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Cask Finishes

CASK UP: FINISHES IN SCOTLAND, AND HOW TO CATCH UP

Increasingly, distillers are transferring their whiskies in to another sort of cask and maturing it for a few extra weeks or months to add a twist in the tail to its flavour. Is this a good thing?

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DOMINIC ROSKROW REPORTS

“Please, please, don’t send me another sample of pink whisky!”

You could all but hear the frustration in the whisky reviewer’s words. What had started as a fad was rapidly turning in to a failing. Finishing a whisky in an unusual cask - often one which had contained port - was becoming to Scotch whisky what the drum solo had become to a heavy rock gig.

But while reviewers were pouring scorn on such whisky, the flame never went completely out. And thanks to the likes of Dr Bill Lumsden, who was creating oral fireworks at Glenmorangie, the cask finish was not only able to survive - it positively flourished.

And here we are some 15 to 20 years later, not only with a far greater understanding of the relationship between wood and spirit, but able to dip in to an array of exceptional whiskies where wood and whisky have created a new sort of magic.

Maturation or young spirit in a wooden cask, is, of course, key to the production of whisky. Over time the liquid will come in to contact with the wood, and will be changed by it. Four processes take place in the cask. The spirit will seep in to the wood, taking colour and flavour from it; the wood will remove some elements from the spirit, including negatives such as sulphur; a chemical reaction between wood and spirit will create a number of flavours which will help define the finished whisky. And finally, oxidation will take place as the cask ‘breathes’ and allows moisture to exit the cask, and oxygen to enter it.

Transferring the maturing whisky in to a cask that has contained something else, will add a new dimension to the whisky, and introduce a range of new flavours.

“There are three critical elements to cask finishes,” says master distiller and whisky expert David Robertson. “They can create or add new aromas/flavours; they can help elevate or amplify or mask aromas/flavours; they can shift the visual appeal of the liquid - colour/tone/hue; all with the ambition to make the resulting spirit more desirable, more interesting, more delicious....

“Plus they can add value by using casks from suppliers with additive perceived value - fine wine chateau, sherry, rare and unusual liquids, etc.”

Doug McIvor, spirits manager at Berry Bros & Rudd, agrees.

“Cask finishes bring something fresh, with each expression for both seasoned whisky drinkers and newcomers to experience, and it gives alternative nuance to the mainstay malts from the distilleries.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder really. Good sherry is safe. Wine finishes can be erratic. Certain rum finishes can work very well as long as the rum element does not overpower.”

Kirstie McCallum is head of whisky creation at Glen Moray, a distillery which is coming in to its own with a special series of excellent cask finished whiskies.

“Cask finishes bring an added layer of complexity, either through complementing or contrasting with the flavours of the whisky itself,” she says. “For example the silky sweet character of a Pedro Ximenez sherry (PX) finished whisky or the flavour of pears balanced with the flavours of the whisky. They also increase the variety for the consumer bringing different expressions and different flavours to their favourite dram.

“I love whisky and port, the subtle spice, toffee, and pear notes. We’re very lucky at Glen Moray that we have Porto Cruz as part of the group which gives us access to some phenomenal port casks. Another favourite for me is the more traditional PX finish, I love the silky sweetness and mouth coating texture the PX cask gives the whisky.” The issue of pink whisky dates back to a time when at least some distillers were more than a little cack-handed when it came to marrying port or red wine casks with maturing whisky spirit. Under Scotch Whisky Association rules, whisky must be made with just grain, yeast and water. Using an oak cask which previously contained bourbon or sherry is key to the production of Scotch whisky, but you can’t add anything else to the spirit. But how much of what’s left in a sherry or bourbon cask when malt spirit is added is a grey area. And pink whisky would seem to cross an undefined line.

Dr Rachel Barrie, master blender for BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh whiskies says it shouldn’t happen now.

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but it will never happen under my watch (and nose),” she says. “In my mind, finishing is a form of ‘fine-tuning’, enriching, perfecting and finessing. Every step of the journey is about quality - top quality spirit character filled into quality oak, matured then transferred into bespoke, quality finishing casks, then left for as long as it takes to enrich and mature. It’s like creating the finest multi-layered cuisine, where flavours first collide, then combine and intertwine until a multi-layered, fully integrated taste is achieved. It takes time, patience, experimentation, and lots of sampling for the pinnacle to be achieved.”

