Buying barrels in Scotland

Buying barrels in Scotland
22 August 2019

Bus Whisky matures primarily in first fill bourbon barrels. Where do these barrels actually come from? And why are these whiskey barrels only allowed to be used once in America? Our team personally traveled to Scotland to purchase barrels and for the answers to these questions and more.

Nearly a century ago, at the end of Prohibition in America, people wanted to give a boost tothee ailing barrel industry. This resulted in a law requiring that all American bourbon whiskey be aged only in new, toasted American oak barrels. This law is still in effect today. This creates a surplus of "used" American white oak barrels and an opportunity for distillers othede other side the de Atlantic, such as Bus Whisky.

Once barrels have been used by American distillers, they go to our cooperage in Scotland, where our team witnessed the craftsmanship and is happy to show in this video howthee barrels are expertly assembled and re-tempered. With old-fashioned craftsmanshipthede barrels are kept in top condition before being transported from Scotland to Bus Whisky's distillery, where they begin a new chapter in their lives as Brabant whisky barrels.

At Bus Whisky, years of aging in these first-fill bourbon barrels creates spicy notes and rich vanilla flavors, all of which define the great taste of Bus Whisky single malt.Thee initial sensory research we've done is promising. But only athede end of this year our first bottles will be bottled and after three years and a day we will tasthe de real resultthef de great efforttheof de Bus Whisky team!


  • Bus launches port bearing with its own tartan
    A tribute to the oldest dress in the Netherlands and the rich history of the hamlet of Bus, a five-year-old single cask whiskey aged in tawny port barrels. From grain to shot, the Bus whiskey distillery in Brabant is Dutch,...
  • Bus goes Bio
    Bus Whisky goes Organic! During the De BioBorrel in Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam, Bus Whisky announced its intention to switch completely to organic cultivation of malting barley from 2025! To make the switch to organic from 2025...
  • Martijn Keesmaat commercial director of Bus Whisky
    We are pleased to welcome Martijn Keesmaat as commercial director at Bus Whisky. Martijn was previously commercial director of Hooghoudt in Groningen. His passion for the world of whisky means that he is now leaving the far North for our...

Grain to glass | Top of its class

Thus, nose, taste and finish are appreciated:

Coach Whisky Wikipedia