English units of wine casks
Encyclopedia
Below is a list of old English units for wine casks. In addition to the items listed below see separate articles on Gallon
, Barrel, Hogshead
, Firkin
, Puncheon
, Butt and Tun.
casks once used in Britain
. It was equivalent to about 68 litres. It used to be defined as 18 wine gallon
s—one of several gallons then in use—before the adoption of the imperial system
in 1824, afterwards it was 15 imperial gallons, which became the universal English base unit
of volume in the British realm.
s, before that (and still in the USA) it was 42 wine gallons—the difference being less than a tenth of a percent.
It is closely related to the modern petrol barrel
.
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
, Barrel, Hogshead
Hogshead
A hogshead is a large cask of liquid . More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial units or U.S. customary units, primarily applied to alcoholic beverages such as wine, ale, or cider....
, Firkin
Firkin
A firkin is an old English unit of volume. The name is derived from the Middle Dutch word vierdekijn, which means fourth, i.e. a quarter of a full-size barrel.Nor need you mind the serial ordealOf being watched from forty cellar holes...
, Puncheon
Puncheon
Puncheon is a tool or instrument for piercing or punching, such as those used for impressing designs onto coin dies. The "barrel" meaning is thought to derive from the fact that it would have been marked by use of a punch to denote its contents....
, Butt and Tun.
Rundlet
The rundlet is an archaic unit-like size of wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
casks once used in Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. It was equivalent to about 68 litres. It used to be defined as 18 wine gallon
Wine gallon
A wine gallon is a unit of capacity that was used routinely in England as far back as the 14th century, and by statute under Queen Anne since 1707. Britain abandoned the wine gallon in 1826 when it adopted imperial units for measurement...
s—one of several gallons then in use—before the adoption of the imperial system
Imperial unit
The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire...
in 1824, afterwards it was 15 imperial gallons, which became the universal English base unit
English unit
English units are the historical units of measurement used in England up to 1824, which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units...
of volume in the British realm.
Tierce
The tierce is an old English unit of wine casks, holding about 159 litres. From 1824 on it was defined by English law to be 35 imperial gallonGallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
s, before that (and still in the USA) it was 42 wine gallons—the difference being less than a tenth of a percent.
It is closely related to the modern petrol barrel
Barrel (unit)
A barrel is one of several units of volume, with dry barrels, fluid barrels , oil barrel, etc...
.