The Barrel That Could Save A Forest

Bourbon has to be aged in barrels, by law; whiskey usually spends
years in barrels, by custom; and between 20-30 percent of wine
spends some time in one. And almost all of those wooden vessels are
made from just two kinds of tree: American white oak and French
oak. This episode, we tell the story—and try the whiskey—of the
distiller and the barrel-maker who, together, are figuring out how
to use the huge, elegant, native oak of the Pacific Northwest to
create new flavor, and, in the process, restore an ecosystem that
has nearly vanished. Along the way, we figure out the science
behind how a barrel affects the taste of what you sip, and we trace
the trajectory of barrels from their pinnacle, as the go-to
container for everything from fish to petroleum, to their current
niche status. Finally, we explore why oak became the default wood
for barrel-making—and meet the coopers experimenting with different
woods, and an entirely new flavor universe for booze. Learn more
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