What's a hogshead?

Simple, a hogshead is half a butt. :-))

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

time and a

hogsheads, and

dry red

success or

oversized

Mike - I always thought a hogshead was 63 imperial gallons ie about 287 litres. But I've been wrong before... Martin

I note that Webster says that a hogshead is a large barrel and ranges between 63 and 140 gallons. My idea of a hogshead was a very large barrel approximately 6.5 feet in diameter and 5 feet high that was used in colonial times to store and transport tobacco. Here in Maryland, they rolled the hogsheads as much as 20 miles to the port. Rolling Road in Baltimore got its name from the hogshead being rolled to port on that road.

Actually, most hogsheads built for the wine industry are around 310 litres, though they are generally assumed to hold 300L. And if you want to quibble, I have emptied 500+ hogsheads built by a range of coopers, and assuming only

"HOGSHEAD: A cask or barrel of varying capacity used to ship wines (and spirits). A hogshead can vary in size from approximately 225 liters to about 275 liters (about 60 to 73 U.S. gallons)." -Wine Lover's Companion by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst.

However, I would tend to defer to anyone who has personally emptied more than 500.

-E.

Hogsett not Hogshead!

When people trace back my family tree, they find that the family name was Hogshead at one time and then was changed to Hogsett.

I have always assumed some forbearer of mine made the barrells.

Bill Hogsett