Barrel Staves and the MANY Options at Our Disposal
Jan 25, 2015 Edit: Current list of available barrel staves: Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, Angel's Envy, and Old Rip Van Winkle.
My most popular listings incorporate used Jack Daniels barrel staves. In fact, I have many different barrel staves at my disposal. The way this came about is actually pretty interesting - on more than one occasion I have been contacted by a customer who loves the concept of a whiskey barrel stave ring, but is too loyal to another distiller to settle for Jack Daniels. They therefore went ahead and contacted the distiller of their preference to source their own wood. It is not surprising that every distillery is perfectly happy to acquiesce-- by law, bourbon must be aged in NEW oak barrels. They cannot be reused. As a result, I have amassed relatively limited quantities of wood from the following distilleries:
Used Barrel Staves- Various Distilleries
From right to left: Jack Daniels (this is actually only about half of my stock), Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark, and RAREST of all a very small amount of wood from The Macallan.
As you can see, they are basically identical. This should come as no surprise, as they are all charred American White Oak (I believe this is also law, to be called bourbon (or in the case of The Macallan, scotch, which by law is aged in USED barrels).
They will all look very similar (the Maker's Mark stave is quite light in color, other than that they are all very similar), but you can specify to me that you would like a certain distillery used in your ring!
Maker's Mark
Jack Daniels Barrel Staves - some of these pieces were originally destined for BBQ smokers
The Macallan Used Barrel Staves
Note on The Macallan wood - I havent yet decided what to do with this. It is very limited in quantity, and I cannot anticipate getting more. I may decide to make it exclusive to Damascus pieces. The wood itself is of obvious superior quality. I dont know if this is because they have the luxury of selecting from the best of the best used barrels or because it has been reused multiple times, but it is very dense and figured (for oak).
UPDATE 12/20/14:
Two new distilleries available!
Woodford Reserve
and Angel's Envy Port Wine Aged
Note on this wood - this bourbon is finished in port wine barrels. It has a gorgeous red stain on the inside that I am dedicated to preserving in the finished ring. For this reason, the wood must be cut in a certain way that limits the size of a ring to size 11, maximum.
EDIT Jan 25, 2015: Old Rip Van Winkle! (and Pappy Van Winkle 20 yr Reserve)
EDIT May 17. 2015: Four Roses and Stranahan's
http://www.wedgewoodrings.com/purchase/cobalt-wooden-ring-lined-with-jack-daniels-whiskey-white-oak-barrel
UPDATE 8/1/2015 - The Yamazaki, The Hakushu, and Hibiki
Very excited to have acquired wood from Suntory whisky, which includes The Yamasaki (a personal favorite), The Hakushu, and Hibiki, which was recently rated #1 whisky in the world. These are used barrel staves that have been converted into floor planks (by Suntory, and sold through their website here: https://ssl1.suntory.co.jp/apl/oss/taru_shop/cat/plist/prms/s_class_id__tars000160)
PLEASE REMEMBER - if you dont see your preferred brand to use in your wooden wedding band, feel free to contact them! They have been universally accommodating to customers' requests.