What is a sherry cask?
About two weeks ago I was in the sherry triangle. I was there to host a sherry tasting but also to investigate the relationship between the sherry industry and the whisky industry. I wanted to understand the definition of a sherry cask as used in both industries. Each time I am hosting tastings there is still a lot of confusion among whisky lovers when it comes to sherry casks.
I’ve already written an article Sherry and oak on my sherry blog but I thought a new one was necessary. This time I’m looking at it from a whisky perspective.
What is a modern ‘sherry seasoned cask’ and how is it different?
In the article I’m looking at what sherry casks were in the past and how this evolved to the current-day ‘sherry seasoned casks’. Nowadays they are tailor-made for the whisky industry. They have little to do with the production of sherry and while most of the images will show romantic bodegas full of old casks, virtually none of these will end up in Scotland.
I visited Bodegas Lustau with a specific request to try the sherry they use to season casks for Jameson. It was quite an eye-opener because it’s a very young wine. It meets the requirements of the D.O. Jerez-Xerez-Sherry, but only barely. In any case you won’t find it on the market in bottled form. After it has been used to impregnate the casks it will be distilled into brandy or used to produce sherry vinegar.
I’m also looking at ‘genuine’ sherry casks and how they may not necessarily result in better whisky. Last but not least, there’s a small section on ‘genuine’ marketing and transparency about sherry casks.
Sherry casks in the whisky industry
The article itself is too long for the format of this blog, so I decided to make it available as a PDF: Sherry casks in the whisky industry
There is also a Korean translation available (thank you, Eui-Jeen).
Feel free to comment below.