Cask Strength

by Mike Gerrard

Cask Strength tells the story of the unsung hero of the world of spirits, wine, and beer and an invention as ancient and important as the wheel—the humble barrel. Discover the barrel’s rich history, as well as the incredible skill and innovation that goes into producing your favorite drinks.

From its first use by the Ancient Egyptians, the barrel has left an unmistakable imprint on human history. The Romans used the barrel in all corners of their vast empire, and explorers could not have charted the globe or opened up trade routes without barrels to store their food and water. And in all its thousands of years of use, the barrel’s basic design has barely changed at all—a testament to its sheer and simple perfection.

Cask Strength is more than a history book. In it, Mike Gerrard, an award-winning travel and drinks writer, investigates the making, buying, and selling of barrels and details how drinks like wine, tequila, rum, cognac, and others are enhanced by specific kinds of barrel production.

Today, modern distillers, brewers, and wine-makers continue to use barrels in new, creative ways—with the barrel providing up to 60-70% of their flavors. Without the barrel, we would have no bourbon, no oak-aged chardonnay, no barrel-aged stouts . . . and no tabasco sauce, either.

Gerrard’s expertise and palpable passion for good beverages interestingly made will ignite the curiosities of booze fans and history buffs alike as Cask Strength traces the simple splendor of the barrel.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published July 11, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[anklecemetery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m being generous with my rating here - this is inoffensive spirits/travel writing centered around barrels, which is a pretty interesting if niche subject. A lot of it is written in a very “press release” or interview style, where the author asks a question and then follows it with a very long quote, often from a marketing professional… that can get a bit same-y. Might be best enjoyed by reading chapters independently rather than all at once.

It’s fine! It was the right line of information I mostly knew and some fresh stuff, good the have in the background.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cask Strength by Mike Gerrard explores the past, present, and future of a quiet but mighty contributor to the crafting of wine, beer, and spirits: the humble barrel. The first few chapters unfold with fascinating tidbits about barrel-making: which trees make the best wood for barrels, how coopers pick staves that fit perfectly together, and why toasting techniques are specified down to the individual customer. Then, Gerrard embarks on a whirlwind tour of alcoholic drinks spanning whiskey to vodka, interviewing people from all facets of the industry to understand how they use barrels today and why they are experimenting with different approaches for the future. An ending chapter touching on condiments such as hot sauce and balsamic vinegar rounds out the trip nicely. Anyone who appreciates the nuanced aromas of a glass of wine or the complex flavors in a sip of tequila will enjoy learning more deeply about this “secret ingredient” of drink making.

However, the book could have improved its overall cohesion and narrative flow with better interview editing. Each chapter turned into a series of one interview after the next, and I struggled to keep track of everything and understand how the stories connected. In addition, the writing style fell into straightforward Q&A at times, which felt stilted. Often, the author asked the same questions and received similar answers from each interviewee, so the information became repetitive to read. The flow would have been tremendously helped by weaving answers from multiple sources together with prose to make the overall narrative more comprehensible.

I enjoyed this dive into the world of barrels and barrel-making, but I didn't get as much out of it as I had expected to. I would certainly recommend it to drink enthusiasts and industry workers who are most likely to absorb and appreciate the insights that Gerrard brings forward.

Many thanks to BenBella Books and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book. All opinions and reviews expressed are my own.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Look At History, Current Uses, and Future Of The Barrel. At just 240 pages or so - and just 14% or so of that bibliography, which is where the single star deduction comes in - this is far from a truly in-depth look at the topic. But as kind of a "Barrel 101", this book really works. The majority of the text focuses on the various current uses of barrels, mostly dealing with the various forms of alcohol stored in them - everything from liquors to wines to even beers - but also delving into even, surprisingly, hot sauce. Shorter sections deal with the millenia-old history of the barrel and with its most modern incarnations and looking to what the future might hold for the technology.

Indeed, for what it is, the only truly glaring weakness here is in fact the dearth of a bibliography, clocking in at just about 14% of the overall text, when 20-30% is more typical in my extensive experience with nonfiction Advance Reviewer Copies.

Overall a quick, fun, and informative read that will give you yet more esoteric knowledge and trivia and thus expand your horizons just that much more. Very much recommended.

[Christine LaBatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book dives into all facets of the barrel. It talks a little about the history and making of the barrel but then focuses a lot on how barrels are used across various spirits and new to me - hot sauce! I like niche historíes and learned a lot here. However, I feel like it could have been organized better. There were chapters that felt a bit scattered (especially the history one) and some that felt really short compared to others. I would’ve also liked more history. I think part of the reason that chapter felt jumbled was because it was only one chapter. Overall, full of interesting facts and info!

I recueces my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The definitive book on casks? More than I ever thought I would find interesting. The facts were surprisingly capturing. One of the weirder styles of writing with the question and answers.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was such a fun book and now I want a job at a cooperage. or a farm where I grow American oak and sell to a cooperage. I learned so many new, interesting facts!