NEW RELEASES WILL BE ONLINE AT MIDDAY AEDT, FRIDAY 4TH FEBRUARY
Outturn Make a date: Friday 4 February Issue 01, 2022
WINE & SPICE
A special month exploring wine, spice, and all things nice. Welcome to 2022! FIND YOUR PERFECT PARTNER AT SMWS.COM.AU
Contents A note from the cellar Andrew Derbidge........................................................................... 3
It’s all in the narrative Andrew Derbidge......................................................................... 10
2022... let’s do this! Matt Bailey......................................................................................... 4
Malt of the Month Cask No. 13.87 Blooming wildflowers.............................................. 12
Exploring the new world of wine cask whisky by guest author Luke McCarthy See WhiskyWise blog
DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS Cask No. 1.237 Suave and plush........................................................................... 15
OLD & DIGNIFIED
OUR BOTTLINGS
Cask No. 23.77 You’re a wonderful one........................................................... 18
JUICY, OAK & VANILLA Cask No. 39.215 Highball diluting juice ............................................................ 21
SPICY & SWEET Cask No. 148.2 Kirsch me quick.............................................................................. 6 Cask No. 13.87 (Malt of the Month) Blooming wildflowers.............................................................. 12
SPICY & DRY
SOCIETY EXPERIENCES Events in your State................................................................... 16 Virtual pub is back...................................................................... 16
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Cask No. 29.282 Massive aniseed heat and searing peat........................ 21
RUM
Cask No. 82.37 Chewing pencils in a barbershop..................................... 15
Wine & Spice Virtual Tasting...............................................
HEAVILY PEATED
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Cask No. R11.12 Dunder the sea.............................................................................. 18
CELLARMASTER’S NOTE
A Note from the Cellar
A
s I communicated to members via email last month, we’re improving how members can access our whiskies. In an effort to take some of the “heat” out of Outturn release day and to help spread the joy of membership across more of the month, a larger number of casks will now be released throughout each month in the weeks that follow Outturn’s release day. Don’t worry – Outturn will still be a monthly publication filled with goodies, not to mention some great content and feature pieces, but we’ll be releasing a much larger proportion of new releases in the weeks that follow Outturn. If you’re not always in the position to jump online on the day many folks are now calling “Outturn Day”, there’ll be ample opportunities
through the rest of the month to get yourself a tasty dram. The important thing is to keep an eye on your email’s inbox for our weekly communications so that you’re always close to the action. Our local cellar is well stocked and there’s also some really exciting whiskies and other spirits already on the water for us to unveil later in the year. We look forward to sharing them with you.
Andrew Derbidge ~ Director, Cellarmaster & NSW Manager
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AMBASSADOR’S ARTICLE
2022
let’s do this! 4
I
’m super excited to be writing this Ambassador’s column as we kickstart into the whisky year! February is all about Wine & Spice. The flavours and exploration into wine casks and their use in the world of whisky. Depending on who you talk to, wine casks are either a blessing or a curse. A much smaller part of the whisky world uses them, but why? Especially in the context of this month’s special release of Cask 148.2 Kirsch me quick, a full maturation wine cask from Australian distillery 148 in the Spicy & Sweet flavour profile, this is the perfect time to dig further into understanding wine casks, understanding their use, and what to expect from them. We also dig a bit deeper into their use in the context of Australian whisky thanks to special guest author Luke McCarthy, plus my own guide on some of the terminology and words you see thrown about to decipher. On the broader picture for a moment however: This year is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years ahead for the SMWS, for our members, for our Partner Bars, and for the broader whisky community in Australia. 2022 is the 20th anniversary of the Australian branch, which is a massive milestone with some casks and experiences to match. We’ll also see the return of the Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship (finally) which might be better known as the ‘whisky champs’, plus the Festival casks in May, and The Global Gathering in September. There’s a lot of work and finish already going on behind the scenes to make this all happen, and really create an incredible year for every whisky enthusiast in Australia. The one regret I hear from members more than any other is, “I only wish I’d joined sooner”. If any of your friends, family, or colleagues
“This year is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years ahead for the SMWS, for our members, for our Partner Bars, and for the broader whisky community in Australia.” want to join the Society, now is the time to get onboard for all that’s coming up in flavour at the world’s most colourful whisky club. Let’s raise a glass to our first Outturn for 2022, our big year ahead together, and to amazing whisky adventures throughout the year!
