A Visual Guide to Spirit Cask Types and Sizes [Infographic]

Though many distillers have recently implemented newfangled techniques and experiments to beef up their portfolios, barrel aging has been a constant for centuries. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the practice started to catch on, but some theories suggest that when merchants started shipping whiskeys, wines, and brandies over long distances, the folks on the receiving end found that the barrels’ influence added pleasant flavors to the liquids within. Regardless of when the eureka moment hit, we now know there’s much more skill and science to barrel aging than just letting spirits sit.

The barrel’s size, what it previously held (if anything), the type of wood it’s made from, and the climate surrounding it are just a few of the factors that affect its potential influence. The many barrel types employed by the industry at large add even more complexity to the aging process. Hogsheads, sherry butts, port pipes — the myriad terms that adorn booze labels can be head-spinning, even for the educated consumer. That’s why we’ve done the heavy lifting and broken down the many different types and sizes of the common casks used for booze maturation.

Here, all the casks types you should know.

The Cask Type and Size Guide

Cask size and shape can vary from country to country, and differ depending on what type of liquid they’re storing. It’s also worth noting that the terms “cask” and “barrel” are pretty much synonymous, and their difference mainly lies in terminology: In the U.S., barrel is