Lots of interesting comments here. I was the named executive in charge of the used barrel operation of one of America's largest distilleries. About 80% of the once-used barrels come from Beam or JD. New whiskey barrel production for Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys was split at the time between two companies... Independent Stave and Blue Grass Cooperage in the US. The standards of identity require, among other things, that a bourbon or Tennessee whiskey be aged in a new, charred white oak barrel.

Scotch producers don't like the woody taste of a new barrel. They feel it is too harsh. Lots of color, flavinoids and char in a new barrel.

In bourbon and TN whiskeys, the barrel contributes 100% of the color and the majority of the flavor profile. In Scotch, it is more subtle, with options of aging whisky in American whisky barrels, port casks, wine barrels and other vessels. I've personally laid hands on barrels that were still in use in Scotland after 100 years. At that point, they are no more than oxidation vessels. The flavor and color is gone.

That's my 2 cents. The global barrel business and the interrelationships among the six or seven companies that control the distilled spirits market is fascinating.