Matt Bailey ~ SMWS National Ambassador
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KIRSCH ME QUICK
We’re starting our first Outturn for 2022 with a bang and releasing Cask 148.2 Kirsch me quick. Australian whisky for the SMWS has exploded in popularity, and once you taste the quality of the spirit you’ll understand why. We’ve again worked incredibly closely with this iconic Melbourne distillery in picking and sourcing the casks to go through our expert tasting panel, then being bottled here in Australia for our members. Cask 148.2 is remarkably different from last year’s 148.1 in that we see a younger spirit here that is just bursting with fruit, Kirsch cherries, dark chocolate, dried citrus and plenty of wine spice to share around. Best opened in late summer with some friends around over a late Sunday afternoon lunch. This bottling will be via ballot entry and only available to SMWS members. To enter the ballot, go to the bottling on the shop page and click on the ballot link.
KIRSCH ME QUICK SPICY & SWEET CASK NO. 148.2
$210
Available by ballot only. Limit of one bottle per Member.
IAN RAL IVE T S A U C LU S EX
6
REGION
Australia
CASK TYPE
1st fill red wine barrique
AGE
3 years
DATE DISTILLED
27 April 2017
OUTTURN
271 bottles
ABV
55.5%
AUS ALLOCATION 254 bottles Emphatic, deeply spicy and alive with concentrated dark fruits, dried citrus peels, mentholated herbs, chocolate and salty, sugary syrups. Red berry mixture, specifically raspberry compote, and those red rock lollies from the local markets. Fresh confectionary, fruit flan, hot cross buns, and a hint of fresh ginger chocolate. With a dash of water, and it won’t need much, some apricot pastries, fresh oak, and clean linen. Delightful example of this iconic Australian distillery.
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AUSTRALIAN EXCLUSIVE CASK NO. 148.2
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CELLARMASTER’S COLUMN
It’s all in the
narrative F
ans of The Beatles were given a treat at the end of 2021 with the release of the Get Back film by Peter Jackson. Running over eight hours across three episodes (streaming on Disney Plus), Jackson spent three years on the project, working with and restoring/enhancing the original 60 hours of film footage and 150 hours of audio tapes that were recorded in January, 1969. The original filming/ recordings captured The Beatles as they embarked on a new project that
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culminated in the famous roof-top performance in London and would – eventually – become the Let it be album. The film sheds new light on that era of The Beatles and paints a somewhat different narrative – certainly, a more expanded, contextual, and informative narrative – than the one that has been accepted as “history” for the last 50 years. For those not in the know, the footage was originally put together as a two hour film, Let it be, 16 months later in 1970, and was released one month after The Beatles had
announced their break-up – thus influencing how the events in the film were interpreted at the time and for the next five decades. Jackson’s new film, with never-seen-before footage, tells a much broader story and shows that there was still joy, humour, positivity, and chemistry amongst the band at that time. It’s all in the narrative, and what was previously considered Beatles lore is now being re-evaluated. Our beloved whisky industry shares many parallels with the above. Various players, brands, bottlers, producers, and consumers are dealing with the same issues common to all – but it’s how they paint the narrative that dictates the consumer mood and the response. And, interestingly, the various narratives keep changing to suit the times or the needs of the entity involved. Consider the changing narrative as more and more distilleries create or add a single malt to their production. There are now very few distilleries left that remain 100% focussed on producing for blends and/or third party customers. Even some of the most obscure and rarely-heard-of distilleries – Allt a’bhainne being a good example – now have a single malt under their own brand name. These distilleries have existed for decades – even centuries – but their story is now being told differently or having a different light shone upon it, much like Get Back does with The Beatles. Another example is the narrative surrounding age statements. For many years, the narrative was that whisky less than 10 years old was inferior or “not yet ready”. The category subsequently boomed; stocks of aged whisky disappeared; and suddenly the narrative changed….young whisky was “ready” after all, and actually very tasty! The product itself was still the same – all that changed was the spin. (It’s been commented on many times previously, but note the age statements on the early Society bottlings in our first few years – there were plenty of casks bottled at six to nine years of age!) One well-known brand even went
“One well-known brand even went so far as to drop the notion of age and, instead, built a narrative around colour.”
