A wooden cask for storing and aging wine and other beverages, comprising:
- a top panel, a bottom panel, a front panel, a rear panel and two side panels, each comprising external and internal substantially planar faces and assembled together so as to define an internal storage volume, wherein the front panel, the rear panel and the two side panels define an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein the top panel and the bottom panel define a front edge and a rear edge, wherein the front panel and the rear panel define two side edges, and wherein the top panel is inclined upwards from the rear edge towards the front edge and the bottom panel is inclined downwards from the rear edge towards the front edge;
- at least two associated pairs of vertical beams, wherein each vertical beam has two ends and forms a buttress against the external faces of the two opposite side panels, and wherein each vertical beam is connected to another vertical beam bearing against the external face of an opposite side panel to form a pair of associated vertical beams;
- at least two compression rods per an associated pair of vertical beams, wherein each end of the vertical beam is connected to another end of the vertical beam of a pair of associated vertical beams via a compression rod able to exert a horizontal force tending to bring together the opposite vertical beams of two associated vertical beams and the opposite side panels against which these two vertical beams rest, wherein each end of the vertical beams is pierced by a horizontal through hole and each side panel is pierced by a plurality of horizontal through holes, wherein each horizontal through hole of the side panel is aligned with the neighboring horizontal through hole of the vertical beam, and wherein the compression rods pass through the neighboring horizontal through holes;
- and
- at least one fill hole in the top panel near the front edge thereof and at least one drain hole in the front panel near the lower edge thereof, wherein the two ends of each vertical beam extend beyond the lower and upper edges of the side panel against which the vertical beam is mounted, wherein the compression rods pass at a distance above the surface of the top panel along the external face thereof or below the bottom panel in the vicinity of the lower edges of the front, rear, and/or side panels, wherein the joints between the top panel and the front and rear panels and between the bottom panel and front and rear panels comprise half-blind sliding half dovetail joints, and wherein the joints between the front panel and the side panels and between the rear panel and the side panels comprise chamfered dado joints,
- wherein a de-aeration indentation is arranged in the internal face of the top panel between the fill hole and a corner of the internal faces of the top and front panels.