Whiskey lovers around the world will tell you that the longer a whiskey is aged the better it’ll taste. All of those distinctive flavors that whiskey connoisseurs adore in their tipple—tobacco, leather, vanilla, cedar, smoke, peat, caramel—are imparted to the “white dog,” or raw whiskey, by the barrel used to store the spirit. Whiskey in its purest form is pretty much moonshine. Before the barrel can work its magic on the freshly distilled concoction, it’s a perfectly clear liquid that packs quite a wallop. This pre-barreled mixture retains the original flavor of the mash bill, which usually includes some combination of corn, rye, barley, or wheat.