so far as to drop the notion of age and, instead, built a narrative around colour. (Witness also the currently changing narrative around colour in the Australian whisky industry, as consumers and – slowly – some producers realise that incredibly dark whisky at just two years old may not be a good thing!) A similar change in narrative is occurring right now with wood. Again, chiefly driven by demand in the category and the rising price of casks, the narrative about cask influence and treatment is changing. Rejuvenated casks and even virgin-oak casks – once considered inferior or something to avoid – are now being extolled. Finishing casks and, in particular, the stories around wine and rum casks, are being re-told as producers make a virtue out of a necessity. The interesting thing is that some changing narratives are merely marketing spin, and others are genuine advances in our understanding of the science of whisky production – from grain to fermentation to distillation to maturation. Much like the original Let it be recordings, the content was always there – we’re just now seeing it differently.
Andrew Derbidge ~ Director, Cellarmaster & NSW Manager 11
MALT OF THE MONTH Introducing Cask 13.87 Blooming wildflowers for our February Malt of the Month! Distillery 13 is a strange beast with flat-top stills, differing sizes between sets of stills, horizontal condensers, but in the end a deeply fruity spirit that usually only goes into ex-sherry casks. This 13 year old single cask is a decidedly unadulterated version of their spirit, full maturation in a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel with notes of white grapes, creme brûlée, and earthy petrichor. A remarkable example of the spirit from ex-bourbon, and a hugely enjoyable cask strength example of a lesser-seen make. Tune into our livestream on Malt of the Month the Tuesday prior to its release on the first Friday to learn a lot more. REGION
Highland
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
13 years
DATE DISTILLED
15 February 2007
CASK NO. 13.87
OUTTURN
197 bottles
ABV
63.4%
REDUCED FROM $175
AUS ALLOCATION 54 bottles
BLOOMING WILDFLOWERS SPICY & SWEET
$155
Limit of one bottle per Member
T OF MALMONTH THE
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The nose was initially clean, fruity and fresh with varnished wood, white grape juice, cask char and manilla envelopes. Hints of burnt creme brûlée, fresh paint, white asparagus and lemon jelly. Full-bodied, musical Highlandstyle malt whisky. Water brought freshly blooming wildflowers, mint icing sugar, gum drops, woodland air after a rainstorm and earthy petrichor. The mouth is rounded, sweet and fatty with custard creams, sweet tea biscuits, melon and fragrant notes of chamomile tea. Some dry cereals, salty porridge, heather honey and meaty notes of spicy BBQ ribs. Water makes it more estery, lots of ripe pears, sour apples, wine must, bourbon cask spice, grassy freshness and a peppery, floral finish.
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CHEWING PENCILS IN A BARBERSHOP SPICY & DRY CASK NO. 82.37
$160
REGION
Highland
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon hogshead
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
6 November 2012
OUTTURN
205 bottles
ABV
62.9%
AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles The nose is a breath of Spring – honey, flowers, lemon sweets and vanilla sponge, gradually drifting towards cinder toffee, polished wood, cardamom and wax on hessian. The palate enjoys an initial citric bite of lemon barley water, bitter lemon and pomegranate, followed by chewing pencils in a barbershop (wax, after-shave, leather) or at a dentist’s (mouthwash, clove). The reduced nose is a garden stroll through flower beds, greenery and pines; also juicy fruit pastilles, treacle tart, chocolate Brazils and manuka honey. The reduced palate has jam tarts, custard, fruit salad and sultanas; followed by gingerbread, curry, five-spice and spiced chutney heat.
