Editing Barrel (section)

=====Whiskey=====
[[File:Beam Rack House.jpg|thumb|Charred [[white oak]] barrels are filled with new [[bourbon whiskey]] and resting in a rack house for a period of typically 4 to 9 years (for good-quality bourbon), with the [[Char (chemistry)|char]] giving the bourbon its characteristic copper color.]]

Laws in several jurisdictions require that whiskey be aged in wooden barrels. The law in the United States requires that "[[straight whiskey]]" (with the exception of [[corn whiskey]]) must be stored for at least two years in new, charred oak containers.<ref name="cfrb1i">{{cite web |url=http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=21224b7c634d83e0fa329bfd18bb85dc&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27:1.0.1.1.3.3.25.2&idno=27 |title=27 C.F.R. sec 5.22(b)(1)(i) |website=Ecfr.GPOAccess.gov |access-date=2010-08-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817003820/http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=21224b7c634d83e0fa329bfd18bb85dc&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27%3A1.0.1.1.3.3.25.2&idno=27 |archive-date=2012-08-17}}</ref> Other forms of whiskey aged in used barrels cannot be called "straight".<ref name="cfrb1i"/>

International laws require any whisky bearing the label "[[Scotch whisky|Scotch]]" to be distilled and matured in [[Scotland]] for a minimum of three years and one day in oak casks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asil.org/insights/insigh43.htm |title=ASIL Insight: WTO Protections for Food Geographic Indications |access-date=2007-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814193958/http://www.asil.org/insights/insigh43.htm |archive-date=14 August 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By Canadian law,<ref name=B.02.020>[https://archive.today/20120709161352/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/F-27/C.R.C.-c.870/section-B.02.020.html "Canadian Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870) – Canadian Whisky, Canadian Rye Whisky or Rye Whisky (B.02.020)"]. Accessed on December 15, 2010.</ref> [[Canadian whisky|Canadian whiskies]] must "be aged in small wood for not less than three years", and "small wood" is defined as a wood barrel not exceeding {{convert|700|L}} capacity.

Since the U.S. law requires the use of new barrels for several popular types of whiskey, which is not typically considered necessary elsewhere, whiskey made elsewhere is usually aged in used barrels that previously contained American whiskey (usually [[bourbon whiskey]]). The typical bourbon barrel is {{convert|53|usgal}} in size, which is thus the ''de facto'' standard whiskey barrel size worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2008/12/whys-bourbon-barrel-53-gallons.html |title=Seen Through a Glass |author=Lew Bryson |work=lewbryson.blogspot.com |date=22 December 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103020738/http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2008/12/whys-bourbon-barrel-53-gallons.html |archive-date=2015-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iscbarrels.com/barrels |title=Barrels |work=iscbarrels.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103020446/http://www.iscbarrels.com/barrels |archive-date=2015-01-03}}</ref> Some distillers transfer their whiskey into different barrels to "finish" or add qualities to the final product. These finishing barrels frequently aged a different spirit (such as rum) or wine. Other distillers, particularly those producing Scotch, often disassemble five used bourbon barrels and reassemble them into four casks with different barrel ends for aging Scotch, creating a type of cask referred to as a [[hogshead]].<ref>"Casks (barrels, butts, punchons, pipes, barriques, and hogsheads)", [http://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/2014-07-28/481/bws/casks-barrels-butts-punchons-pipes-barriques-and-hogsheads Difford's Guide] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222134205/http://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/2014-07-28/481/bws/casks-barrels-butts-punchons-pipes-barriques-and-hogsheads |date=2015-12-22}}. Accessed on December 17, 2015.</ref>