Truck driver Billy Lucas works to unload a flatbed trailer loaded with White Oak wood harvested from Fordsville, Ky. outside the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky. on December 6, 2011. The White Oak is aged four to six months before being cut and formed into bourbon barrels inside the cooperage. (Luke Sharrett for The New York Times)

White Oak wood sits inside the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky. before being cut and formed into bourbon barrels. The wood is dried for four to six months until it reaches 12% moisture content. 

Stave joiner Tommy Hornback cuts White Oak to form bourbon barrel staves at the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky. December 6, 2011. Staves form the barrel walls as they run from head to head and are held in place by lateral hoops. 

Barrel raiser Nate Rust arranges White Oak staves to form a bourbon barrel at the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky.

Freshly-crafted White Oak bourbon barrels are charred at the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky. on December 6, 2011. The charring of the barrel interior gives bourbon it's trademark amber color and distinct flavor. 

Flames lick the outer edge of a bourbon barrel head during the charring process inside an assembly line oven at the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky. on December 6, 2011. The cooperage produces 2500 barrels a day for brands like Woodford Reserve, Early Times, and Jack Daniels. 

Freshly-crafted White Oak bourbon barrels are seen after being charred at the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Ky.

The grounds of the Buffalo Trace Distillery are located in Frankfort, the state capital of Kentucky.

Sour mash pours into one of Buffalo Trace Distillery's 92,000 gallon fermenters at their distillery in Frankfort, Ky. on December 9, 2011. 

A sign along the Buffalo Trace Distillery tour route discourages guests from swimming in the 92,000 gallon bourbon fermenting tanks at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky. December 9, 2011. 

Freshly filled bourbon barrels wait to be transported into an aging storehouse on the grounds of the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky. 

George Suter of Lawrenceburg, Ky. rolls a barrel of aged Buffalo Trace bourbon from a storehouse to be emptied and bottled at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky. on December 9, 2011. 

Barrels of Buffalo Trace bourbon age in a storehouse on distillery grounds in Frankfort, Ky. on December 9, 2011. At any given time the distillery has over 300,000 barrels of bourbon aging on site for 4 to 23 years. 

Aged bourbon drains from a barrel at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky.  December 9, 2011. (Luke Sharrett for
The New York Times)

Aging warehousing technician Matt Simpson unloads empty barrels of Buffalo Trace bourbon to be sold to breweries in countries across the world at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky. 

Bartender Karla Ramsey pours bourbon into her winning "Ramsey Manhattan" during the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience bartending competition at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky. on December 9, 2011. Ramsey, whose Manhattan features apple brandy and sweet vermouth in addition to bourbon, will travel to New York City to compete in the Manhattan Experience national competition. 

Bartender Karla Ramsey reacts after winning the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience cocktail competition with her "Ramsey Manhattan" at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky.  December 9, 2011. 

Bottles of Woodford Reserve bourbon are seen on display at the Manhattan Experience bartending competition at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky.  December 9, 2011. (Luke Sharrett for The New York Times)

Manhattan bourbon cocktail variations are presented for judging during the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience bartending competition at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky. December 9, 2011. The competition pitted five Kentucky bartenders and their unique Manhattan drink recipes against each other in a search for the best Manhattan recipe of 2011. (Luke Sharrett for The New York Times)

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**Photos copyright Luke Sharrett and The New York Times**