Wooden barrels

The size mainly sets the pace. A five-litre barrel has far more wood surface relative to its contents than a large one, so the flavour transfers much faster. Where a distillery counts in years, a five-litre barrel gives you a clear difference after two to four weeks; with ten litres it is more like four to eight. That is also the pitfall, because leaving it too long produces a bitter, woody drink that cannot be rescued. Choose five litres if you want to experiment and see quick results, and ten litres if you want a steady house bottling that you draw off a few times a year. Taste weekly from the first week and write down what you find.

A new barrel has to be soaked first. Fill it with cold water and leave it for one to three days; the wood swells, the staves close up and any initial leaks disappear on their own. Change the water daily until it stays clear. Only then does your drink go in. Always fill to the brim, because in a half-full barrel the contents oxidise too quickly and the wood above the liquid line dries out. Keep the barrel cool and dark, out of direct sun and away from large temperature swings. Start with something that can take wood: a negroni, a manhattan or an old fashioned all come out rounder and deeper.

The most important rule is that the barrel must never be allowed to stand dry. If the wood dries out, the staves shrink, gaps open up and the barrel leaks beyond repair. If you draw it off without a new filling ready, top it up with water and a little sulphite solution or with a neutral spirit, so it stays moist and free of growth. Never clean a barrel with soap; the smell soaks into the wood and never comes out again. Rinsing with hot water is enough.

Ageing is only half the work; the rest happens at the point of serving. The tools for that are with the bar tools, where alongside the cocktail shakers you will also find bar spoons and jiggers. For drawing off the barrel and keeping the bottling there are the carafes, and for large clear blocks there are the ice buckets. If you would first like to know what to put in, the full collection of recipes is with the cocktails.