Barrel 53 Cooperage, LLC

Life of a Barrel 53 Barrel - Chapter Three Time To Take Form I once had the opportunity to personally be in a large meeting room and hear U.S. Navy Admiral William H. McCraven speak of The Ten Life Lessons he learned as a Navy SEAL. He went on to be a very important leader and high ranking officer, of course however, one of the Ten Lessons stuck with me all this time. That lesson - The first thing you do in the morning is make your bed, seemed so elementary to me, coming fro...Continue reading

Life of a Barrel 53 Barrel - Chapter Two: If you are following this series from last week. you will remember that we carefully harvested just the right White Oak trees, graded the timber and took it to our mill for that first cut. Ok, you are caught up. It was once said that time is an abstract quantity developed by man just so we can just try and get by. If this is the case, then our Barrel 53 barrel loves to use a lot of it. But first, our timber is to be cut into staves.... A stave is a stick of wood about 3-4 inches wide by about 34-36 inches long. The next important cut is very close to the size our barrel craftsmen and craftswomen will be finishing up later in the process. Depending on what a distilling customer wants, that next step will come three to eighteen months later. That’s right, three to eighteen months later. Not a quick process. The word of the day is patience. Until then, our unfinished barrel staves, will soak up fresh Missouri country air, sunshine and certain other intangibles that make the Missouri White Oak Barrel 53 barrels highly sought after. There are so many intangible, natural processes of our barrels that help distillers do their magic. Bourbon, rum and whiskey taste experts know that the word terroir is important. Terrior is a French word that describes the importance of soil, climate, air, water and natural biological processes that define a flavor profile. Our Barrel 53 barrel is part of that because of everything nature put into the tree. For now, more patience. More time. Our barrel still looks nothing like a barrel yet. The staves are stacked. So, the next time you sip that favorite drink of yours. Please appreciate the time that has gone into growing and aging the wood that helps flavor it. Allow me to fast-forward eighteen months. Our barrel is now going to start taking shape. The racks of staves are sent over to our barrel production team. Though the wood has been graded a few times already, we grade it again for good looks, against mineral streaks, cracks or flaws. Then, each stave is ran through the Planer and then the Cupper. The staves are now being worked into even more precise lengths, widths, angles and tolerances. Keep Liking, Sharing and following our barrel. See ya next week for Chapter Three of Life of a Barrel 53 Barrel.

Here is the fun event. Do not miss this ! Please post and share. Hey, it is Monday already , so start planning for this weekend! Saturday, May 9th from 2 PM - 8 PM Woodsmen Distillery Open House. 7239 SSR-A / Higbee MO 65257 ( located under the water tower) ... FREE EVENT - Tours / Tastings / Burgers / Brats This would be a beautiful 25 minute ride from Columbia on motorcycles. Plenty of Free parking. Come see the new Event Center. Tour a working distillery. Relax and have fun.

Hey Barrel 53 and Woodsmen Distillery Friends, want to have some fun with us this Saturday, May 9? Keep the afternoon open. We’ll get back to ya soon.

Maybe you always admired the beauty of a hand-crafted barrel. Or, as you sipped your favorite bourbon or whiskey, you wondered how it looks so perfect and tastes so smooth. These thoughts and more go through a bourbon drinkers mind over-and-over. The answer is in our Barrel 53 charred white oak barrels. Let’s start a series over the next few weeks to try and explain what drives us everyday to be the best at Barrel 53. We will call this story the Life of a Barrel 53 Whit...e Oak Barrel. STEP ONE: Sustainability is important. We carefully harvest the trees trying to insure minimal environmental impact. We DO NOT outsource our wood as other barrel makers might do. Quality control is crucial. We only choose just the right trees and leave the younger ones to grow. Once cut, the large logs are stacked, graded and sent to our mill for that first cut. Any bourbon or whiskey drinker would love to be here to smell that coveted white oak smell. But our Barrel 53 Barrel has a long journey ahead of it. Please Like, share and follow this story. See you next week. Thanks!

Watch the love and craftsmanship that goes into our barrels. I am so honored and blessed to be a part of this.