Wet and dry ullage be damned. As I responded privately to a query from Dr. Bill, my office dictionary (American College Dict.) defines ullage as: "1. the loss of wine or spirit from its container, caused by leakage or evaporation. 2. the amount of goods lost by passing through the sides of a bag." End citation -- there is no other definition given. The first of these is the accepted meaning for shipping and Customs purposes. The U.S. Customs regulations, Byzantine as they may be, do not expect anyone to pay for what he is not getting. Hence, in making an entry of wines or spirits in barrels, one may claim an allowance for ullage, since the rate of duty and taxes on imported wines and spirits is considerable, and there is always some ullage in barrels due to evaporation and, if the barrel is defective or damaged, to leakage.