SUAVE AND PLUSH DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS CASK NO. 1.237
$175
Limit of one bottle per Member
RA EXT URED T MA
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill Oloroso hogshead
AGE
7 years
DATE DISTILLED
26 February 2013
OUTTURN
228 bottles
ABV
60.7%
AUS ALLOCATION 30 bottles The comments on the neat nosing were an everlasting flow, like the current of a waterfall - walnut cake, raisins, mango chutney, aniseed, pink peppercorns, dark sweet cherries and fig syrup. On the palate; deep dark cherry liqueur, malt loaf, plum jam and a spicy bean cacao chilli in the finish. A drop of water and waxy oranges as well as macadamia nuts and freshly ground coffee appeared, while to taste; suave and plush with spicy cherries and blackberries and in the finish a cocoa powdery note, creamy, silky tannins and Asian spice. After five years in an ex-bourbon hogshead we transferred this whisky into a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. 15
Society Experiences SYDNEY SUMMER WHISKY DINNER – THE MAESTRO Flavour pairing expert Franz Scheurer returns for an incredibly workshopped whisky dinner to kick 2022 into gear.
TUES 22 FEB, 6.30 FOR 7PM Red Lantern 60 Riley St Darlinghurst, NSW
MELBOURNE
ADELAIDE
GIN FIZZ!
WHISKY, CHEESE & SPICE!
Society single cask gins, pairings with tonics and sodas, and a big Mexican feast to boot!
Cheese, spice, whisky and good times to explore our first big bash for 2022 in Adelaide.
SAT 26 FEB, 2-4PM
FRI 18 FEB, 6 FOR 6:30PM
Mesa Verde Level 6, 252 Swanston St Melbourne, VIC
Seven Stars Hotel 187 Angas St Adelaide, SA
FOR OUR LATEST EVENT LISTINGS AND TO BOOK ONLINE VISIT SMWS.COM.AU/EVENTS All events will require proof of vaccination, and may be altered due to density limits or other restrictions. Keep an eye out for any changes on our website.
WE’RE SUPER EXCITED TO BRING BACK VIRTUAL PUB FOR 2022! Our hugely popular ‘night in’ with the SMWS virtually where we can all pull up a couch, taste through a few drams, some entertainment, some interviews, some live music.
FRIDAY 4 FEB SAME DAY AS OUTTURN! From 7pm onwards, live on our YouTube channel and Facebook group.
GRAB YOUR 3 DRAM VIRTUAL PUB PACK IN THE ONLINE SHOP! SMWS.COM.AU/SHOP 16
Wine
& Spice
V I R T U A L
T A S T I N G
JOIN IN LIVE! FRIDAY 25 FEBRUARY Let’s dig into Wine & Spice from the comfort of your own home with our big February virtual tasting, Wine & Spice! We’ve picked out some wine casks, some special releases, and will taste through the rainbow of flavours and learn about each cask and the role of the cask in each instance.
148.2 KIRSCH ME QUICK
(Outturn Special Release) - Spicy & Sweet
18.37 TRIPPY TAGINE Juicy, Oak & Vanilla
66.198 SERENE SUNSET SATISFACTION Lightly Peated
78.44 FOLLOW THE DARK TRAIL Spicy & Sweet
2.124 MAKING YOUR MIND UP Sweet, Fruity & Mellow
Join in the live stream on Friday 25 Feb, live on Facebook & YouTube, for 5 x single cask goodies hosted by your Society team!
GRAB YOUR VIRTUAL TASTING KIT AND JOIN IN THE FUN! SMWS.COM.AU/SHOP *Includes 5 x 30ml drams of the above bottlings, two tasting mats and full tasting notes.
JUST
$8EAC9H*
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YOU’RE A WONDERFUL ONE OLD & DIGNIFIED CASK NO. 23.77
$870
Limit of one bottle per Member
M MIU PRE T TLING BO
DUNDER THE SEA RUM CASK NO. R11.12
$190
REGION
Islay
CASK TYPE
Refill bourbon hogshead
AGE
29 years
DATE DISTILLED
6 March 1991
OUTTURN
108 bottles
ABV
53.9%
AUS ALLOCATION 12 bottles “Gorse, beautiful - the yellow flowers of gorse in full bloom, the epitome of gorse!” It reminded us of a Rod Stewart song he performed with the Temptations in the year that sample was distilled – “bring over some of your old Motown records”. Very mellow, melodic and sweet, mouthwateringly tropical with exotic wood spice performing as the backing group. “Go ahead just do it and trust yourself “– add a drop of water and let the magic unfold. A turquoise tranquil sea as you find only in the Caribbean or on the shores of Loch Indaal emerged, as the warming sun made us smile and the cooling winds calmed us. We finished with the song of Martin Gaye ‘You’re a wonderful one’.
