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Questions?

Your Elijah Craig Single Barrel is 18-Year-Old Bourbon. How much Bourbon is actually left in the barrel after 18 years of aging?

LB--Columbia, SC

I'll have to answer that with a guesstimate. A barrel holds 53 gallons of "white dog" when we put it in the warehouse for aging. Where we put that barrel has a lot to do with how much whiskey is going to be left in it when the time comes to bottle it. I checked a barrel recently that had spent its aging years on an upper floor where the temperatures tend to get pretty warm. About half the contents had evaporated through the wood. That would be about 20-25 gallons gone "to the angels." (Whiskey that evaporates during the aging process is called "the angel's share.") What was left was about 145 proof, so you can see how we have to add a bit of water to bring the contents down to desired proof for bottling. Probably on average, though, I say you could expect to get about 35 gallons from a fully aged barrel.


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