Buffalo Trace’s
Old Charter
Oak label has
used French,
Mongolian, and
other unusual
oaks to make its
bourbons.14 March/April 2021COURTESYBUFFALO^ TRACEDISTILLERYDrinks
4
// BY ADRIENNE DONICA //all of a whiskey’s natural coloring comes from the
barrel it’s aged in. “The thing that has the biggest
weight on what your whiskey is going to taste and
smell and drink like is the barrel it’s in,” Bryson
says. But the natural infusion process takes time.
Oak’s small pores are uniquely qualified for the
task because they prevent liquid leaks but are per-
meable to gases. This allows oxygen into the barrel,
which fuels chemical reactions. As the distillate
oxygenates over time, alcohol breaks down lignin
and lactones, components in oak that release van-
illin and coconut notes, respectively. Let a whiskeyWhy a
Whiskey’s
Age Isn’t
Everything
T
HE WHISKEY WORLD IS BUILT ON LEG-
acy. Scotch distilleries tout 200-plus-
year histories, and stateside producers
find roots in the colonial era. Individual
batches can be categorized by age state-
ments with the prevailing idea that older
whiskies are better. But if you’re still shop-
ping for whiskey based on age statements alone,
you’re doing it wrong. Age is one thing, but it’s
maturity that really matters.
Most whiskies are required to spend a mini-
mum amount of time aging. For Scotch, Irish, and
Canadian varieties, that’s three years, whereas the
mandate for Japanese whiskies and ryes sits at two.
The outlier is bourbon, which can be any age as long
as it’s matured in charred, new oak barrels. Most
distilleries choose to exceed these time frames by
a few years or sometimes longer, depending on f la-
vors they want to develop.
This f lavor maturation happens in wooden
barrels, which are durable and easy to transport
because of their curved shapes. One person can
roll a 500-pound barrel relatively easily without
the help of a motorized machine. “When you com-
bine it with the natural watertight properties of
white oak, it became a fantastic thing for storing
whiskey,” says Lew Bryson, a whiskey journalist
and expert who’s authored two books on the sub-
ject. White oak, also known as Quercus alba, is
one of the most common woods used to make bar-
rels, but other species within the genus—such as
Q. robur (European oak), Q. garryana (Oregon
oak), and even Q. mongolica (Mongolian oak)—
are used, too. Each type lends different f lavors,
and charring the interiors of the finished barrels
is essential to the eventual f lavor infusion. This
charcoal also filters out harsh notes.
Anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of f lavor and