DID you remember to wet the barrel?’ The exigencies of parenthood can be summarised by a series of questions, from ‘have you changed his nappy?’ to ‘did you remember to feed the guinea pigs?’, ‘have you paid the school fees?’ and ‘you did lock the drinks cupboard, didn’t you?’—to this. We were initiated into the forgotten art of cooperage by our son, Oliver; since lockdown, an entrepreneur with a start-up rum business. ‘Do you mind taking delivery of an empty malt-whisky cask and looking after it?’ sounded a sinecure, until we discovered that empty barrels have to be kept damp to stop the wood drying out and shrinking.
This story is from the May 19, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
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This story is from the May 19, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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