The dream of our WV Great Barrel Company cooperage began as a drive to do better: to change the course of life for our small town and other communities in rural West Virginia. To build the highest quality whiskey barrel possible, using tight-grained Appalachian white oak sustainably harvested within a 200-mile radius of our cooperage. To become a resource for distillers to innovate and make more conscious choices about the barrels they use to age their spirits.
Low Prices And Industry-leading Leak Rates Are More Important Than Ever
WV Great Barrel Company – WVGBC was founded to do good and to do better. This ethos drives us to make the highest quality white oak barrel in the world. It shows up in every step of our process. And it informs the way we work with distillers, to become partners in support of making the very best whiskey and aged spirits possible, in the most consistent way.
Our commitment to distillers begins with building a barrel that does not leak and offering it at an affordable price to large and small distillers alike. We don’t believe that a high-quality barrel should have a high price tag—nor do we think it’s acceptable for distillers to lose valuable spirits to a leaky barrel.
Materials Matter. Wood Matters.
We see every new relationship with a distiller as an opportunity to collaborate and innovate — whether it’s supporting small- or large-scale toast and char experiments or helping distillers achieve more consistency in their finished product. Our process is designed to help distillers find that “sweet barrel,” and to come back to it time and time again.
Industry-leading low leak rates, precision toast and char.
A higher-quality barrel, competitively priced for small and large distillers alike.
— Contact Cate Crabtree, Account Manager —
Phone: 304-520-0612 | Email: Cate.Crabtree@WVGBC.com
What a Commitment to Consistency Really Means in Cooperage
To build a better whiskey barrel, with industry-leading low leak rates and maximum precision in toast and char, you first need to build a better process. Our cooperage engages advanced technology and automation–that we continually improve upon using Six Sigma methodologies–to minimize variation at every stage. After all, variation in production leads to variation in the barrel, which will manifest in leakage and inconsistent maturation–serious threats to the success of any distillery and the quality of their spirits.
Investing in Our Community with Safe Jobs
The WV Great Barrel Company was thoughtfully designed to be the most technologically advanced cooperage in the world, with CNC stave jointing, hydraulic roll-out, precision charring, and infrared toasting, among other advancements. But it was also designed to be the safest. People sometimes ask us why we use automation and robotics in our cooperage, if our goal is to create jobs. For us, the answer is simple: safety and consistency. At WVGBC, automation and robotics take on repetitive, dangerous tasks with precision, so that our many barrel and wood technicians can focus on the fulfilling jobs that require human skill and experience—without worrying about risk of injury. We don’t believe that unsafe work environments should be a given in the cooperage industry.
Distillers, we hope to inspire you to demand more from the performance of your barrels, and to expect transparency in the source and treatment of the wood that goes into them.
We challenge the notion that a higher-quality barrel has to come with a higher price tag.
We encourage you to expect more from your cooperage, including the safe working conditions of the individuals building your barrels.
We invite you to look for better–maybe even great.
Sincerely,
The WV Great Barrel Company
WV Great Barrel Company
Dedicated to Quality, Consistency and Repeatability in all stages of Barrel Production.
Learn more about WV Great Barrel Company.
Contact: Cate Crabtree, Account Manager
Phone: 304-520-0612
Email: Cate.Crabtree@WVGBC.com
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