Crozehead Cooperage

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  1. 1 two men standing in front of barn
  2. 2 whiskey barrel
  3. 3 whiskey barrel on fire
  4. 4 tools
  5. 5 cooper holding oak bucket
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  1. Business Profile
  2. Terms to Know
  3. The Property
  4. Grand Opening
  5. Illinois Made

Crozehead Cooperage believes that a better whiskey barrel crafts a superior spirit. Owner Loren Buchmeier is one of less than 40 master coopers in the world, offering authentic hand-crafted barrels using traditional tools, adhering to the standards set by the Craft Coopers Guild. Established in 2015, Crozehead Cooperage is one of 26 cooperages in the United States and the only cooperage in Illinois.

Loren & family strive to preserve a heritage craft in a mechanized coopering economy. Responsible coopering leads Loren’s mission of zero-waste production, selling 5, 10, 15, and 53-gallon barrels. What cannot be used as a barrel are used as wood shavings to support the charring process, with every inch of American White Oak being put to use.

The business is located at the Buchmeier family farm at 25964 S Egyptian Trail, Monee, IL. Crozehead offers tours of the cooperage where guests can witness traditional hand coopering demonstrations. This is followed by a whiskey tasting, charcuterie, and light fare sourced from local organic farms. For those who prefer to be more hands-on, guests can sign up for a 2-day bucket-making class and learn to hand-craft their own bucket to bring home.

Crozehead’s first year back on the farm is a busy one. They have built a biergarten which hosts up to 80 guests. Crozehead also plans to add a few additional buildings, including a 976-ft tasting room and a 1000 square-foot distillery to offer white spirits and whiskey.

Follow their journey at https://villageofmonee.org/344/Crozehead-Cooperage. If you’re interested in touring the cooperage or acquiring whiskey barrels, visit their website or contact them below.

708-623-4700

 https://www.crozehead.com

crozeheadcooperage@gmail.com

25964 S Egyptian Trail, Monee, IL 60449

  1. The Coopering Process

Crafting a quality whiskey barrel is a demanding process. Loren begins with seasoning the rough ¼ sawn oak for 2-4 years to wash out tannins, then planning the oak from 5/4 to 1 inch. Next, the cooper joints, hallows, and backs the staves, followed by raising and fire bending the staves to form the barrel. The cooper then toasts and chars the barrel over an open flame. While other cooperages only char their barrels and skip over the toasting process, Crozehead advocates for slow toasting the barrel to build a complex flavor profile. Variations in toast time and temperature, as is in char level, create different flavor profiles. The cooper then cuts the croze, chimes and howls into the barrel ends. They will then build, profile, toast, and insert the heads. To complete the process, the cooper sears a bunghole, cauterizes, and swells their barrel to check for any leaks.

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