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Sunday 11 March 2012

Barrel

The Romans were the first to use a hollow cylindrical container called a barrel for the storage and fermentation of wine. It was made of wood staves and is bound with iron bands.


A Greek philosopher called Diogenes renounced all material things and gave away all his possessions except for a coarse cloak, a stick and bread bag. He then asked a friend to find him a hovel to live in. When he failed to do so, Diogenes began living in a barrel in Athens.

Drunkards in 17th century North West Europe were sometimes made to wear a wooden barrel with holes for their hands and head in order to shame the victim into sobriety. 


The first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel was Anna Edson Taylor. She made the journey on October 24, 1901, and escaped unhurt.



Until the double bubbler" tap in a barrel was developed during the First World War, the only source for the thirsty of free liquid refreshment in the United States (unless they were near to a river, lake or stream), was a public barrel filled with drinking water, equipped with a small communal hand-held dipper that was shared by all users.


"Shooting fish in a barrel" is considered easy because the bullet impact causes the water pressure in the barrel to change suddenly, killing every fish instantly. 

Scottish single malt whisky is typically aged in oak barrels, and the majority of those barrels are ex-bourbon barrels. Bourbon is a type of American whiskey that, by law, must be aged in new, charred oak barrels. Once the bourbon has been aged in these barrels, the barrels are sold to distilleries in Scotland to be used for aging single malt whisky.

The use of ex-bourbon barrels is popular because they are readily available and relatively inexpensive compared to new oak barrels. Additionally, the barrels often impart desirable flavors and aromas to the whisky, such as vanilla, caramel, and nutty notes, which are a result of the charred oak and the bourbon that was previously aged in the barrel.

The oak barrels used to age Cognac are made by hand from French oak.

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