You’ll have heard of barrels, butts, hogsheads and pipes. What about squats?

This is was an experimental type of cask made in the States entirely by machine, before the current US barrel shape was adopted.

 

They hold 220 Litres, and because of the high ratio of oak to spirit, the whisky matures differently, more quickly than in regular hogsheads or barrels.

This particular shape did not prove popular with the Bourbon manufacturers, it didn't last long, consequently these casks are rare today.

And the name? Here, the west coast lobsters are famed. We also have squat lobsters – a smaller, dumpier version which in fact are not lobsters at all, but more closely related to hermit crabs.

Jim adapted the term for these smaller, dumpy-looking casks to differentiate them from others. Nobody else in the whisky world has ever heard of the name.

These casks were used for the bottling.