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Selecting the right cooperage


Angesteph

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Hello All,

We are in the home stretch of completing our building and the fun begins starting to think about our first Canadian Rye Whiskey.  

We are looking for a cooperage for our oak barrels but not sure how to select the right cooperage. 

Does anybody have any suggestions as there are so many great options?

Angelo 

 

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Ask the cooper for references, find people who use them years ago and still use them.

We prefer The Barrel Mill, they are local to us, make a good barrel, and I don't think I've ever heard a negative thing about them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Kelvin has never let us down and neither has the Barrel Mill.  Both are great folks to do business with.  Kelvin, like BM are a bit on the pricier side (you get what you pay for).  ISC has been consistent (and cheaper than the other two), and quality has been pretty good. 

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Do not use atlas barrel. Also have filled new fill in black swan cooperage for customers and we had a run of 8 or so that all leaked in the exact same spot, so I would avoid them. If you’re making Canadian whiskey you don’t want a new barrel anyways you want a once used bourbon barrel 

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On 2/27/2020 at 9:37 AM, Hudson bay distillers said:

Lots depends on where your from shipping is a killer

Angesteph,   where the hell are you?

 

On small order or great distance, shipping will be more than barrels.

 

Zak's in TN are very good and Gibbs in SW Arkansas are good but expensive.

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On 3/9/2020 at 5:05 PM, SlickFloss said:

Do not use atlas barrel. Also have filled new fill in black swan cooperage for customers and we had a run of 8 or so that all leaked in the exact same spot, so I would avoid them. If you’re making Canadian whiskey you don’t want a new barrel anyways you want a once used bourbon barrel 

Had a similar experience with Black Swan barrels 3 or 4 years ago at a place I worked, they were the worst built barrels I have ever seen. The barrels were never sanded so it was 26 sided rather than round which causes the hoops to not function correctly, so they were screwed into place. 

The barrels from Seguin Moreau are great, but are definitely on the pricier side. Have had good results with Kelvin barrels although they can have a very smoky profile which doesn't work for everything. The barrels from The Oak Cooperage have also been pretty good, but we moved to ISC to get more toasting options the last 2 or 3 years. The ISC barrels aren't as well finished and nothing is mature yet but they seem fine so far.      

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