Our process for making a whiskey barrel cabinet

Whiskey barrel cabinets are a unique type of furniture made from repurposed whiskey or bourbon barrels. We carefully select the barrels we use for our bourbon barrel cabinets because not all whiskey barrels are suited for making cabinets.  Throughout this site you will see the terms whiskey barrel cabinet and bourbon barrel cabinet used interchangeably.  This is because while we often know the distillery from which our barrels came, we don’t always know if the barrel contained whiskey or bourbon.  

To make a bourbon barrel cabinet, the barrel is first carefully cleaned and sanded. A clear sealer is then applied.  Next, we determine door placement and cut the barrel open.  We remove the loose char from inside the whiskey barrel cabinet and apply a sealer inside to lock down any remaining char.  Lighting and shelves are then installed inside the bourbon barrel cabinet and then the doors are put on.  Fitting the doors to the whiskey barrel cabinet is the most time consuming part of the assembly process.  When we cut the barrel open the shape of the barrel changes such that the piece we cut out for the doors won’t fit back in the hole it came out of.  Our skilled artisans carefully remove material from the doors so that they fit appropriately.  Once the doors are on, the whiskey barrel cabinet gets a final sanding and a satin clearcoat.

Whiskey & Bourbon barrel cabinets can vary in style and size. 

Not two barrels are ever the same.  Dimensions can vary by as much as an inch from one Bourbon barrel cabinet to another.  Similarly, the color of bourbon barrel cabinets can vary from very light to very dark; almost black.  Typically, lighter barrels indicate that they did not age whiskey for very long.  Dark barrels on the other hand probably spent a decade or more in the rickhouse aging whiskey.   Our finishing process showcases the unique grain patterns and markings of the oak wood.  All barrels leak to some extent so our whiskey barrel cabinets may have stains from where the leaking whiskey changed the color of the wood.  This ensures every whiskey barrel cabinet has its own character and is unique.

In addition to their unique appearance, bourbon barrel cabinets are also environmentally friendly, as they make use of materials that would otherwise go to waste. They are also a great conversation starter and a way to incorporate a bit of rustic charm into your home decor.