Barrel making is one of the world's oldest crafts demanding great skill and hard work.
[View of forest.]
A sturdy Seagram barrel starts in the forest of clear white oak in the Ozark and Southern Appalachian Mountains.
[Worker uses chainsaw to cut trees.]
Where one acre yields about six perfect trees, most over 100 years old.
The woodsmen fell the trees carefully to preserve any younger specimens nearby.
[View of falling tree.]
[Truck transporting logs.]
Large trucks move the logs to what is known as a planing mill.
[Fork-lift used to move logs.]
Here they are sorted and the bark is removed. A large chainsaw cuts them into sections of about three feet in length. These sections are cut in half by circulating saw blades, and then they are cut into quarters. Another saw cuts the quarters into boards of the proper thickness, where soft sapwood is removed from the edges leaving only the prime, knot-free hardwood. These staves are then trimmed to the required length of thirty-six and a half inches and stacked outside for seasoning which reduces the natural moisture of the wood.
[View of lumber stacks.]
After a year the seasoned wood is moved to Seagram's Cooperage plant in Memphis Tennessee, which can make up to two thousand barrels a day. There they are further dried in a steam-heated kiln. The flat staves are now passed through a planer who cups their inner surfaces. A skilled worker trims the boards and applies the tapers so that they will fit tightly to form the characteristic barrel shape. The shorter flat pieces intended for the headers are also planed and trimmed.
[Worker inspects wood pieces.]
Dowel holes are drilled to join them. A skilled matcher sets the pieces to form a heavy square, and then the expert pinner sets the dowels and pre-assembles the square. A press tightens the joints. After another planing the headers are then swiftly cut into circles. The barrel riser selects staves according to size and arranges them in a temporary heavy truss ring to form the barrel. Occasionally he has to change them to ensure a proper fit.
The pre-formed barrel moves on to be treated with steam and dry heat. After more temporary truss rings are put on to hold the staves in place, a hydraulic press expands a form placed inside the barrel, which aligns the staves against the rings and fits the edges of the staves snugly together.
The inside of the barrel is then charred by gas flames to a depth of about one-eighth of an inch which will allow the spirits to pass through the char into the oak and back again giving it the amber colour and mellow flavour that connoisseurs cherish. The headers also charred on the inside are now fitted into the ends of the barrel. After the temporary truss rings have been removed the permanent hoops are placed onto the barrel.
Then the bunghole is drilled. Next comes the final inspection, air and water is injected into each barrel to test it under a pressure of twelve to fifteen pounds per square inch. After a final visual inspection the barrel is ready to take its place in the distillers warehouse.
[Produced for The Seagram Museum By the Audio Visual Department of Wilfrid Laurier University. Produced and Directed by Wilhelm Nassau. Video: Werner Lundschingen. Editor: Tom Boldy. Narrator: Stu Holloway.]