REGION
Jamaica
CASK TYPE
2nd fill bourbon barrel
AGE
7 years
DATE DISTILLED
1 June 2013
OUTTURN
234 bottles
ABV
66.9%
AUS ALLOCATION 24 bottles The Panel found themselves squarely in Jamaica with pure a vivid notes of bicycle inner tube slathered in rapeseed oil and seawater. Salted rubber, pure Dutch liquorice, pickled green olives and dunder funk. Water revealed a sharp kiss of lemon icing sugar, then sardines and kelp roasting over coals. Driftwood covered in barnacles and splashed with kerosene and fresh sashimi with wasabi. The mouth was initially tarry and citric with a scoosh of pure WD40, carbolic acidity, fermented bean curds and black olive tapenade. Reduction brought out pure bandages and antiseptic, natural tar extract, herbal ointments and things like diesel fumes and fermenting exotic fruits.
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HIGHBALL DILUTING JUICE JUICY, OAK & VANILLA CASK NO. 39.215
$180
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
11 years
DATE DISTILLED
31 August 2009
OUTTURN
232 bottles
ABV
56.2%
AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles A juicy and easy sweetness at first with notes of milk bottle sweeties, candy floss and pink marshmallows all on display. Then we got coconut water, gorse flower, potpourri, meadow flowers and flying saucers without the sherbet. Reduction brought white chocolate mice, honey and lemon lozenges, starched linens, old custard creams smashed up in a metal biscuit tin and warm potting sheds. The palate showed peach schnapps, heather honey, new world IPA, lime zest, light herbal teas, ginger biscuits and barley sugars. Water brought crab apples, green plums, star fruits, kiwi, pine needles, white jellybeans and shilling ales. Some vanilla cream in the aftertaste.
MASSIVE ANISEED HEAT AND SEARING PEAT HEAVILY PEATED CASK NO. 29.282
$220
REGION
Islay
CASK TYPE
2nd fill bourbon barrel
AGE
9 years
DATE DISTILLED
26 August 2011
OUTTURN
225 bottles
ABV
62.3%
AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles Wow, this was serious and with our imaginations running wild we soaked in a lavender bath sitting in a Victorian freestanding bathtub on a pebble beach with the surrounding heather hills on fire. Time to take a sip, brutal!!! Massive aniseed heat and searing peat, uncensored and unedited. We used water to try and dowse that conflagration with some success, the smell turned into scorched damp earthy notes, a burning pine forest and seaweed foraging. Still very smoky on the palate but now with a heavy medicinal flavour like an old-fashioned cod liver oil with malt extract. No idea what it should be good for, but it did it for us. 21
BY MATT BAILEY
Wine &
Spice
22
February is all about wine and spice. An exploration through wine casks, their usage, their history, and what characteristics they provide to whisky…
I
think it’s fair to say we all take casks for granted. These multisized wooden vessels that we expect to hold watertight, then age a spirit that’s heavier than water, and impart a desirable flavour profile that’s not under or over-oaked. It’s no surprise our expert tasting panel reject so many each year as not worthy. There’s a lot of expectation on the humble cask that’s had very little technological change. Over 2,000 years we’ve been using wooden barrels as bulk containers, so we’re pretty good at it by now, but maybe we need to take a closer look at its use in wine, and the impact on whisky.
