While traveling in Scotland and Ireland, I'm surprised at how many distilleries tell the story of a mighty cooper's union that lobbied for American's single use barrel rule. I've never heard a single American distillery even mention it. And when I ask them about it, I get blank stares. Let's dive into the history of coopers, find out more about their craft, take a ride on a flatboat covered in barrel staves, and find out if some magical cooper's union is the reason for all of those lovely caramel and vanilla notes in our American whiskies.