Barrels & Billets

The name ‘Barrels & Billets' is a nod to Hillerich & Bradsby Co.'s history and connection with wood. That connection goes back more than a century and a half, when J. Frederick Hillerich immigrated to America from Germany on October 7, 1842 and eventually moved to Louisville. Once there, he opened his own wood shop. At the time, part of his business included barrel making for the growing Bourbon industry. In 1884, the family company jumped into the baseball bat business. “Billets” refers to the thick, cylindrical pieces of wood that are used at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory to make baseball bats. After some exploratory experiments, we quickly learned that the key to successful whiskey was not to change the natural process of wood and whiskey – through chemicals, unique energy sources or biochemistry – but rather to simply reduce variation in the natural whiskey aging process. To do this, we designed and built special equipment that allows us to manage the heating and cooling within a tenth of a degree. The result is a level of quality control that helps us achieve amazing flavors in our bourbons.