Another barrel head from my trip to KY
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:06 pmOne of my missions while down in KY earlier this year was to bring home a couple barrel heads to hang on the wall. I thought it would add just that right amount of high class tastefulness to my dining room 
Most distilleries don't sell such a creature, but I did mange to score 2. I bought a brandy-new unfinished barrel head at WR and simply sanded and polyed it. I previously posted pictures of that one at: http://bourbonenthusiast.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1297
I finally finished my second one. While at Wild Turkey I was told that the distillery did not sell barrels but if I wandered up behind the more distant ironclads there was a barrel "boneyard" where I might find something.
Well wander I did, and what a mess. I found barrels and heads that had been weathering in the fields for who knows how long. Braving the risk of snakes and unsympathetic distillery workers I finally found the pieces of a barrel head I thought I could do something with. The head was weathered to the color of driftwood and had fallen apart into slats, but I realized that this would make the perfect contrast to my shiney new WR barrel head.
I cleaned it up and burned in the existing stenciling. Then it got a good soaking of tung oil to re-hydrate the wood and seal in the remaining char on the backside. I hung it on the wall so that the individual slats are still loose, held together merely by the original dowels and the inward clamping presure of the picture hanging wire.
I couldn't get enough light in the room for a clear picture, but at least you can get the idea. The pictures are clockwise, from top left: Four Roses column still, Heaven Hill ironclad farm, Old Taylor Distillery, and inside a BT rickhouse. I'll pre-empt the obvious question, why no WT pictures? Wild Turkey does not allow pictures at the distillery. (the tour guide got a bit crankey even when I tried to take an exterior shot of the ironclads)
Most distilleries don't sell such a creature, but I did mange to score 2. I bought a brandy-new unfinished barrel head at WR and simply sanded and polyed it. I previously posted pictures of that one at: http://bourbonenthusiast.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1297
I finally finished my second one. While at Wild Turkey I was told that the distillery did not sell barrels but if I wandered up behind the more distant ironclads there was a barrel "boneyard" where I might find something.
Well wander I did, and what a mess. I found barrels and heads that had been weathering in the fields for who knows how long. Braving the risk of snakes and unsympathetic distillery workers I finally found the pieces of a barrel head I thought I could do something with. The head was weathered to the color of driftwood and had fallen apart into slats, but I realized that this would make the perfect contrast to my shiney new WR barrel head.
I cleaned it up and burned in the existing stenciling. Then it got a good soaking of tung oil to re-hydrate the wood and seal in the remaining char on the backside. I hung it on the wall so that the individual slats are still loose, held together merely by the original dowels and the inward clamping presure of the picture hanging wire.
I couldn't get enough light in the room for a clear picture, but at least you can get the idea. The pictures are clockwise, from top left: Four Roses column still, Heaven Hill ironclad farm, Old Taylor Distillery, and inside a BT rickhouse. I'll pre-empt the obvious question, why no WT pictures? Wild Turkey does not allow pictures at the distillery. (the tour guide got a bit crankey even when I tried to take an exterior shot of the ironclads)