 In Italy, chestnut is also used to make barrels used for aging balsamic vinegar and some alcoholic beverages, such as whisky or lambic beer.Of note, the famous 18th-century "berles" in the French Cévennes are cupboards cut directly from the hollowed trunk.Dry, chestnut firewood is best burned in a closed log-burner, because of its tendency to spit when on an open fire.