b'Opposite page: Some pieces of old cask that Jack Daniels sent me from Tennessee, I made the contact through Richard Hawley. The timber could easily have been packed flat in a suitcase size parcel, but it arrived in a box about the size of a telephone box and we had a little discussion about who was to pay the shipping costs. In America, the Oak can, by law, only be used in a Whiskey (Not Whisky) barrel once, and you can see the difference if you compare it to the picture on this page.Above: Using home grown timber is a wonderful ambition, but so hard in this country, mostly because of our climate. This is a section of a large Sycamore tree that grew in our garden. We had it felled because it was threatening our house, and this was just about the only piece that was any use. I had it cut to box out the heart then cut again to be able to dry it.Left: I found a new source of Scotch Whisky casks, and its great to see the provenance of the contents. In Scotland, its essential (and the law) to use second use casks, either from the American trade, or from European wine. This means all the nasty foreign tastes have been left behind in America or Europe. just leaving pure smooth Scotch. 149'