Barrel identification

[delaware_phoenix]

I've noticed on pictures of aging whiskey barrels that each is identified by distillery, type and class of spirit, rated capacity, lot number, etc. These are required by the CFRs. (And you don't want to rely on you memory that that barrel has bourbon instead of rye ) It looks stenciled. Are there any concerns with the particular kind of paint used? Or will any old black house paint from the hardware store do?

[Palmetto Coast]

I've noticed on pictures of aging whiskey barrels that each is identified by distillery, type and class of spirit, rated capacity, lot number, etc. These are required by the CFRs. (And you don't want to rely on you memory that that barrel has bourbon instead of rye ) It looks stenciled. Are there any concerns with the particular kind of paint used? Or will any old black house paint from the hardware store do?

I was wondering if you could point me to the CFRs for barrel aging? I couldn't find them on TTB.gov

Thanks,

Todd

[Sherman]

I've seen this stencil technology for a long time to. If I were tracking millions of dollars or hundreds of dollars worth of inventory, I would be using bar codes, or RFID and scanner directly into and out of the computer system and every movement. Sure beats fat finger all that information.

[delaware_phoenix]

Certainly computerized records of what you've got in the storage account and everything else is very important, however the CFRs aren't talking about that. Remember, your hard drive could crash and after you recovered everything and put in the backup CD, the message "Cannot read this disk" would be very disconcerting.

Here's the link to the distilled spirits CFRs

http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/spirits-regs.shtml

You want to select 27 CFR Part 19 Distilled Spirits Plants, and then find Subpart R. The important ones are 19.593, 19.596, 19.597 and 19.612. The other elements within the section are important too but weren't as interesting for my purposes.

All it says is the marks need to be durable, etc. I'm sure they're stencils, I was just trying to get an idea if there was a particular paint that was more recommended than others. I personally wouldn't choose an oil based paint, and the oil will over time leach into the wood. Probably not enough to even be a problem, but I'm a paranoid head case.

Palmetto Coast, barrel aging is listed in the labeling regulations. That's 27 CFR Part 5. Not sure if this is what you were looking for, but the BAM lists the spirits that must be aged in oak and for how long. To be a straight whiskey, it must be aged in charred new oak for at least 2 years.

[cowdery]

Shoot a note to a couple of the master distillers in Kentucky or Tennessee. They'll tell you.

The last time I saw it done, at Woodford Reserve, they used a stencil and a rubber roller with an ink pad.

Ask Dan Garrison (Garrison Brothers in Texas, picture attached) what he uses.

The big guys may be using ink jet printers, but they can still tell you the ink specifications.

[delaware_phoenix]

Thanks Chuck, that gives me enough info to find something that will work. Hadn't thought of using printers ink and a roller. That's easy. Black is usually made from the most stable of pigments, so that fits the bill.

[High West]

Kind of a side note... I've seen barrels that get painted completely on one side, different colors. Would this be used as a way to determine that it's a second fill vs third fill? Does anyone know what the colored ends might mean?

What type of paint is used?

Thanks in advance...