> Adam Funk wrote:
> > They're aged a minimum of three years in used oak casks.

"Marc Goodman" > wrote in message
news:Opidne2Ij_S2kUrZnZ2dnUVZ_q6dnZ2d@newedgenetwo rks.com...

> Context Away wonders what the oak casks were used for, and
> why Dr. Pepper only comes in cans and bottles.

Whiskey is aged in wood barrels: preferably those used
earlier for storing such wines as bordeaux and sherry.
The practice may have begun in the 18th century for
reasons of economy: second-hand French or Portuguese
barrels (first used to transport wine to Britain in bulk) were
cheaper than new barrels.

Aging in wood is desirable since new whiskey is unfit
to drink after a single run through the still. It becomes
palatable after some years' aging and whiskey makers
discovered that used barrels (soaked earlier with wine)
make the spirit smoother without altering its flavour.
(Aware of this, moonshine distillers often distil their
product twice in order to make it drinkable immediately;
this succeeds at the price of reduced volume.)

Bottlers of flavoured soda water do not encounter this
because their product does not improve with age,
like wines and spirits.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)