the past, consumer demands for whisky dramatically increased which resulted in greater need for casks. The easiest solution was to use casks that had held different liquids such as Sherry and Bourbon. The taste and colour is altered depending on the cask and time of maturation. Sherry casks infuse flavours of spice and dried fruits while bourbon develops flavours of vanilla and caramel sweetness. Double cask is another process that changes the flavour of the liquid by maturing the spirit in two separate casks and combining flavours from different cask origins.
Often casks are repaired and reused but typically the life of a cask would reach 30 to 40 years. At Angels' Share Glass we are proud to recycle casks into our product range. Our uniquely crafted oak staves use 'retired' oak cask wood to form stylish holders for our Angels and whisky glassware. Here are our top four recycled cask products:
