S – like sherry casks

St. Kilian Whisky ABC - S wie Sherryfässer

Which sherry casks are available today?

Today, a basic distinction is made between two types of sherry casks: Bodega sherry casks and seasoned sherry casks. In the past, sherry transport casks were also commonly used (see below).

What is a bodega cask?

A Bodega cask comes from the cascade-like ageing system for sherry in Andalusia, the Solera-Criadera system. These casks are predominantly made from American white oak and usually have a volume of 500 to 600 litres. They are often coated with a matt black, air-permeable, water-based paint. This special coating makes it easier to detect leaks, as the liquid immediately makes the surface of the cask shine.

What is special about Bodega casks in terms of flavour?

Bodega casks are characterised by their long life in the dynamic solera maturation system – an age of 100 years and more is not uncommon. Due to this long period of use, the wood of the staves is completely leached out and, after emptying, transport to a distillery and refilling with new make or whisky, no longer releases any wood flavours or tannins into the maturing contents. These casks merely act as a vessel that allows oxygen from the environment to pass through the porosity of the oak wood into the interior of the cask for oxidation reactions. However, the staves are saturated with mature sherry. This is why Bodega Sherry casks, especially those from the Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez-Solera system, release intense, complex flavours into the contents of the cask. These aromas are characterized by notes of dried fruit, nuts and spices.

How often are bodega casks found in the warehouses of whisky distilleries?

As bodega casks in Andalusian bodegas are practically never completely emptied, last almost “forever” and are repaired when damaged, they are extremely difficult to obtain and very rare. Without really good relations between a distillery and a Spanish bodega, it is almost impossible to get hold of such casks. Fortunately, St. Kilian has good relationships with some bodegas and cooperages in Andalusia, so we have some bodega casks filled with unpeated and peated St. Kilian spirit in our warehouses in the Bunker City. Nevertheless, the small number of bodega casks is not enough to cover the large number of maturation containers required by a whisky distillery.

What is a seasoned sherry cask?

A seasoned sherry cask is a freshly made cask of American or European oak that is filled with sherry for a certain period of time. The sherry has the task of removing bitter substances (tannins) from the oak and changing the flavour compounds in the wood. During this so-called seasoning process, which usually lasts between 12 and 36 months, the staves can become saturated with sherry. These aromas are later released into the whisky during maturation. The minimum storage time that the sherry must spend in the cask is twelve months before the Spanish supervisory authority Consejo Regulador awards the “Sherry Casks®” certificate. Although the complete production of a sherry cask is a time-consuming process, it is the only way for a distillery to produce sherry cask-matured whisky in large quantities. It is therefore not surprising that the majority – 90 percent or more – of the sherry casks used in the whisky industry are seasoned sherry casks.

How important is the quality of the sherry in the seasoning process?

The quality of the sherry is of crucial importance in the seasoning process. At St. Kilian, we attach great importance to ensuring that the sherry used for seasoning our casks – be it Oloroso, Amontillado, Pedro Ximénez or another sherry – is always of the highest quality. Only in this way can our distillate benefit from the high-quality aromas of the sherry during the maturation to St. Kilian single malt whisky. We even work with some bodegas that use ready-to-drink sherry for the seasoning process and bottle and market it once the casks have been emptied. At the same time, we clearly distance ourselves from sherry wines of inferior quality, which could also be used for seasoning fresh oak casks. Regular visits to our partners in Andalusia ensure that we can absolutely trust each other when it comes to top quality.

What happens to the sherry after seasoning?

The sherry used for seasoning the casks is generally used several times by the bodegas. If the sherry has absorbed too much wood content, it is removed from the seasoning program and usually either processed into vinegar or – after distillation – into inexpensive brandy.

Do the seasoned sherry casks have a good reputation?

Not always. Some claim that only bodega casks are the true sherry casks, while seasoned sherry casks are merely artificially produced cask variants with often questionable contents. However, bodega sherry casks have always been very rare. This is why seasoned casks are the only way for many distilleries to obtain sherry casks for maturing whisky these days. Good and regular relationships with the bodegas and mutual trust guarantee the high quality of these seasoned sherry casks.

What are sherry transport casks?

Sherry transport casks were used in particular in the 19th century, the “sherry heyday”, for the transfer of sherry from Andalusia to Great Britain. These specially made casks, usually with a capacity of 500 liters, transported ready-to-drink sherry from the solera barrels from the south of Spain to England and Scotland. After a long sea voyage, the casks arrived in the ports of London, Glasgow or Leith, where the sherry often remained in the casks for months, as merchants and bars preferred to sell the drink straight from the cask. After emptying, these casks were used by the Scottish distilleries as maturation vessels for whisky. At the beginning of the 1980s, however, the bottling of sherry outside the Andalusia production region was prohibited in order to guarantee the authenticity of every bottle of sherry for consumers worldwide. Since then, sherry has only been allowed to be bottled and exported, which meant the end of sherry transport casks. The distilleries then had to look for suitable alternatives for the coveted sherry casks and found them in the form of seasoned sherry casks.

Is the seasoning of sherry casks a profitable business?

In any case! Seasoning the freshly made casks with sherry is a win-win situation for cooperages, bodegas and whisky distilleries. It is the most common method for distilleries to obtain sherry casks in order to meet the enormous demand for sherry cask-matured whisky. As a result, a whole industry of cooperages and bodegas has now firmly re-established itself in Andalusia.

Why is the demand for sherry casks so high?

The rich flavours of whiskies matured in sherry casks, often described as “Christmas cake” and the like, have great appeal. Over time, they became associated with the higher quality whiskies of many distilleries. The use of sherry casks by brands such as The Macallan and The Dalmore has helped this style of maturation achieve premium status.

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