Jack Daniel's Barrel Bar
Jack Daniel's Barrel Bar
I have been interested for years in owning a barrel from the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Jack Daniel's is one of my favorite drinks and a barrel would make a great addition to my collection of Jack Daniel's memorabilia. An authentic barrel would make a nice display piece, or perhaps a bar with shelves mounted inside. Distance had always been an obstacle. Whenever I found one for sale, the cost to ship it to my house would have been prohibitive. Then one day I discovered that a local man had several dozen barrels for sale ...
The seller worked in a warehouse and had dozens of barrels stacked up in the corner.
We learned that a local brewery had bought them to age beer in, but had decided against it.
We picked out the 4 best ones, packed them up and headed for home.
We returned to Arthur's house.
One barrel stayed in Dan's truck, two were transferred to my van, and the last one was carried upstairs to Arthur's bar room.
We poured 3 shots of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel and toasted to a successful trip.
The barrels are still permeated by the strong aroma of their original contents.
This wonderful smell can be enjoyed by removing the bung and breathing deeply.
The "before" picture.
These barrels are well used, scuffed up and stained by seepage.
It would take some work before this barrel was presentable and could be brought upstairs.
I took some time to plan out the project. I decided to cut a door in the side and install a single shelf. Some interior lighting would be nice as well.
I would need some additional tools and materials.
(and a LOT of sandpaper)
I decided to cut the door out first, in case anything went wrong.
I bolted down the steel band on both sides of each cut to maintain structural integrity and to keep it from flying off.
Here I am inspecting the inside of the barrel and enjoying a headful of goodness.
The fresh aroma was quite powerful.
Unfortunately it would fade as the days passed.
Note the charred interior of the barrel.
The bowed shape of the barrel posed a challenge in hinge selection.
A pair of traditional hinges would not work due to the curvature.
I realized that the easiest solution would be a singe hinge at the waistline, capable of holding the entire weight of the door.
I searched until found a beautiful wrought iron hinge and latch.
I hand bent the long hinge strap to the contour of the barrel.
These 2 pictures show me test fitting all the door hardware to the barrel.
It would then be removed so I could sand and finish the oak surfaces.
The staves in the door were glued together and reinforced by the hinge and original steel band.
Here the barrel has been cleaned up and sanded smooth.
This required a LOT of sandpaper and a small handheld orbital sander.
The freshly sanded oak looked beautiful.
However, I decided it would be wise to varnish the wood for its protection.
Special care was taken in sanding the top.
I wanted to clean up the surface without harming that all important stencil.
Fortunately the stenciled area was not too dirty.
I was able to feather the sanding into this area and my cleanup was barely noticeable.
The shelf is made from a 6 foot long piece of oak stair tread.
I cut the plank in half and glued the 2 sections on edge to form a square sheet large enough to shape a round shelf from.
After careful measurement and planning, a rough circle was cut from the sheet.
The shelf had to be test fitted many times, and any excess removed with a rasp.
Once the fit was good, I sanded the oak smooth and applied several coats of varnish.
Here I have fitted the interior shelf.
Four small oak blocks were screwed into the sides to support it.
Two strands of rope lights provide the interior lighting.
These provided soft uniform light and were easy to conceal.
The power cord exits via a small hole in the back.
It looks so nice that my wife had no objections to its new home in the dining room.
The top received several coats of polyurethane.
I keep a bottle of Jack Daniel's and some of my favorite shot glasses on top.
You may notice that the oak door has started to bow slightly as the staves dry out.
This will be corrected once the wood stabilizes.
The bung is just visible on the right. I used an "Old No. 7" stamped bung from the Jack Daniel's "Bung Slinger" bar game.
A toast to Mr. Jack!
In November of 2006, 5 years after I finished the barrel, I heard that Jack Daniels Master Distiller Jimmy Bedford would be in the area. He was visiting a number of local liquor stores to greet customers and sign bottles.
I loaded the barrel into my van and headed off to meet Jimmy Bedford. He was very gracious and came out to the parking lot to sign my barrel.
