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Here at SpiritPro, it’s easy to get lost in the world of software development for the planning of bulk spirit and to feel somewhat far removed from the process of transforming simple raw materials into wonderfully complex spirits. It therefore came as an overdue reminder of the dedication of all involved in the spirits supply chain to immerse myself in the wonderful sights, smells and tastes of the spirits world on a recent trip to the Cognac region of France.

Whilst there, I had the pleasure of visiting Tonnellerie Allary, a company that has been manufacturing oak barrels for the last 70 years. It was fascinating to watch how the barrels are made by hand, using a process that has been pretty much unchanged since the family company was started in 1953.

The oak staves (merrains) are aged for 2 years at the tonnellerie before they can be used in the making of a barrel. They are sourced primarily from the Limousin region (large grain, primarily for aging spirits) and the Vosges region (fine and medium grain, primarily for aging wines), although some American oak is also imported.

Once aged, the staves are shaped and cut to length to form the duelles that will make up the barrel. Highly skilled craftsmen select their preferred duelles and stack them in a pile, before inserting them into a metal hoop to start forming the barrel. Then using a hammer and some specialist tools, further hoops are added with some gentle coaxing, to the point where the barrel is ready to be fired. This really is an impressive sight, to watch a pile of planks and some metal hoops being quickly transformed into what amounts to an industrial work of art.

Firing has 3 stages: pre-heat (la préchauffe), to make the oak more supple; closing (le cintrage), which uses a capstan to close the barrel; toasting (le boussinage), to finish the barrel to the customer’s preference. The degree of toasting, from light to strong, determines the characteristics of the barrel, bringing out the vanilla, spicey and smoky flavours, according to whether light, medium or heavy toasting is used.

Once the barrel has been toasted, it’s pressure tested to check for leaks, with any minor holes being plugged. Finally, the type of barrel and batch number of the oak staves used is laser-etched onto the lid of the barrel, ready for it to be wrapped and shipped off to the customer.

Knowing the impact that different types and ages of barrels can have on the bottled end product, it was a delight to see the start of the story for just one of the many influencing factors that determine the character of a carefully aged spirit. If you ever happen to be near Archiac in the Cognac region of France, I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Tonnellerie Allary, to see true craftsmen in action.