White Oak and the Dark Cloud Looming Over America's Barrels

Industry is becoming increasingly concerned with an unexpected factor that could pose problems for future whisky production.

Earlier this year, SevenFifty Daily, an online magazine about the business and culture of the beverage alcohol industry, posted an article by Betsy Andrews about Brown-Forman, parent company to Jack Daniel's.

The folks behind "JD" are helping to spearhead the White Oak Initiative, a project focused on legal reform of American forestry practices that may ultimately contribute to the sustainability of the whisky sector.

Many distillers aren't aware that it takes 60 - 80 years for a white oak tree to mature to the point that it's suitable for whisky or bourbon barrel production. (And you thought aging product was painfully long!)

Even less well known is a factor that could play out in North American forests over the next few decades to the detriment of the entire industry. If white oak stands migrate too far south over time, the "pores" in the wood grow too big, resulting in liquid leakage; too far north and pres don't grow large enough, making it more difficult for whisky and bourbon to move in and out of the wood, drawing out flavour.

Read the full article to learn more: "Bourbon, Biodiversity, and the Quest to Save America’s Oak Forests".