Every step in the process, from growing the apples to making the cider to distilling and then finally aging that spirit in wood gives the distiller a chance to put their special mark on the final product. Choosing the correct barrel is an incredibly crucial step in this process. First there's the wood...there's always an argument about French oak versus American oak...they are different but with the current way of aging American oak, the differences are becoming much more subtle. The biggest influence a barrel has is how it is treated inside...whether the wood is toasted or charred and the intensity of those two processes. Also, the size of the barrel dramatically effects the final product.  Smaller barrels have a greater liquid to wood ratio and therefore impart more flavor than larger barrels. Smaller barrels also allow the gentle oxidation of harsh compounds to happen more quickly as the spirit ages. Yes, it's complicated and yes, in all honesty, we're still trying to figure out what works best for us. So we are currently using a mixture of 10, 15 and 30 gallon barrels that are either 'Heavy Toast' or  #1 or #2 Char. And, it's amazing how different the same spirit tastes when aged in each of these barrels! But no matter what the size or treatment, all our barrels are made from 40 month, air-dried Minnesota white oak by Adirondack Barrel Cooperage only about 2 hours north of the distillery. We've made countless trips to the cooperage to talk with owners Joe & Kelly Blazosky about barrels and they've come to the farm to learn about how we make our spirits to better help with barrel selection. To check them out click here. To see how they char one of our barrels check out the video below: