Sherry Cask Q & A

GONZALEZ BYASS: Sherry Cask – Q&A

What’s the difference between a bodega sherry cask and a ‘seasoned’ sherry cask?

To make great sherry and then great whisky, you need great casks. The most prized sherry casks are those that have spent their life inside a bodega, being used to age sherry for years or even decades as part of the famous solera systems in Jerez.

These 600-litre bodega casks soak up lots of flavour from the sherries that they hold and, once they have finished their service inside a bodega’s solera, they are then used for ageing spirits, adding layers of complexity to the liquid.

Those complex flavours are highly valued by distillers, who will pay high prices for such rare casks. Some whisky distillers will only use sherry casks for “finishing” their whiskies for a few months before bottling, with only the most-expensive whiskies spending their entire maturation in bodega casks – just like the Nomad spirit.

In contrast, other whisky distillers will use cheaper and more widely available “seasoned” sherry casks. Up until 1981, sherry was shipped to the UK in 500-litre butts, known as transport casks or export casks, then bottled in ports including Bristol, Leith, and London.

Whisky distilleries then used those empty casks to age their spirit. Then, the rules were changed so that sherry had to be bottled in Spain. Whisky distilleries still needed casks, so coopers in Jerez continued making butts and seasoned them with sherry for months or even years, allowing the wood to take on the same flavours that were beloved in those traditional transport casks.

Since 2015, the Consejo Regulador of the Denomination of Origin “Jerez-Xérès-Sherry” has certified casks seasoned with genuine sherry.

Are bodega casks better than seasoned casks?

Gonzalez Byass believe that genuine bodega sherry casks are indeed superior to seasoned casks.

Their bodega casks have been used to age sherries for years or even decades, soaking up all those complex flavours, which they can then impart to Nomad and other top-quality whiskies. The longer the casks hold their sherry, the richer the flavours they impart to the liquids they house later.

Whiskies that spend all their time maturing in bodega sherry casks are among the most highly prized spirits on the planet. Casks that have only been seasoned with sherry can never hope to match the depth and complexity of flavour imparted by genuine bodega sherry casks.

They leave 5 litres of sherry in the cask for its journey up to Scotland, by the time it arrives this will be down to 2 or 3 litres.  This is to keep the wood soaked and ready to get to work as soon as it is filled with Whisky. Only the PX (Noe) casks differ as they travel with 20 litres of liquid due to the viscosity of Noe.

What do bodega sherry casks bring to whisky?

Bodega sherry casks impart intense flavours to the whisky, built up by having held sherry for years or even decades. They give a classic sherry influence to the spirits and those flavours will vary depending on the type of sherry that the cask held previously.

Pedro Ximenez sherry casks bring rich and intense super-sweet caramel and vanilla flavours, along with a touch of spice, while Oloroso sherry casks impart bold and powerful notes of dried fruit, hazelnut, and spice.

Fino sherry casks bring with them salted almond flavours, with Amontillado sherry casks adding delicate notes of dry nuttiness, and Palo Cortado sherry casks imbibing whiskies with complex sweet frangipane, orange, and caramel flavours, alongside dry nutty notes.

Which is the best wood for making sherry casks?

Sherry casks are made from a variety of different oaks, with the Quercus Alba species of American white oak being favoured because it gives a hint of spice to first the sherry and later the whisky. The natural components from the oak blend with the complexities of our sherries over time, and so it is imperative that Gonzalez Byass use only the highest-quality American oak casks to age their sherries.

American oak is also more durable, with fewer but bigger pores than French oak, which allows more liquid to soak into the wood.  Gonzalez Byass must ensure that the premium characteristics of their sherries our elevated by the oak, not masked or inhibited in any way.

What’s more important – the quality of the oak used to make the cask or the quality of the sherry?

Using great oak is an important starting point, but it’s the quality of the sherry that makes the difference when it comes to bodega sherry casks gaining a second lease of life within the whisky industry.

When a cask sits soaking up all those flavours for so many years or even decades, it’s the quality of that sherry that will determine the quality of the cask when it enters service for ageing Nomad and other whiskies.

Gonzalez Byass trust their bodega sherry casks to age Nomad – and their partners in the Scotch whisky industry trust them to age their spirits – because they know that they’ve already held sherries of the very highest quality, and they will impart those flavours to their new liquid companions.

The Gonzalez Byass sherry barrels impart the very best rich and complex characteristics to the whiskies they mature or finish. By using them, their expertise and craftmanship in sherry production is passed on to the whiskies that rest and develop in them, giving a truly unique array of aromas and flavours.