Cask Strength: The Story of the Barrel, the Secret Ingredient in Your Drink

The story of the unsung hero of the world of spirits, wine, and beer and an invention as ancient and important as the wheel—the humble barrel.

Without the barrel, we would have no bourbon, no oak-aged chardonnay, no barrel-aged stouts . . . and no tabasco sauce, either. From its first use by the Ancient Egyptians, the barrel has left an unmistakable imprint on human history. The Romans used it in all corners of their vast empire, and explorers could not have charted the globe or opened up t...