The Mysteries of Bourbon: How Forestry, Mapping Support a Changing Industry Even with careful environmental stewardship and wellmanaged forests, the white oak trees needed to make bourbon barrels have always been hard to find. 188 Twenty years ago, it was as much art as science—the best sleuths working to track down the trees that made ideal bourbon barrel staves. The quality and character of the wood matters because of its immense effect on the beverage’s color and flavor. Bourbon barrels must be made of white oak according to laws that guide the distillation and processing of the spirit.
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