English
Noun
puncheon
- A figured stamp, die, or punch, used by goldsmiths, cutlers,
etc.
- (Carpentry) A short, upright piece of timber in framing; a
short post; an intermediate stud.
- A split log or heavy slab with the face smoothed; as, a floor
made of puncheons.
- A cask containing, sometimes 84, sometimes 120, gallons.
- An English measure of capacity for liquids, containing 84 wine
gallons; a tercian.
Quotations
-
-
- 1882: Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that
the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126
gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a
hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a
rundlet 18.5 gallons. —
James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices
in England, p. 205.
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Barrels
The original and prime meaning of the word
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.
Puncheon Rum
In
Trinidad and Tobago,
Trinidadians
and Tobagonians have adopted the use of the term "puncheon" to
describe Puncheon
Rum, which is an high
proof light-type rum. Two local manufacturers Caroni Puncheon Rum
and Stallion Puncheon Rum produce bottles that are 75% alcohol by
volume. A favourite with seafarers and estate workers, Puncheon Rum
distilled in the cane-fields of Caroni has traditionally provided
comfort and warmth against the elements in Trinidad and Tobago to
cane workers. From the early days of the plantations, this rum has
been much sought after for blending in Europe and North America.The
first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations
of the Caribbean in the 17th century. Plantation slaves first
discovered that molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining
process, can be fermented into alcohol.
Wine Casks
The puncheon, in the United States also called
pon for brevity, is an old English unit of
wine casks, holding about
318
litres. It is also known as tertian (from the
Latin word for
third), because three of it make a
tun, and as
the (wine)
firkin.