Over the Barrel

The news out of Scotland last week was enough to give any Rob Roy drinker pause. A crisis is bubbling in the Scotch industry, whose exports earned Britain more than $258 million in muchneeded dollars and other foreign exchange last year. The crisis is not due to a shortage of whisky but of barrels.

Scotch is aged in used barrels, which improve flavor and prevent undue evaporation. Best for the job are sherry-soaked, whiteoak barrels from Spain. Second best and far behind are used 50-gallon bourbon barrels from the U.S., in which most Scotch is matured. Because of rapidly rising Scotch demand and production, used bourbon barrels are becoming scarce, and have doubled in price over the past 18 months to $28 per cask.

Some of Scotland's distillers com plain that the severe scarcity will force them to close down for several months this summer. Fortunately, the consumer will not taste the difference for quite a while. There are now 450 million gallons being aged in Scotland--a four-year supply.

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