Independent Stave Company: Reliant on White Oak

More than a century ago, when T.W. Boswell established a working stave mill in the white oak country of the Missouri Ozarks, he probably never could have imagined a time when white oak wood supply would be in danger. But as we look to the future, it’s possible that the depletion of American white oak could be the biggest threat to the cooperage industry since Prohibition.

“Mr. Boswell started this business in 1912 with 10,000 acres of his own land. As a landowner and a businessman he would have known that white oak is a vital resource on many levels and that it’s worthy of being taken care of.”
— Garret Nowell

Today, Boswell’s descendants run Independent Stave Company, which crafts oak barrels and other cooperage products. According to Garret Nowell, the company’s director of log procurement, “Mr. Boswell started this business in 1912 with 10,000 acres of his own land. As a landowner and a businessman he would have known that white oak is a vital resource on many levels and that it’s worthy of being taken care of.”

Indeed, without white oak there would be no viable bourbon cooperage business — and not much bourbon, either. Nowell explains, “White oak wood contains something called tyloses, which are balloon-like cellular outgrowths that block water movement.” These air pockets in the growth rings mean that liquid can’t get out of the barrel. “Another important white oak characteristic is the lignins,” Nowell says, which are the organic material that gives rigidity to wood and bark. In a cask, lignins can add avors such as vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and more. It’s why white oak barrels are used to make bourbon, as well as certain types of scotch, rum, wine, tequila, and even tabasco sauce.

While there’s currently plenty of white oak available for its various uses, Nowell is very conscious of the need for improved oak regeneration. He explains, “You’ve got to remember that the average-age tree that we use is about 100 years old, about 13 or 14 inches in diameter, free of knots or imperfections, and the wood is taken from the bottom 12 feet of the tree. White oak makes up about 17% of the forests that we use and about 11% is cooperage stock, so we’re talking about only 2% of the forest.” In other words, it’s a limited resource, which makes its lack of regeneration all the more urgent. “The lack of regeneration isn’t a problem for white oak supplies today,” Nowell says, “but it could be a concern in 40 to 50 years.”