AlanLaz

truthsharer – While I do think the effect of sherry casks is often overstated, to say that, after cleaning, etc., it is no different than a beer barrel is simply incorrect. For one, sherry casks are made from Quercus Robur wood (aka Spanish Oak). This type of wood imparts a much different flavor than Quercus Alba (White American oak). Next, as a general rule, sherried whiskies are sweeter than those aged in purely ex-bourbon casks. Try Glenlivet 12 (primarily ex-bourbon), and then try Macallan 12 (100% sherry); the difference in level of sweetness is largely due to the sherry casks.

Finally, many single cask bottlings are denoted as being stored in “first-fill” sherry casks (the first time it was filled after it stored sherry), while others are denoted as being stored in “re-fill” sherry casks (held sherry and then whisky before being refilled again with whisky). According to what you are saying, there would be no point in doing this. Of course, there is, and the reason is because the sherry cask (aside from the Robur vs. Alba wood differences) influences the whisky to a greater degree the first time it is filled vs. subsequent times.

While the sherry-cask discussion is ages old, this information actually DOES add to the conversation. If one wants to be Machmir and avoid sherried whiskies, they are limiting themselves to a very small number of widely-sold bottlings (Ardbeg 10, for one), and other single-cask bottlings that use NO sherry casks in the aging process (i.e. all ex-bourbon casks). What people don’t realize is the information provided above: that even those bottlings that are not WHOLLY aged/finished in sherry (and other wine) casks, do have SOME AMOUNT of sherry-casked whisky in it.

How is this so? It is because of a process called vatting. People assume that they just pop a tap on a cask and then fill bottles to be sold. However, in reality, what the distilleries do is combine many many casks together to achieve a desired taste. The casks may be different ages, and the number of years stated on the bottle is the YOUNGEST whisky in that vatting (i.e. in a Glenlivet 12, there may be 18 year old whisky in there). If they did not do this, one bottle of Glenlivet 12 could taste wildly different from another bottle; obviously, the distilleries want conformity. For example, Balvenie 15 is a single-cask whisky, and those with discerning palates can taste differences between them.

So, the moral of the story is that more than 95% of the whisky on the market has some sherry-casked (or other wine casked) whisky in it, and for those that REALLY want to be Machmir, they should not just avoid whisky stating that it is wholly matured/aged in sherry casks, they should avoid all whisky unless the bottle states, or they have some other confirmation, that the whisky is wholly aged in ex-bourbon casks.

For those interested, I did a two-part piece on this topic on my blog some years ago.

http://alanlaz.blogspot.com/2006/06/kosher-whisky-part-i-production.html

http://alanlaz.blogspot.com/2006/06/kosher-whisky-part-ii-sherry.html