Wood, whiskey and wine : a history of barrels / Henry H. Work.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Work, Henry, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Food--History.

Food.

Whiskey.

Wine.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (239 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2023.

Place of Publication:

London : Reaktion Books, 2014.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

Barrels - we rarely acknowledge their importance, but without them we would be missing out on some of the world's finest wines and spirits. For over two thousand years they've been used to store, transport and age an incredibly diverse array of provisions around the globe. In this comprehensive and wide-ranging book, Henry H. Work tells the intriguing story of the significant and ever-evolving role wooden barrels have played during the last two millennia. After first being crafted by the Celtic tribes of Northern Europe, barrels became intrinsically linked to the use of ships and grew into a vital and flexible component of the shipping industry. They were used to transport not only wine and beer, but nails, explosives, whale oil and even Tabasco sauce. Now this cylindrical wooden container and its relations - including its smaller cousin, the keg - are perhaps best known for their role in the process of ageing different types of alcoholic drinks. Today's fine wines and spirits are still aged in oak barrels made by coopers, but mass-market products are more likely to be stored in containers made of plastic, cardboard or metal. Offering a new way of thinking about one of the most enduring and successful products in history, Wood, Whiskey and Wine will be a must-read for everyone from technology and history buffs to wine and whiskey aficionados.

Contents:

Introduction 1. Need: Why Wooden Barrels? 2. Evolution: From Buckets to Barrels 3. Celts: A Nexus of Skills and Technology 4. Romans: Employing the Barrels for Trade 5. Middle Ages: A Surge in Barrel Use 6. Parallels: Wooden Barrels and Wooden Boats 7. Organizations: From Guilds to Cooperages 8. Oak: Wood for Barrels 9. Air, Water and Fire: Crafting Wooden Barrels 10. Wine: Barrels and Oak Ageing 11. Craftsmen: The Coopers 12. Other Barrels: Spirits, Fortified Wines and Beer 13. Oak Flavouring: Oak Alternatives and Barrel Shaving 14: Cooperage: The Bigger Picture References Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781789149203

1789149207

9781780234175

1780234171

OCLC:

870663898