Whilst we supply a broad range of fortified wine barrels, including used madeira barrels, but also muscatel, sherry, brandy and cognac, our real speciality is used port wine barrels. One of the trickiest part of our job is sourcing the barrels from the port wine cellars when they have finished with them: typically what happens…

We offer four different levels of char for the new barrels we supply – light, medium, heavy and extra-heavy (or alligator). These different levels of char are achieved by how long the inside of the barrel is burnt for and the process is a very interesting one. The char is a different process to the…

We try not to be judgemental at LusoBarrel, so if ice baths are your thing, then who are we to criticise? We had a client recently who is a trainer and wanted to help his athletes recovery, so he asked us to supply him with a used 500 litre wine barrel, with a removable lid…

Getting the right wood and then ageing it correctly is without doubt the single most important step in a cooperage for making wooden barrels. If the raw material is not right then the barrel that comes out of it at the end, will certainly not be right. Oak has of course been the wood of…

When we receive a load of used port wine barrels from the cellars where they have been ageing they can be in various of states of disrepair. Typically there will be a few broken staves, hoops that need replacing and an exterior that needs sanding to clean up the appearance. Our job is to assess…

We are living in an unprecedented time when it comes to the variety and innovation of the distilled drinks sector – much of it started with the craft sector, but now the big players have joined the party, offering all sorts of exotic flavour options to more traditional spirits. As a result we have seen…

The rules governing whisky production round the world are generally pretty byzantine and the regulations regarding what kind of barrels can be used in different countries is just one example. Here we will look at some of the rules and traditions regarding used barrels for whisky production. In some countries (Ireland and Scotland for example)…

Fairtransport transports goods from one side of the Atlantic to the other using ancient sailing boats, so that brands that wish to minimise their carbon footprint can use their services. We have been delighted to supply Fairtransport over the years with used madeira barrels, which they use to make their Tres Hombres rum (made in…

Using oak barrels for ageing either spirits or wine is all about adding flavours from the wood and modulating existing flavours in the liquid. Using heat on the inside of the barrel will help to mellow the tanins naturally occurring in the wood and add spicy or vanilla notes that raw oak cannot impart. There…

New wine barrels cost a lot of money – high quality oak is in restricted supply and high demand and coopering a barrel is a highly skilled and time-consuming operation. So we have available a lower cost option available for clients who are looking for new barrel characteristics (so no flavours coming from the barrel…