Barrel aging is all the rage in today's world of craft everything. From honey, to maple syrup, and of course, spirits, craft food and drink makers are pushing the sweet vanilla and clove notes imparted by the charred oak barrels. With the recent explosion of craft distillers in the US, combined with a renewed taste among consumers for classic spirits, cooperages (barrel making companies) around the country are busy around the clock. As Modern Farmer points out, there is one big caveat: the prices of barrels are going way, way up, due to renewed popularity and a shortage of proper wood.
There are now over 600 craft distillers in America, not to mention the big, established names occupying a great deal of the aged spirits market. Since American Whiskey isn't technically American Whiskey without being aged in a new, charred oak barrel, that means a lot of new barrels flowing out of cooperages around the country, and into distilleries. Almost as quickly, used barrels are re-used by craft food makers hoping to add some caramel, smoke and spirit flavors to their coffees, syrups, mustards and cocktails. While craft distilling is now a trendy business (and booming) business, barrel making is a far less popular line of work.
Due in parts to the exceptional overhead costs associated with starting a cooperage, the difficulty in finding equipment, and the labor associated with making barrels, estimates peg the number of active cooperage business in America at less than 25. Not to mention that the available supply of the preferred wood for barrel making, American White Oak, is currently facing a shortage. All of those factors combined make for some expensive, albeit tasty and diverse, bottles of craft liquors and foods. The prices of new barrels has gone up significantly recently, which helps to increase the cost of second-hand barrels as well. While some distillers and craft food makers seem to be looking to new, local sources for wood and barrels, the infrastructure necessary is still in it's infancy.
What do you think, is barrel aging a shallow trend, or are the flavors imparted too intoxicating to pass up? Let us know what you think via Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Source: Modern Farmer, Image Credit (Flickr)
