Around the Barrel

Bourbon Barrel Hoop Stamped Letters

Have you ever noticed the two letters stamped into the hoops rivet hoops of a bourbon barrel?  The stamped letters inform you of what cooperage built the barrel before distilleries can produce the bourbon we love. We incorporate the stamped hoops in our product line.  Read more about the meaning of the “KY” “MO” “BB” letters that are stamped into the rivet heads of the barrel hoop:

• Independent Stave Company makes barrels for bourbon distilleries and wineries. Their location in MO primarily produces wine barrels and the KY location primarily produces bourbon barrels.

• The Independent Stave Company is the largest stave mill operation in the world with six highly efficient stave mills located in the US and in France.

• Where the barrel is made can be determined by the letters stamped into the rivet heads of the hoop.  The “KY” or “MO” seen on the rivets signifies that the barrels were made at one of the Independent Stave Company locations in the United States.  Other letters can be stamped into the rivet heads of the hoop, like “BB” (Brown Forman barrel company who makes barrels for Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniels among others) and “LC” (Stitzel-Weller Bulleit Distillery).

• It is the galvanized steel hoops that hold the barrels together – there are no nails or screws as these could contaminate the contents. The rivet heads on the barrel hoops are only used to fasten the hoops, they don’t attach to the barrel.

source: My Quantum Discovery