The SWA represents a whisky fortress, and its rules rightly protect the integrity of Scotch whisky. But in an era of innovation and experimentation, it hasn’t been against relaxing the rules if it deems it necessary. It has recently allowed the use of casks containing a number of alcoholic beverages to be used in whisky production. Kirstie McCallum speaks highly of a Glen Moray finished in cider barrels. Dr Rachel Barrie welcomes the changes.

“Having been involved in this consultation, I would definitely say they are about right,” she says.

“FINISHING IS A FORM OF ‘FINE-TUNING’, ENRICHING, PERFECTING AND FINESSING... IT’S LIKE CREATING THE FINEST MULTI-LAYERED CUISINE”

“Actually, in my view, the rules have not been changed, but rather more clearly defined, with ‘quality guardrails’ firmly in place to ensure the industry maintains the high standards for which it is renowned. Let’s not forget, Scotch whisky consumers have exceedingly good taste, favouring whiskies that are rich, complex, mature and integrated. As long as Scotch whisky master blenders continue to be guardians of quality, with continued investment in the highest quality oak casks, the reputation of Scotch whisky will continue to grow all around the world.”

David Robertson agrees.

“Ultimately the consumer will decide what is good/attractive or bad and vote with their wallets,” he says.

“I think wood, toasting and roasting plus previous contents has still a long, long way to go. The wine industry is way ahead of us in understanding what are the critical control points in delivering oak casks that can shape shift the soul of a drinks product.”

Doug McIvor picks up on the point about further experimentation.

“We have released some great and funky ex Caroni rum finishes,” he says. “Anything that Bill Lumsden or Jim McEwan have had a hand in always interests me. I’m pretty open to experiments but the last thing I would want to do is ruin a potentially good whisky in its own right by throwing it to the lions.

The rules governing cask finishes in Scotland don’t apply elsewhere. Although the Cotswolds Distillery in England doesn’t use cask finishes for any of its whisky, it’s not adverse to using casks which have been used for the production of a wide range of other drinks products. Distillery owner Daniel Szor is open to all sorts of experimentation.

“We love full-term ageing - putting the new-make straight into various sherry, wine, port, madeira, rum, calvados, vermouth, etc casks to see how it evolves as it matures. As I answer this I’m sipping on our newest

“THE SCOTCH INDUSTRY NEEDS TO KEEP PACE WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD... IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE ANOTHER CATEGORY THAT ALLOWED FOR MORE EXPERIMENTATION”

release, our Hearts & Crafts series Sauternes cask bottling, which is fully-matured for four years in French oak seasoned with Sauternes wine. It’s our first release in European oak, and I’m in love with the slightly bitter tannic note which gives way to an explosion of delicate peach and mango flavours. Very moreish, this one…

“We’ve come out with a pink one ourselves, recently – our full-term aged port cask Festival release (a two-cask vatting bottled for our 2019 summer festival) and it was rather lovely, I think! The story behind this one was that when the portseasoned casks arrived they contained rather a lot of ‘transfer port’ to keep them moist during the journey to us. I didn’t know what to do with it so I called Jim Swan and asked his opinion. He said ‘if you were in Scotland, then under SWA rules you’d have to dump it, but you’re in England – so I’d keep it in the cask if I were you!’

“Perhaps he didn’t realise just how much port there was – which is why this release was a pink-hued raisin-bomb! But given the quality of the spirit, the wood, and the full-term ageing, the result was rather wonderful.” And Szor would be happy to see more experimentation.

“I’m glad we can bloody well do what we want in this area,” he says. “Why hold back on experimentation? We’re very happy, even with our modest production, to be able to put away small parcels of funky things such as Pineau de Charentes, Tokaji, Calvados (we had to drive our truck to Normandy to pick them up), Vermouth, etc. One thing I’d like to do, but haven’t had the time to look into enough, is to source some alt woods such as chestnut, cherry and acacia. One of these days...”

Given what is happening in France, Australia and America, where rules would seem to be there to be broken , it seems inevitable that we’ll be seeing some exciting experimentation in the field of cask finishing. Doug McIvor seems a way forward.

“The Scotch industry needs to keep pace with the rest of the world,” he says. “I have often thought that it would be good to have another category that allowed for more experimentation and maturation practices without threatening the protected status of the existing product.”

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