Our Story

We always tell this story first because we want you to know why we’re here, what inspires us, and what we hold most important.

For us, it’s integrity. It’s innovation. It’s leaning into the place you are and working together to make a positive impact.

In June of 2016, a thousand-year storm and resultant flooding devastated the small town of White Sulphur Springs, WV and surrounding areas. 13 lives were lost in the county, and hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged.

Driving around the town of White Sulphur Springs in the days after the flood, a few civic-minded residents realized that the town would never recover if they didn’t do something to get residents back into homes, quickly. They came up with a plan, raised money, and convinced the city to trade flooded lots for land on higher ground. They engaged volunteer relief groups who were already descending upon the area and proceeded to build a new neighborhood for individuals who had lost their homes. The flood occurred in June; the first family moved into their new home by Thanksgiving. This was unprecedented.

As families began to settle into their new homes, folks involved in the recovery realized that they needed to do more. If they really wanted to really make a positive impact in this community, they needed to create good, safe jobs.

And that’s where the idea for the Barrel Company was born. The work began to make barrels in West Virginia out of plentiful, sustainably harvested, tight-grained Appalachian white oak. “But if we’re going to do it,” the founders decided, “let’s innovate the cooperage process. Let’s build the best-performing barrel on the market, but let’s do it safely. Let’s do it consistently. Let’s do it precisely.”

WV Great Barrel Company was founded to do good in our community and to do better for our industry. This ethos drives us to make the highest quality white oak barrels in the world. It shows up in every step of our process, and it informs the way we work with distillers: to become partners in support of making the very best whiskey and aged spirits possible, in the most consistent way. It would be our honor to do this for you.