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Refs and French oak
===American White Oak===
American White Oak (''Quercus Albaalba'') is regarded as one of the preeminent species of hardwood grown here in the United States of America. This species of White Oak has tyloses, an outgrowth of the parenchyma cells which stems from a reaction to natural stresses in the environment such as drought; which gives the wood a closed cellular structure, making it water- and rot- resistant. This closed structure also results in less air transfer through the wood than other oak types such as French oak.
Within the Wine & Spirits industry, Quercus Alba or American White Oak is the primary source of material in the production of Whiskey barrels (especially in the case of bourbon, which is legally required to be aged in charred new oak barrels). What makes this species of wood key to the whiskey industry is it chemical structure and the effect this imparts on the aging whiskey. American White Oak is known for its high vanillin content, oak lactone (coconut/bourbon characteristic), and wood sugars which all affect the bourbons taste. Additionally, American White Oak affects the coloring of the bourbon itself. Impure wood varieties like Pine contain resin canals which pass strong flavors into maturing whiskey. Note that the char levels in some spirits barrels might make them a less ideal candidate for many mixed-fermentation beers. In addition, some bourbon barrels are not constructed as sturdily as wine barrels <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1171200286241517/ MTF discussion about bourbon barrels]</ref>, possibly due to the inability of producers to use barrels for many subsequent batches of bourbon (as would be common in wine).
===French Oak===
French oak (''Quercus sessilis'' and ''Quercus robur'')-----. ''Q. sessilis'' is more common in wine aging and ''Q. robur'' is more common for cognac barrels <ref name='Review of oak aging for wine'>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092422440600015X Review of quality factors on wine ageing in oak barrels. Garge-Cerdan and Ancin-Azpilicueta (2006)]</ref>
===Hungarian Oak===