The process of picking a barrel pick is usually reserved for a select few — usually bars, restaurants, retailers and private collectors. So, when I heard that Shot Caller S1 guest and friend OJ Lima was teaming with a local spirits shop to do his first barrel pick, I was all in.
Lima and 58 Wine & Liquor’s Shawn Kim traveled to Kentucky earlier this year to Four Roses Distillery to source a barrel. They chose one that was nine years and four months old, originally barreled in 2009. The result is D.I.Y. 1 The Cooper’s Hammer.
A cooper is a craftsman who makes staved wooden containers such as buckets, barrels and casks. He requires several specialized tools, including the cooper’s hammer, which particularly useful for making barrels. In order for whiskey to be classified as bourbon, it must meet several legal requirements. Among them, the liquid must be aged in new, charred oak containers. Without barrels, there wouldn’t be bourbon.
Lima says the D.I.Y. series was inspired to help everyone enjoy a high-quality, limited-edition spirit at a reasonable price. Each D.I.Y. pick is hand-selected by people whose palettes they trust and is named after a tool used in crafting of the spirit.
D.I.Y. 1 Copper’s Hammer is being sold exclusively at 58 Wine & Liquor for $89.99.
