Detailed three-dimensional analyses of tyloses in oak used for bourbon and wine barrels through X-ray computed tomography

Donghyun Kim, Jarrad Gollihue, Savio J. Poovathingal, Seth DeBolt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

American white (Quercus alba L.) oak casks have been used for liquid storage for centuries. Their use in aged spirits is critical to imparting flavor and mouthfeel to the final product. The reason that barrels retain liquid has been hypothesized to be the result of abundant physiological structures called tyloses in parenchyma tissues and medullary rays in white oak. Using non-destructive X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) imaging, we reveal an unprecedented view of tylose structure and quantify the pore-filling capacity of tyloses in white oak that underscores the liquid retention we observe in casks. We show that pores of white oaks are filled with sevenfold higher tylose volume compared to northern red oak (Q. rubra), consistent with prior literature that casks made from white oak retain liquid while red oak fails to do so. We propose that XRCT represents a methodological standard for observing these complex structures and should be employed to understand the many questions related to liquid losses from casks, cultural treatment of casks, and the influence of climate change on oak tyloses in the future.

Original languageEnglish
Article number17044
JournalScientific Reports
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

We thank Beam Suntory Inc. for supporting this research. We thank the Wood Utilization Center of the University of Kentucky Forestry Department for providing a Northern red oak wood sample for analysis. This work was performed in part at the U.K. Electron Microscopy Center, a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), which is supported by the National Science Foundation (NNCI- 2025075). The authors are grateful to Dr. Nicolas Briot for fruitful discussions. We herein confirm that the study was performed in accordance with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and legislation relative to the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

FundersFunder number
University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Wild Fauna and Flora
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science ProgramNNCI- 2025075
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Detailed three-dimensional analyses of tyloses in oak used for bourbon and wine barrels through X-ray computed tomography'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this