Old Oake Barrel

Website Contact the business

Old Oake Barrel Handcrafted furniture, bars & decor made from reclaimed bourbon + whiskey barrels. Built to last, built to talk about. Made in Waterloo, MI. .Barrel

Custom work welcome.

10/25/2026

A little spooky season throwback from the shop!

From glowing Jack-O-Barrels lighting up a front porch to the carving, cutting, and behind-the-scenes work that brings them to life, these have been some of the more fun projects to come out of Old Oake Barrel.

Not every barrel has to become a wh***ey cabinet. Sometimes you just have to give an old barrel a little Halloween spirit. 👻

Hope everyone is enjoying spooky season!

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

A little throwback for spooky season.Over the years, a few bourbon barrels have found themselves with a much different p...
10/25/2026

A little throwback for spooky season.

Over the years, a few bourbon barrels have found themselves with a much different purpose than they started with.

From glowing Jack-O-Barrels lighting up a front porch to full-size barrels carved into something a little more monstrous, these have been some of the more fun projects to come out of the Old Oake Barrel shop.

Not every barrel has to become a wh***ey cabinet or display. Sometimes it’s just about taking an old barrel and having a little fun with it.

With Halloween right around the corner, these felt worth bringing back out of the archives.

Hope everyone is enjoying the fall season!

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

Behind the Staves 🥃I’ve been changing up how I glue and clamp my barrel heads lately. It’s a small adjustment to the pro...
10/15/2026

Behind the Staves 🥃

I’ve been changing up how I glue and clamp my barrel heads lately. It’s a small adjustment to the process, but one that’s helping me get more consistent results before they ever reach the CNC.

Always finding little ways to improve the process.

10/02/2026

First show in the books. 🥃

After weeks of building, carving, finishing and getting everything ready, Old Oake Barrel finally made its first-ever show appearance at the inaugural Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest.

Seeing everything that normally lives scattered around my shop come together as an actual OOB booth was pretty damn cool.

Even better was getting to spend the day talking bourbon, woodworking and old barrels with everyone who stopped by.

A lot was learned. A few pieces found new homes. Plenty of ideas came back to Michigan with me.

And I have a feeling this won’t be the last one.

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

This is the part I really enjoy seeing. Another piece from Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest has officially found its new home.Dav...
10/01/2026

This is the part I really enjoy seeing.

Another piece from Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest has officially found its new home.

Dave picked up one of my Distiller’s Displays at the show, and he was kind enough to send me a photo once he got it home and loaded up.

I’ve obviously seen plenty of these sitting empty in my shop while I’m building them, but seeing one filled with someone’s wh***ey collection is completely different.

The Distiller’s Display was designed around exactly this idea: take the character of a reclaimed bourbon barrel and turn it into something that can actually become part of a wh***ey room, bar or home.

Original bourbon barrel oak. A whole new purpose.

And judging by Dave’s collection, I think this one landed exactly where it belongs.

Thanks again, Dave, for stopping by the OOB booth in Fort Wayne and giving one of my builds a new home. I really appreciate you sending the photo back too.

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

Well, this one didn’t make the trip back to Michigan. One of the coolest parts of taking Old Oake Barrel to its first sh...
09/29/2026

Well, this one didn’t make the trip back to Michigan.

One of the coolest parts of taking Old Oake Barrel to its first show was getting to meet some of the other makers and vendors along the way.

I had the chance to meet Matt from MizzleMade LLC at Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest. Matt is a veteran, and MizzleMade is a veteran-owned and veteran-made business specializing in custom American flags.

Before the day was over, we ended up working out a trade.

Matt went home with this Barrel Proof Cask, and I came home with one of his handmade pieces.

I’d say the Cask found a pretty fitting home.

Matt sent me this photo after getting it set up, and seeing something that spent weeks in my shop become part of someone else’s home never gets old.

An authentic bourbon barrel, given another chapter.

And sitting underneath a couple of those bucks? I don’t think I could have staged it much better myself. 😂

Thanks again for the trade, Matt. It was great meeting another maker, and even cooler knowing we both came away from the weekend with something handmade by the other.

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

09/27/2026

Our first show is officially in the books.

was packed, and we had an incredible day introducing Old Oake Barrel to so many bourbon enthusiasts. From custom barrel furniture and engraved heads to the Pup’s Pour and Distiller’s Display, the response to our work was more than we could have hoped for.

We sold a few pieces, started conversations about future custom builds, and sent nearly 150 business cards home with new faces. The Distiller’s Display found a new home almost immediately, and we’re already heading back to Fort Wayne soon with another commissioned piece.

Thank you to Steve and everyone at Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest for having us, and thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth. For our first show, this was one to remember.

Built with Bourbon in its Bones

A first for Old Oake Barrel. I’ve been looking forward to making this post for a while.For the first time since starting...
09/26/2026

A first for Old Oake Barrel.

I’ve been looking forward to making this post for a while.

For the first time since starting Old Oake Barrel, OOB officially has a booth at a show.

Seeing everything finally set up together this morning is pretty surreal.

What started with a few old bourbon barrels and an idea has turned into cabinets, displays, barrel heads, flights, home décor and plenty of other projects I probably never imagined building when I started this.

Every piece in this booth was built by me, one at a time, back home in my shop in Waterloo, Michigan.

There have been a lot of late nights, a lot of sawdust, and definitely a few ideas that didn’t work the first time. 😂 But standing here and seeing it all together makes every bit of it worth it.

I couldn’t think of a better place for our first show than the inaugural Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest.

Today I’m just excited to meet some new people, talk bourbon, talk woodworking, and finally show everyone what Old Oake Barrel is all about.

First show. First booth. Pretty damn cool.

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

Michigan made. Indiana inspired. 🥃With the inaugural Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest now just one week away, I figured it was fi...
09/19/2026

Michigan made. Indiana inspired. 🥃

With the inaugural Fort Wayne Bourbon Fest now just one week away, I figured it was finally time to show off one of the pieces I’ve been keeping under wraps.

Hoosier Bourbon.

I wanted to make something specifically for the trip to Indiana, but still have it feel unmistakably Old Oake Barrel.

Cut in the shape of the Hoosier State, carved with a rocks glass and grain, and made from the same bourbon-soaked oak that has become such a big part of what I do.

There have been a lot of hours in the shop getting ready for Fort Wayne, and pieces like this are exactly why I’ve been so excited about this event.

One week to go.

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

There’s a reason I keep coming back to old bourbon barrels.They already have a story before I ever put a tool to them.Ye...
09/16/2026

There’s a reason I keep coming back to old bourbon barrels.

They already have a story before I ever put a tool to them.

Years spent holding bourbon. Heat and cold working the oak. Char buried beneath the surface. Stains, scars and imperfections that you simply can’t recreate with a new piece of lumber.

That was the idea behind Bourbon + Oak.

TIME. CHAR. CHARACTER.

Instead of hiding everything this barrel head has been through, I wanted the design to become part of it. The oak, the barrel and all of that original character working together in one piece.

This one took a little over four hours on the CNC, but seeing it finished and back among the barrels makes that time pretty easy to justify.

And yes, this one is headed to Fort Wayne with me. 🥃

Built with Bourbon in its Bones.

Address

Waterloo, MI
49240

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Old Oake Barrel posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Old Oake Barrel:

Shortcuts

Share