The mere image of wine barrels slumbering away in some distant cellar invokes a sense of nostalgia, a hint of the ‘old world’, and a mark of quality. The image of a winemaker inspecting the cellar, overseeing his casks, and then knowing that someone, somewhere, will be enjoying his wines at a summer picnic or dinner party makes it all worthwhile. In fact, most wineries promote this sort of image: vineyard photo, glasses clinking, and of course the wooden barrel. Apart from this romanticism, what’s the difference between a wine barrel and a whisky barrel? In construction, a wine barrel is usually quite lovingly made and is the result of very exacting specifications. Winemakers usually request oak of the tightest grain, meaning staves from the slowest-growing trees. The woods selected also need to be free of any defects so they don’t 23
leak, and the craftsmanship needs to match the quality of the wood so all the components of the cask fit perfectly from the croze to the heads to the hoops. This is a quality assurance, but also a cosmetic decision at the same time: we can’t have the world’s best French wine cellars with un-sanded barrels after all! This isn’t to say there isn’t a similar attention to detail in ex-bourbon casks for the whisky industry, but some aspects like wood grain tightness or outer sanding are less important, whereas things like barrel char and toasting is far more important. Over centuries, wine and whisky makers have trialled and tested with various wood types in the maturation of their liquid, a process that has been evolving over thousands of years with several interrelated factors. In the early years, it ultimately came down to what woods were available to the cooper which was determined by whatever transportation methods were employed. Another factor was determining what types of wood were ‘bendable’, could hold liquid, and be actually coopered. The final factor then was working out what wood types were ideal for the actual end result of flavour. Wood types like pine, which is readily available worldwide and easy to work with, would impart a highly resinous or even ‘glue-like’ character to wine or spirit. Jarrah (and other Eucalyptus variants) are desirable by winemakers for their tight grain, but can be toxic to cooper with dust or fragments causing respiratory issues. Ultimately it was oak, ‘Quercus alba’ and ‘Quercus robur’ became the best choice to fit all the requirements of maturing wine, or whisky, and providing a desirable outcome. Around the world and especially in Scotland, exbourbon casks are the preferred and dominant method for maturing whisky. They are plentiful, affordable, and provide a rich vanilla-led base to the whisky profile. They are also consistent, provide a sweet and enjoyable flavour, and as a result are also much easier to cooper from the sheer volume if nothing else. In Australia, however, oak isn’t technically a native, and we have quite a geographical distance from the USA from which to source these ex-bourbon 24
barrels. Bourbon can only be made in the USA, and the casks can only be used once for the production of bourbon, so there’s plenty of ex-bourbon barrels around! That’s not to say many Australian distillers don’t also use ex-bourbon barrels (quite successfully I might add), but with a bourgeoning new world wine industry here which dwarfs the whisky industry in volume and value, it makes sense to really utilise the hard work that’s already gone into it from the wine industry and re-use their casks. As a result, we see a lot more wine casks in use in Australian whisky than what is seen in Scotch whisky. There’s more than 2,400 wineries in Australia with a plentiful supply of wine casks, and merely six or so wineries in Scotland. Not exactly something they are known for! With distilleries having that much availability to ex-wine barrels, we see a much differently shaped whisky maturation policy across Australian distilleries. To explore this a bit further, I had a chat with Darren Lange from Master Cask who are the industry leaders in providing quality wood to the Australian wine and whisky industry: “We believe Australian fortified and table wine casks are both of significant importance
“We believe Australian fortified and table wine casks are both of significant importance to the future of Australian whisky.”
to the future of Australian whisky. Australian distillers and distillers in a number of other emerging whisky producing nations have a significant advantage and opportunity over the more traditional and established countries of Scotland, Ireland and Japan as examples in terms of the proximity to our own wine industry. Scotland for example has always been forced to rely on the international supply of casks, traditionally from Spain and Portugal, and more recently American bourbon casks and have always been exposed to variable supply, pricing and changing regulations in each country which have largely been out of their control. The most significant example of this was of course regulation changes in Spain for sherry production that completely stopped the supply of export sherry casks for Scottish producers… which in-turn has had a significant impact on Scottish maturation techniques over the past 30 years.”
the barrel. Fortified and table wine barrels rank next highest in terms of the casks’ influence, however, in this instance, extraction from the cask is very different in each case. Extraction from a fortified wine cask is predominantly linked to the concentrated fortified wine flavours with a significantly lower presence of oak related influence. Table wine casks on the other hand have a higher degree of oak related influence and are closer aligned
When asked about the influence of wine casks upon spirit versus other cask types, Darren went on to say, “In terms of cask influence in spirit maturation, new, or virgin American and French oak has the highest impact being oak derived flavour and textural extraction from 25
Find Out More For further reading and information on this topic, our Cellarmaster, Andrew Derbidge, recently wrote and published an extensive article titled “The complete guide to oak, casks, and whisky maturation”, which looked further into the characteristics of French oak and the use of French oak exwine casks in the whisky industry. See www.whiskyandwisdom.com
to new oak than fortified or ex-bourbon in this regard. We have found ex-bourbon casks to be comparable to older fortified casks in terms of available oak related extraction and the previous fill of bourbon as with table wine casks, plays far less of a role in maturation.” We also had a chat with Darren about the role of research and growth in wine casks being used in whisky, to which he said “We’ve been doing a lot of work with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) for several years now with our initial focus to secure the future availability and diversity of premium fortified casks which has progressed and resulted in a patented success. Whilst continuous improvement work continues on fortified casks, we are now seriously turning our eye to table wine and new oak research and development. Selections for wine casks such as French or American oak, air-drying period and region, grain selection, wine region characteristics, coopering techniques - combined with quality considerations such as the age of the cask, mix of previous fills, barrel maintenance, storage conditions and transport requirements are some of the barrel related parameters distillers need to have knowledge of. And that’s before also considering their own spirit characteristics and maturation conditions to determine the best cask selection. In our view, it’s the role of the cooperage to provide guidance through this process and whilst we have extensive experience in wine maturation, we are again working with the AWRI on further research for wine cask selection and application.”
“We have found exbourbon casks to be comparable to older fortified casks in terms of available oak related extraction.”
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What does the future look like for wine casks in spirit maturation in Australia, and what impact will that have on the wine industry? “A distiller’s decision to use a wine cask should be driven by suitability to their maturation program, not price. Whilst there are currently more wine barrels decommissioned each year from the wine industry than required for spirit maturation, this will rapidly not be the case into the future. The bulk of wine barrel maturation in the wine industry is spread between the premium wine regions of South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. The percentage of Australian wine matured in new oak barrels is in single figures which is consistent with other international wine producing countries. Maturation trends in the wine industry are to 500 litre and larger oak casks, Terracotta Amphora and specialised concrete vessels, further reducing the percentage of small format new oak barrels for wine maturation. Place this against the increasing domestic demand for spirit maturation and a cyclic international demand for our wine casks and we anticipate the supply demand pendulum to swing around very quickly.” Lastly, any thoughts on the overall role of spirit maturation in ex-wine casks? “Most importantly, spirit maturation should be about elevating the inherent quality and provenance of the spirit. It’s easy for winemakers and distillers to allow the cask to dictate and dominate the flavour and texture of a spirit. This is particularly true for wine and fortified casks so, as coopers, it’s critical we continue to work closely with distillers to constantly refine cask selections and maturation programs to produce complex, uniquely defined but most importantly balanced whiskies of provenance.” So what flavours can we then expect from wine casks then? Well the first obvious answer would be the influence of the previous wine. White wine casks like ex-Chenin Blanc or Chardonnay will often impart a sweeter or botrytis-like
flavour to a spirit, whereas red wine casks will often impart notes of the previous red wine (Pinot, Shiraz etc) with those deep or even spritely tannic elements. Either way, most of this influence will also come down to a multitude of other factors that need to come in when building this flavour profile. Questions like, “Does the spirit being produced lend itself well to wine casks? Are they being used in finishing or full maturation? How about refill wine casks?” A lot of variables along the way, but generally speaking (and I’m not alone in this opinion) the best use of wine casks is either short maturation periods, or purely for finishing or extra-maturing a spirit to impart a different flavour profile or dimension to a spirit. From the whole team at the SMWS, we hope you’ve learnt a lot more about wine casks in this special issue of Outturn, and are looking forward to our full cask release of 148.2 Kirsch me quick.
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T Deciphering r m s BY MATT BAILEY
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In the world of whisky, especially in this month’s context with wine, there’s often tasting notes, phrases, and words thrown about that might need some definition. Let’s decipher some of those to make sense of it all.
