10 Great Whiskey Barrel Tables You Can Buy or DIY » All Gifts Considered (2024)

If you want to have the ultimate home bar, you’re going to need to think about whiskey barrel tables. The right table is something that says you mean business, and that you sure do love your whiskey.

But more than that, a great table says you are ready to gather around with friends and family, and share good times, great conversation, and plenty of drinks.

So check out these ten great whiskey barrel tables that you can either buy or make, DIY-style.

From great big round tables that will seat the entire gang down to end table accent pieces (and everything in between), these are the best home bar accent tables made from whiskey barrels.

10 Great Whiskey Barrel Tables

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1. Half-Barrel Coffee Table with Lift Top & Storage

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This is an amazing, premium handcrafted, half barrel coffee table. Made from half of an oak barrel (still on the stand, if you look closely!), the thick wood tabletop is extraordinarily sturdy and can be made from your choice of wood.

The whole top is on lift-away hinges and you can store wine (or clutter…let’s be real) in the open area below. A++!

2. Glass Top Whiskey Barrel Coffee Table with Storage

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This is a genuine work of art and The Mother of All Oak Barrel Coffee Tables. Made to order for you from a real barrel and includes several options.

You can customize the storage inside for your own preferred setup; shown here with space for displaying wine bottles and keeping wine glasses handy.

This is a whiskey barrel table that is meant to be enjoyed.

3. Personalized Oak Barrel Coffee Table

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This handcrafted and personalized oak barrel coffee table is made in the USA and customized with your name along the side. Opens to allow access to the interior, which can hold blankets, books, games, or a small collection of wine or whiskey.

4. Upcycled Barrel End Tables

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These rustic end tables are repurposed and upcycled from old bourbon barrels. Each piece isdesigned for simplicity and handcrafted with integrity in the USA, and available in two heights and two finishes.

5. White Oak Whiskey Barrel Bistro Table with Stand

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This cute barrel bistro table is made from an authentic reclaimed whiskey barrel and completed with a solid table top and elegant metal stand.

With the removable stand, the barrel table is bar-height and people can stand around it. Without the stand, it’s kitchen-table height. Your choice!

Related: 21 Things You Can Age in a Barrel

6. Handcrafted Oak Whiskey Barrel End Table

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Here we have another handcrafted end or side table, and this one made from a barrel top with legs that are crafted from actual barrel staves. The steel hoops are there, too, giving it a touch of the industrial/antique feel.

With a rustic oak finish that will complement any decor, this table will look great in your living room or home bar. Get it here.

Top it with a set of custom engraved whiskey glasses, and you’ll be ready to go!

7. Barrel Head End Table with Wine Storage Staves

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This lovely little wine decor end table is crafted using an oak barrel head for the table top and staves for the table legs. The entire piece is stabilized by more staves that create an elegant and lightly curved wine bottle storage shelf.

8. Whiskey Barrel Head & Staves Pub Table

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This pub table is made from a pair of barrel heads with long oak barrel staves for the legs. Rustic yet elegant, the rich dark stain, gorgeous oak wood, and expert craftsmanship come together to create the perfect table for your kitchen or home bar.

9. Indoor/Outdoor Barrel Side Table

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This outdoor/indoor wine barrel side table is made using French white oak wine barrels imported from France and Spain. Each table is handmade for you, sanded to a perfect white oak texture and stained in your choice of three colors, then coated with a wood-grade lacquer finish.

Get a couple barrels with different functions, and that will be a great way to round out your home bar decor with an upcycled barrel theme.

10. DIY Whiskey Barrel Table

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Now that you’ve seen all the best whiskey barrel table styles and designs, how about trying to make one for yourself? With a bit of work, you can make your own whiskey barrel table, decorate your home bar, and impress your friends. Here’s how.

How to make your own whiskey barrel table.

  1. Get a reclaimed barrel

    If you have access to whiskey barrels locally, that will be your most affordable option. Check with local distillers, or keep your eye on Craigslist. To get started right away, you can order a reclaimed 34″ (kitchen table height) whiskey barrel here, a Jack Daniels barrel here, or a genuine Kentucky Bourbon barrel here.

