The Builder of Barrels: Black Swan Cooperage
Workers at Minnesota's Black Swan Cooperage transform oak trees into finished barrels, and offer customization options for individual distillers. (Photo by Peter Garritano)
Heidi Korb can’t remember a time when she wasn’t listening to her dad talk about oak or watching him build barrels. The second-generation cooper co-owns
Black Swan Cooperage, which she opened in 2009 under the tutelage of her father, Russ Karasch, a cooper of 30 years who continues to work with his daughter. Among his innovations is the patented Honey Comb stave. His Honey Comb Barrels and Honey Comb Barrel Alternative, a wood insert, are imprinted with a honeycomb pattern that increases the wood’s surface area, thus facilitating wood extraction and accelerating maturation. Even Black Swan’s standard barrel is impressed with a cross-groove for similar effect.