Sherried Malts: Barrels of Distinction

Sherry casks are pricey but offer malt whisky another dimension. Gavin D Smith reports

WHEN IAN MACLEOD DISTILLERS decided to relaunch Tamdhu single malt after purchasing the mothballed Speyside distillery from the Edrington Group in 2011 it needed to do something that would make this previously ultra-low key brand stand out from the crowd. It settled on some distinctive packaging options, but when it came to the liquid itself it struck gold.

As managing director Leonard Russell says: “We discovered that, for the past 10 years, Edrington had been using sherry casks for maturation of Tamdhu and we inherited a rich vein of the best sherry casks up to 10 years old. 

“The whole project is indescribably exciting for us and we are investing heavily in good sherry casks for Tamdhu in the future. A high percentage of the Edrington stock is in first-fill sherry casks, and we will continue that policy.”

The ‘standard’ version of the ‘new’ Tamdhu is a 10-year-old, matured in a mix of first-fill and refill ex-sherry casks, although a limited edition 10-year-old has also been released, comprising spirit from just two first-fill oloroso sherry casks.

It seems that, when it comes to offering a distinctive single malt with a strong perception of luxury, the use of sherry wood still works its magic, as evidenced by the Macallan’s position as the third-bestselling malt in the world behind Glenfiddich and the Glenlivet in terms of volume, and the second-best in respect of value.

Speaking of leading emerging markets, Ken Grier, director of malts for the Edrington Group, owner of the Macallan, notes: “Both Russia and China have experienced strong relative growth in terms of percentage, up 320% and 285% respectively in the past five years – the strongest growth for any one brand in these countries.”

The Macallan is currently in the process of rolling out its 1824 Series across 54 markets, and the series – comprising Gold (UK only), Amber, Sienna and Ruby, plus the ultra-premium ‘M’ – represents a departure from brand tradition by not offering age statements. 

According to Ken Grier: “The 1824 Series brings together two of the most important elements of the Macallan – natural colour and sherry casks. Together these create a signature Macallan character, embracing all the defining elements which have made it one of the world’s truly great single malt whiskies.

“The new range has been driven by colour first and foremost with the character derived from the colour. This meant looking at a broad range of casks which provided a specific colour, then working with the character these casks delivered. Sherry-seasoned oak casks have been at the heart of the Macallan since its inception in 1824. This range is 100% matured in sherry casks crafted from American and European oak.”

Despite The Macallan’s international success, there are relatively few other Scotch single malts which place such a strong emphasis on maturation in former sherry casks, though those that do include some of the ‘great’ names of whisky, such as Highland Park, Aberlour, Glenfarclas, The Glendronach and The Dalmore.

The principal reasons why relatively few sherry casks are used in the Scotch whisky industry today are availability and cost. Former bourbon casks have squeezed out sherry casks for Scotch whisky maturation due to their plentiful supply and significantly lower price. Of the estimated 18 million casks of whisky currently maturing in Scottish warehouses only some 5% formerly held sherry, and they may cost 10 times as much as ex-Bourbon casks.

However, since buying the Glendronach distillery near Huntly in Aberdeenshire during 2008, Billy Walker and his associates in the Benriach Distillery Co, have been investing heavily in sherry wood – principally Pedro Ximénez and oloroso – in order to boost the reputation of this single malt, which has a long history of ex-sherry cask maturation.

Walker describes Glendronach as more ‘muscular’ than it was under the now defunct Allied Distillers regime, which placed less emphasis on the use of sherry wood in later years of ownership. Around 9,000 casks of maturing whisky were acquired with the distillery, and an extensive programme of re-racking up to 50% of the spirit into fresh oloroso sherry casks has been undertaken, while a ‘pot’ of £5 million has been set aside for the ongoing purchase of sherry casks, underlining how seriously the company takes its maturation regime. 

While some new-make spirit is filled into ex-sherry butts, a significant proportion is initially aged in ex-Bourbon casks for a number of years before being transferred into sherry wood for a final period of maturation. A confident and progressive programme of range extensions has taken place at Glendronach, along with several single cask releases. The latest, Batch 8, embraces eight expressions matured in Pedro Ximinez sherry puncheons and oloroso sherry butts. 

Inevitably, the style of sherry formerly held in casks is highly significant when it comes to whisky maturation and John Grant, chairman of the independent family-owned Glenfarclas distillery says: “We have experimented with various types of wood and in 1973/74 we filled a dozen types of wood on the same day and put the casks together in the same warehouse.  

“From this exercise we decided oloroso sherry gave us the flavours we liked best, and for me using second-fill works better than first-fill casks. You get a nice, full-bodied whisky from the oloroso butts.”

Richard Paterson is master blender for Whyte & Mackay Distillers and is acknowledged as one of the industry’s greatest experts on the use of sherry wood, notably in relation to rare, old expressions of the company’s Dalmore single malt.

“Sherry casks are a way of providing additional characteristics in the whisky that are appreciated by the consumer,” he notes. “But using the right sherry casks is of paramount importance. The Dalmore is a heavy style of malt and works really well with oloroso sherry casks and 30-year-old Matusalem oloroso casks are the optimum. Other sherries don’t have the richness.”

He adds: “You don’t want to lose the characteristic Dalmore chocolate orange style. You have to have muscle and structure in the spirit for it to cope well with sherry, particularly over prolonged periods of time. Oloroso sherry would overwhelm a light, floral spirit.”

An illustration of how sherry casks sit at the very top table of the Scotch whisky industry is provided by the Dalmore Paterson Collection, an array of 12 unique bottles of the Dalmore, offered for sale as a one-off in Harrods London store during July for just short of £1 million. 

Each of the dozen bottles is an ‘assemblage’ created by Richard Paterson, and the use of sherry wood makes a major contribution to what we can safely call for the time being at least, the world’s most expensive whisky.

In a number of cases, the component whiskies for each bottling began their maturation in ex-bourbon butts before being transferred into Gonzales Byass Matusalem and/or Apostoles sherry butts for several years of additional enhancement. 

According to Paterson: “When using sherry casks to impart additional maturation to whisky previously filled into ex-Bourbon casks, the length of time it spends in those casks is crucial, and must be carefully monitored. You don’t want the sherry to overwhelm the distillery character.”

It seems that, so long as discerning consumers equate sherry wood maturation with quality and opulence, and are prepared to pay a premium for the privilege of drinking the resultant drams, the additional cost and sourcing effort for producers is wholly worthwhile.

And if you are selling 12 bottles for just shy of £1 million, the price of the casks in question becomes somewhat incidental.