  2. Clean & dry the barrel

    You’ll want to make sure the barrel is properly cleaned, dried, and prepped. Start by cleaning your barrel with deck cleaner, then rinse off with water. Once it dries, sand the entire exterior (going with the grain) to smooth it out and prep it for your stain. Use a clean cloth to wipe off the dust.

  3. Stain the barrel

    Choose a stain to match your decor. Tape off the metal components using painter’s tape and apply the stain, wiping off excess stain as you go along. Leave to dry, and apply additional coats until you reach the color of your liking. For a natural look, leave as is. For a polished, finished look, add a coat of polyurethane evenly to the entire barrel. Remove tape.

  4. Measure for the tabletop

    You’ll want to make the tabletop at least as large as the barrel top, probably a lot larger. Measure the diameter of the top of the barrel. Then decide how large you would like the tabletop to be. For a bistro-style table, you’ll want at least a 16″ overhang all the way around, which means that you will need to add 32″ (16″ for each side) to the diameter of the barrel top. If you are going for a larger table, consider a 20″ or even 24″ overhang. For smaller serving and end tables, a 2-6″ overhang should suffice.

  5. Make the tabletop

    3/4″ plywood is affordably and easy to work with, so that’s what we’ll be describing, but you can also choose oak for consistency and authenticity. Trace out the circumference of your table on the board with a beam compass, then cut using a jigsaw equipped with a fine finish blade. Sand the edges of your new cut to dull the side, as this will make the table more comfortable.

  6. Stain the tabletop

    Stain the tabletop piece to match the barrel. Follow the same steps as above, but you’ll probably need a few extra coats to match the aged wood of the barrel. For optimal results, stain both top and underside of the table, and don’t forget the edges. Finish with a polyurethane coat all the way around.

  7. Attach barrel and tabletop

    Use your beam compass to trace the outline of the barrel onto the underside of the tabletop. This will help you center the board correctly when attaching it to the barrel. Next, apply a bead of wood glue to the top edge of the barrel, then place the tabletop, making sure the outline you traced is facing down and aligned with the barrel top. Finally, allow the glue to dry for a minimum of 24 hours. For additional security, you can drive some nails or screws down into the barrel. Fill the holes with wood filler or cover with a lazy susan centerpiece.

  8. Make it unique

    You can also use your handyman skills to cut out a section of the barrel and place a shelf inside. Save the cut out pieces and reassemble them if you want to make a cabinet door, or leave off for a truly “open” bar. Find inspiration from all the whiskey barrel tables listed above!

There you have it! The ten best whiskey barrel tables that you can buy or DIY. I hope you’ve found something perfect to complete you home bar or man cave decor. For more inspiration, check out all these personalized home bar decor accents from Northwest Gifts!

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10 Great Whiskey Barrel Tables You Can Buy or DIY » All Gifts Considered (2024)

FAQs

What is the best barrel to age whiskey? ›

Oak is the key to aging bourbon. Oak barrels are essential to the bourbon aging process because they impart flavor and color to the spirit as it matures. The type of oak, how long the barrel is charred, and where the barrel is stored all play a role in the final flavor.

What is the best wood for whiskey barrels? ›

To qualify as a bourbon, after all, a spirit must be aged in a new, charred oak barrel. White oak is preferred by many distillers for two reasons. One has to do with flavor, the other is more practical: white oak doesn't leak.

How to make your own whiskey barrel? ›

How to Make a Whiskey Barrel
  1. STEP 1: Start with American White Oak. Seasoned Coopers choose the American white oak for many reasons! ...
  2. STEP 2: Create and Prep the Staves. Seasoned Coopers know that it's crucial to handle the staves with care! ...
  3. STEP 3: Add Tops and Bottoms. ...
  4. STEP 4: Shape the Barrel. ...
  5. STEP 5: Char the Barrel.

How many times can you use one new barrel for making bourbon? ›

American rules about bourbon are famous for requiring producers to use bourbon casks just one time.

