Barrel Like with other spirits, longer aging results in a more pronounced flavor. Traditional balsamic vinegar is aged in a series of wooden barrels. Since its invention in 1868, the pepper mash used to make Tabasco sauce is aged for three years in previously used oak whisky barrels. Beers are sometimes aged in barrels which were previously used for maturing wines or spirits. This is most common in darker beers such as stout, which is sometimes aged in oak barrels identical to those used for whisky. Whisky distiller Jameson notably purchases barrels used by Franciscan Well brewery for their Shandon Stout
Straight whiskey water, cordial, or other mixer. Thus, in bartending terminology, "straight" is typically synonymous with "neat". The core aging requirement that defines a whiskey as "straight" is if the distillate has spent at least two years stored in charred new oak barrels, except corn whiskey which must use uncharred or used oak barrels. The spirit mellows in this time and penetrates the wood, extracting many of the flavor compounds and caramelized wood sugars. A straight whiskey that has been aged less than four years is required to be labeled with an age statement describing the actual age of the product. Other