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There aren’t many whisky flavors as divisive as peat. You both adore it otherwise you don’t, however that doesn’t imply all smoky whiskies style the identical. For some Islay distillers and others across the globe, turning to a well-liked instrument in scotch whisky, the sherry cask, provides new dimensions to peated whisky.
Laphroaig, well-known for its peat, has utilized sherry casks for a wide range of expressions, together with its 10 yr outdated Sherry Oak End and the 2021 Càirdeas Pedro Ximénez Version. “It simply does one thing totally different with the smoke,” says distillery supervisor Barry MacAffer of the sherry cask affect. “It doesn’t dampen it, it doesn’t silence it, it doesn’t make it disappear, it simply strikes it in a special route.”
Sweetening the peated profile with sherry casks can entice drinkers who may in any other case discover it tough to attach with peat. “There are lots of people on the market that aren’t Laphroaig followers however wish to be,” says McAffer. “The Sherry Oak and the PX are a great gateway. The Càirdeas PX Version specifically nonetheless has guests to the distillery asking for it. It was one of many quickest-selling Càirdeas expressions I’ve seen.”
Elsewhere on Islay, Kilchoman Distillery is a perennial person of the sherry cask—in full maturation with its annual Loch Gorm launch, and in ending. “We take a look at interesting to all kinds of whisky drinkers from all over the world, and there’s little question that our sherry cask releases have been massively well-liked,” says founder and managing director Anthony Wills.
Wills provides that Kilchoman’s candy, floral spirit works effectively with sherry casks, however notes that utilizing them is usually a more durable proposition than bourbon casks. “However we take pleasure in that problem,” Wills provides as a result of whenever you get it proper, the whisky is one thing that everybody appears to take pleasure in, and definitely first-time Islay whisky drinkers,” he provides.
Away from Islay, the mix of sherry and peat additionally has enchantment. “It makes it extra approachable— like a spoonful of sugar that helps the medication go down,” says Compass Field founder John Glaser. Westland Distillery in Seattle is one other whiskey maker that persistently has turned to sherry for its peated malt whiskies to attain larger complexity.
That complexity is of curiosity to veteran drinkers additionally—these seeking selection of their taste decisions. Diageo makes use of sherry casks for a portion of its annual Distillers Editions, ending Talisker in amoroso-seasoned casks and Lagavulin in PX-seasoned casks. And Westland isn’t the one small distiller to embrace sherry casks. In 2022, Boulder Spirits launched The Trailhead, a limited-edition mix of peated and unpeated malt completed in PX sherry butts.
Maybe, as with the Càirdeas PX Version, a restricted nature provides much more draw, however as palates shift, the sherry and peat mixture might turn into extra widespread. “I can actually say I’ve seen extra change in Laphroaig within the final 12 months than I’ve within the final 12 years,” Macaffer says.
10 Peated Whiskies That Use Sherry Casks
94 factors Ardbeg Uigeadail, 54.2%, $80
Peated to 55 phenol components per million (ppm), a vatting of single malt whiskies together with older sherry-matured casks. Bonfire smoke, brine, peppered olive, candy vanilla, marshmallow, and toffee, with interwoven notes of candied fruit and sugared almonds.
94 factors Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2021 Version), 46%, $100
Although the recipe modifications every year, Loch Gorm is all the time absolutely matured in oloroso sherry butts. Black peat embers mix into milk chocolate, luscious darkish fruits, and espresso macchiato.
94 factors Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt, 43%, $85
A mix of peated and unpeated malts that features a portion of sherry cask-aged whiskies. Star fruit, preserved lemons, Asian pear, lychee, peach syrup, and an underbelly of spices.
92 factors Benromach 21 yr outdated, 43%, $200
Candy and smoky sherry wooden, cinnamon, nutmeg, espresso grounds, clove, Brazil nuts, cassis, a smoky and darkish fruit end.
92 factors Bowmore 15 yr outdated, 43%, $100
Peated to 20-25 ppm, matured for 12 years in bourbon casks, and completed for 3 years in oloroso sherry casks. Darkish chocolate and cocktail cherries with peat smoke and a touch of dry oak balancing candy fruitiness.
92 factors Laphroaig 10 yr outdated Sherry Oak End, 48%, $90
Matured in American oak and completed in oloroso sherry casks for at least 18 months. Chocolate cake and heat chocolate syrup, burnt espresso beans, cooked darkish fruits, with a contact of peated sweetness on the finish.
91 factors Boulder Spirits The Trailhead American Single Malt, 52.5%, $95
A mix of 35 ppm peated malted and unpeated malt that’s completed in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Oak, sweetness, spice, sweet store flavors, circus peanuts, banana taffy, earthy oak, and tobacco.
91 factors Westland American Single Malt, 46%, $60
A mix of single malts, 10% of which is peated to 50 ppm and 15% is sherry-aged. Creamy and honeyed, with vanillin, milk chocolate, poached pears, melon, orchard fruits, delicate spice, and a touch of barrel char.
90 factors Compass Field No Identify No. 2. 48.9%, $150Constructed round a smoky Islay malt matured refill sherry butts, then blended with one from the Isle of Skye, with some Brora additionally included. Ashy smoke, pink cherry, plum, orange peel, pepper spice, lemon sorbet, seaside bonfire smoke.
NR Lagavulin Distillers Version 2023, 43%, $125
Closely peated malt that began because the 16 yr outdated Lagavulin expression after which was completed in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
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