Whisky cabinet and crates - inspiration needed!

[Mrs Whisky]

Hi!

So, next summer I am marrying a gent who must be the worlds biggest whisky fan. As a wedding present, Im comissioning a drinks cabinet to house his rather extensive whisky collection. I was hoping that you lovely people could help me with some inspiration as to what would make the perfect cabinet? For example, some ideas I have had include incorporating a small freezer to keep ice in, and using old wooden whisky crates to form part of the cabinet. Ive seen the latter done with wine crates and it looks brilliant. Has anyone here got any other thoughts on what would make the perfect cabinet?

Also, does anyone know where I could get hold of old wooden whisky crates? Ive looked online and called some distilleries, but not getting very far...

Thank you so much for all your help!

Mrs Whisky

[Keith]

Hi and congratulations on your forthcoming wedding

It has been many years since whisky has come in wooden crates, all cardboard boxes nowadays. The whisky itself is matured in oak barrels and many whisky enthusiasts would have whisky cabinets made from oak wood although not many will have cabinets made from reclaimed oak from whisky barrels mainly due to the fact that the barrles are made up from long thin curved staves of oak wood which are not really practical for furniture making. I suppose the ends of the barrels, which are called heads are round and flat and could be incorporated into a cabinet along with some new oak wood, a mix of old & new if you like.

Most single malt whisky drinkers wouldnt take ice in there whisky as it dulls the aroma and taste but some people do like it. Does your fianc? take ice in his whisky, if so then a small freezer in the cabinet would be good.

[William]

Hi Mrs Whisky and welcome to the SMW forum

I am not 100% sure of what you mean by wooden whisky crates - do you mean crates that the whisky bottles are transported in, if so they stopped using wooden crates many years ago.

If you mean the barrels the whisky is matured in then you can certainly buy these, whether they will be good enough to make a cabinet out of i dont know, i think you would have to consult a furniture maker, remember these barrels would have contained whisky for at least 20 - 30 years perhaps more before the distilleries sell them off so they will be pretty much soaked through with whisky and i would imagine have to be dried out to be good enough for cabinet making.

I bought a couple of barrels a few months ago from the Auchentoshan distillery, they half the barrels and sell them for only £10.20 each, i bought 4 halves which i use in the garden as large planters. I am sure they would sell you the whole barrel if you called and asked. Remember they are quite large so you would need to arrange for a van to collect them. You can call Auchentoshan on 01389 878561, i am sure they will be happy to help.

Personally i think a cabinet made from new or reclaimed oak with a bit from a whisky barrel incorporated into the cabinet sounds like a good idea.

When commissioning the cabinet remember malt whisky bottles come in varied sizes also what type of glasses does your fiance drink from, remember to have a suitable storage space for his choice of whisky glass.

All the best

William

[Big Mac]

I am sure you would get a lovely aroma from a cabinet made from reclaimed whisky barrels. I have heard of people making seats and plant pots etc out of old barrels but not a whole cabinet.

Mrs Whisky if you are going to the expense of having a custom cabinet made i would recommend you use oak wood but not old oak barrels. As mentioned you could integrate a bit of a whisky barrel into the cabinet, perhapsfrom a distillery your fiance likes.

[5-12-1908]

[Mrs Whisky]

9of12in1908 - hmmm, I do admit I am a second love to the whisky, which receives a lot more attention and care than myself. More than once the fiance has come back from the shops with dinner consisting, apparently, of just a bottle of single malt. If I come to my senses before next summer Ill let you know, otherwise lets assume the wedding is going ahead.

Seriously though, thanks for the advice. I didnt know that wooden crates were no longer in use, thats a shame. I kinda wanted some wood with the name of whisky distillers on them so as to make the surface of the cabinet, a bit like this table has been done with wine: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=table+made+from+wine+crates&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1366&bih=611&tbm=isch&tbnid=mm_PmTlPd3EayM:&imgrefurl=http://www.rockcreekfurnitureco.com/Products---Furniture.html&docid=R6jrAP2qCX5ZfM&w=708&h=531&ei=BsmVTqWdFoWt8QOm2oi2Cw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=173&vpy=289&dur=2090&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=91&ty=147&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=164&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0

The oak casks sound like something to think about, Ill see if I can get some. The rest of the cabinet is being made out of reclaimed wood (should have said that in the first post), including some rather nice bits off old boats and from hisoric places in our area, so reclaimed oak barrels would also fit in nicely. Will they not smell of whisky though?!

Any more thought will be gratefully received! (as will marriage proposals, they make my evening!).

Mrs Whiskey

[janiferede]

Major Cabinet reshuffle commences on Sept 1st. First meeting of new Cabinet will be on Monday Sept 8th.

[mike101]

I saw that in a shop.. looked stunning...

http://www.google.ch/imgres?q=whiskyfass+als+bar&start=163&um=1&hl=de&safe=active&sa=N&biw=1247&bih=787&tbm=isch&tbnid=DB3RgvK6mgy0KM:&imgrefurl=http://www.weinfassversand.de/Shop/de/Fass-Moebel-Dekos/Fassbars&docid=L_amY_c51I-rIM&imgurl=http://www.weinfassversand.de/Shop/images/categories/17.JPG&w=400&h=300&ei=0WmZT-isO4Xj4QSm6OjEBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=955&vpy=394&dur=757&hovh=192&hovw=257&tx=197&ty=85&sig=104468814628822871192&page=6&tbnh=154&tbnw=196&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:41,s:163,i:167

[jcarrick]

Looks good but the rack stores the bottles on there side so it has been designed for wine