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GHT, I'll give this a shot. The cooper barrels used by Bourbon distillers are new oak casks (just so no one thinks we're talking copper barrels or vessels) that are scorched inside by flame before being filled for the first time. The scorching leaves a charcoal lining that filters the spirit, adds color & imparts flavor during the aging process. You are correct in distilling Bourbon they are filled only one time but I wasn't aware that was due to food laws. I think it has more to do with the scorching, filtering & imparting flavor into the spirit. Certainly today microbreweries in the US use first fill Bourbon & wine casks all the time to age beer in & impart unique flavor into their brew. So there can't be food laws against the practice.This needs explaining. Having done the tour of the Jack Daniels distillery, it was explained that America's food laws are very strict and a barrel cannot be reused.
Jack Daniels, like other companies, dismantled the barrels and sold them to Scottish whisky companies, where, under UK law, used barrels are permitted.
So if the cooper barrels cannot be reused why can the first container, the large tank that catches the clear liquor, be used over and over again?
Scottish distilleries use first fill casks to age their spirits for much the same reason; whether the first fill was Bourbon, Sherry, wine or some other spirit, the first fill will impart a unique flavor to their spirit. More important to single malts than blended Scotch, I would think. Casks that age Islay Single Malt Scotch have the added benefit of imparting the flavor of the salty sea air the casks are stored outside in before being refilled. When the Scots must use new oak casks for the first time their practice is to toast the inside of the Cask instead of scorch. I assume that is a lighter burning of the oak but it could mean the same thing, I suppose. I would think those new casks are used mostly to age blended Scotch & not Single Malt.
