European Oak – Exceptional Flavor, Exceptional Value

ISC sources oak logs from all over the world to make our world class spirit barrels. The most popular selections come from a multitude of states here in the U.S. and from several different forests dotted throughout France.

A Lesson in Heat Transfer

“Assume a spherical cow”
Before I came to ISC to study spirit maturation, I was in the field of engineering. I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and for the first five or six years out of college, I was strictly focused in that area.

First Barrel Experiment Rolls into the Boswell Family Warehouse

Over the next four years, students at the University of Kentucky will be able to monitor the progress of eight barrels resting inside the Boswell Family Warehouse and learn about the complexities of oak maturation from the liquid that they themselves will gather and then analyze

Esters: The Unsung Heroes of The Single Barrel

Esters are fascinating little compounds in the sense that they are responsible for some of the more distinguishable and potent aromas that most of us run into on a frequent basis, not just in our glass of favorite whiskey or wine.

Climate Study

Visit a distillery anywhere in the world and you’ll likely hear your tour guide talk about the influence climate has on whiskey maturation. While there has been much speculation on the effects, I was not able to find any hard data or documentation of a proper barrel experiment aimed at studying this variable, so we decided it was time to lay the groundwork and begin our own barrel experiment.

The Lifecycle of an Experiment

At Independent Stave Company, we feel it is necessary to be on the forefront of barrel innovation. We try our best to deliver new and innovative barrels for our distilling partners on a near constant basis. The process of developing a new type of barrel takes quite a bit of time. Before we release a new type or offer a new variation on an existing barrel, we will test the idea in what we call a commercial barrel experiment.

Experimental Whiskey Library Expansion

Have we been busy at the ISC Research Center? Indeed, we have! Our experimental barrel program has grown by leaps and bounds over the past seven years. We now have over thirty different experiments covering nearly three thousand experimental barrels.

Sensory Evaluation for Aging Spirits

Sensory evaluation is one of the best parts of my job. It is as enjoyable as it is interesting and most importantly, it is absolutely necessary for quality assurance and new product introduction. Any person or any business involved with food or beverage production, whether it be alcoholic beverage production or not, should have a sensory protocol in place for evaluating experiments.

Extractive Concentration Changes During Maturation

Our last post about aging whiskey on different levels of a warehouse sparked some questions from our readers about how the results we receive from our chemical analysis relate to the overall quality of the whiskey being tested.

Warehouse Experiment

Whiskey barrel warehouses come in a variety of different styles and configurations. Palletized, dunnage, traditional rick, and all kinds of variations within. Here in Kentucky, the most common style you see is traditional rick warehouses or otherwise known as a rick house.

Char Level and Double Barreling

As coopers, we are often asked about the different char levels. Mainly, “Why are the higher char levels – Char #3 and Char #4 – the industry standard?” Much like the genesis of the charred barrel itself, there isn’t one definitive answer.