“A BRIEF HISTORY OF CASKS, PART ONE” (PINGBACK). The blog just got a pingback from the Bruichladdich Distillery website. The Bruichladdich Distillery identifies itself as “Progressive Hibridean Distillers since 1881”. The pingback is in an article by Harry Glennon Anderson, entitled “A Brief History of Casks, Part One”. The article linked to my post from February, 2015 on WHY IT WAS THE VIKINGS WHO INVENTED THE BARREL. Anderson refers to my endorsement of the argument that the Vikings were fond of iron tools, surrounded by woods, and fond of beer and wine.
Anderson also discusses conflicting claims. He traces the first steps in fashioning casks to the early Iron Age, around 800 to 900 BCE. “Certainly the art of bending wood via heat-application had been used in boat-making for millennia.” Anderson points out the advantages of casks over amphorae—casks were less breakable and could be maneuvered by a single stevedore.
And then there was the effect on flavor.