What is the lifespan of a whiskey barrel? ›

A bourbon barrel spends the first two-plus years of its life imparting rich flavor and color to the bourbon aging inside its charred oaken staves. By law, a barrel can be used just one time to distill bourbon in the US, despite the fact that these well-crafted barrels have a “lifespan” of up to 60 years.

What should I put in my aging barrel? ›

What should I put in my barrel? Whiskey and Bourbon are what most people think of when aged spirits comes to mind, but the possibilities are endless. Tequila, Rum, Gin, Cognac, Brandy, Port, and dry wines are great to experiment with your aging barrel. Hot sauce, Barbeque sauce, bitters and beer are other fun ideas.

What is the best tree for whiskey barrels? ›

Why Oak? Oak is an excellent choice for crafting spirits barrels. Why? It contributes a wide variety of desirable flavors, it is ring porous allowing the oak extractives to be more accessible, and oak is liquid tight when quartersawn (American oak) or split along the grain (French/European oak).

How to keep whiskey barrel furniture from drying out? ›

An oil finish will help it last long

An oil finish on a furniture piece made from a barrel can make it last longer. This method is used by most people who own this kind of furniture. This will help you maintain your furniture in the best way possible.

Why are oak barrels so expensive? ›

Cooperages like Foudrerie François pay close attention to the quality of the wood they source to make the foudres they sell and ship worldwide. The wood is so precious — and so expensive — that the French government heavily regulates its sales through annual auctions of oak forest plots.

Can you put vodka in a whiskey barrel? ›

Vodka is a neutral spirit. That means it has no taste. If you put vodka into an oak barrel, charred or not, the oak will flavor and color the vodka, & it will no longer be a neutral spirit. It will probably be closer to a whiskey.

What are whiskey barrel makers called? ›

Craftsmen who make wooden barrels are called coopers. The word is most likely derived from the Latin word for vat, "cupa." In New England, coopers arrived with the first English settlers in the 1620s. Their work was essential to commerce and daily life.

Can you buy full whiskey barrels? ›

Barrel Global offers the opportunity to purchase full barrels of whiskey that have not yet reached maturity at a lower price point, hold the whiskey at a secure warehouse whilst it ages and then either resell or bottle the barrel at a future time.

What happens to old whiskey barrels? ›

So what happens to the used barrels? Many of them are shipped to Scotland, as Scotch has no laws requiring new barrels. Because much of the flavor has already been leached from the barrels, Scotch tends to be aged longer than bourbon.

How long do you leave whiskey in a barrel? ›

For the large barrels (like our 4 liter, 5 liter, 10 liter, and 20 liter barrels) it's best to wait anywhere from a couple of months up to 5-6 at the most. Liquor like bourbon and whiskey will age longer while some spirits like gin for example will age less than even the standard 2-4 weeks in a 1 liter barrel.

Why can't you reuse whiskey barrels? ›

A used wooden barrel cannot be reused forever. There is a certain number of cycles of usage for aging. After this, the aging process gets affected, which would in turn negatively impact the quality of the wine or other liquor aged therein.

What is the best drink to barrel age? ›

A Negroni is also a good candidate for barrel-aging, consisting as it does of gin, vermouth, and Campari. Remember that Campari is a bitters, so don't let it dominate the taste as it ages. A Boulevardier is basically a Negroni but with a different ratio of ingredients and usually rye whiskey or bourbon instead of gin.

How long should whiskey age in a barrel? ›

Bourbon whiskey has typically aged a minimum of two years, though most brands are aged at least four years and often longer than that. The drastic change in flavor profile comes from how temperature affects the barrels. Typically, there is no temperature regulation in aging warehouses.

What is the standard size barrel used to age whiskey? ›

The standard bourbon barrels that Jameson and American bourbon makers use hold around 200 litres (53 gallons). The seasoned Oloroso Sherry casks that Jameson also uses are much larger, holding 500 litres (132 gallons).

Does whiskey age faster in a smaller barrel? ›

The smaller the barrel, the quicker the aging process will be. One of the biggest reasons why smaller used oak barrels age liquor faster is the fact that they have a larger surface area to volume ratio, which means that the liquor will be able to absorb more wood sugars much more quickly.

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