No1
No2
A cask that has previously held wine, anywhere between a couple of months to a couple of years usually. In some old winemaking regions, some ‘wine casks’ can be sometimes thousands of litres in size, but most wine casks, especially in Australia, are a mixture of French and American oak, and are around 200-225L in size. The wine industry standard of 225L usually produces a good square 25 cases of wine, so accountants love them too.
Terroir (no, not terror) is a French word to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop, a field of grapes, and specific growth habitat. Collectively, these factors then create a character quite specific to either the vineyard or wider maturation geography. Aspects like climate, soil, topography, and surrounding flora & fauna all play a part here. The mildly controversial part of terroir in winemaking is the question as to what role viticulture and winemaking have in shaping it. The even more controversial question around terroir is how much of a role, if any, does it have in shaping whisky! Practice your pronunciation of ‘terroir’ to sound rather sophisticated at your next whisky gathering.
Wine cask
Terroir
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No4 Barrique
A fancy French word for ‘barrel’. If we’re being really specific, usually it would mean a new oak Bordeaux-style wine in a ‘small oak’ barrel, or ‘barrique’.
No5 No3 Tannins
Tannins are probably the most misunderstood part of nature. They are everywhere. Tannins are a group of bitter and astringent compounds and can be found in wood, bark, leaves and the fruit of plants as various as oak, rhubarb, tea, walnut, cranberry, cacao and… grapes. It’s not all bad though: tannins are often prized in food or drink. Their bitterness and astringency, when managed well, can be rather pleasant. Examples include tea, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, wine. That grippy texture that binds with our saliva can be a pleasant texture, especially when you find an incredible pairing of wine and a good steak! However, not all compounds work in harmony, and whisky usually suffers from being sometimes too tannic from the overuse of a wine cask. In moderation, and preferably from a wine cask that hasn’t had heaps of maceration, will provide a desirable result. Hence, wine casks in whisky are usually best used as finishing, extra maturation, or short maturation times.
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Sherry seasoned
Sherry casks, used in the context of whisky maturation, usually come from sherry seasoning houses, and very rarely come from old sherry bodegas. The sherry made from the seasoning houses often ‘seasons’ the casks for 9-24 months, sometimes longer, before being re-used for the next batch of casks, then that sherry will be distilled into sherry brandy or used to make vinegar for the commercial trade. It’s not sold as sherry, nor would it be very desirable for consumption before being distilled. The old romantic notion of sherry casks sitting slumbering away in old Spanish bodegas before being filled with new make spirit, especially in today’s day and age, is a myth. Bodegas making actual sherry don’t have any need (or desire) to remove those casks from their solera system, and overall maturation consistency doesn’t stack up nor provide any benefit to the end result (unless you want your whisky to taste JUST like sherry, in which case, just drink sherry!). However, not all sherry seasoning or sherry cask supply is the same. Smaller boutique sherry houses that that season or cycle sherry casks are often more desirable than the bigger mass-produced sherry houses, and the SMWS is very proud to work with some of the very best out of Jerez for our own maturation policy.
No6
No7
STR is an acronym for ‘Shave, Toast, Rechar’. This method of red wine cask rejuvenation was pioneered by the late Dr Jim Swan and through his work has been used at a vast number of new world distilleries to bring a new level of maturity to younger whiskies. Kilchoman, Penderyn, Cotswolds, Kingsbarns, Kavalan and others have embraced STR casks, and I suspect many more ‘old world’ distilleries will be embracing this technique. A lot of research and development has gone into making younger whiskies perform better, sooner.
Worldwide demand for sherry has been in decline since the 1970’s, but the demand and interest in Scotch whisky matured in sherry casks has been increasing ever since. You see the problem here? One solution here was to use pax. Paxarette is boiled-down Pedro Ximinez grapes which is then infused with grape essences creating a rich, thick, molasses-like liquid which can be injected into casks with air compression and creates a form of rich sherried-seasoned casks, providing a much richer (if not misleading) profile to the cask to mature the spirit. The use of Paxarette in Scotch whisky dates back to the late 1800’s, but leading sherry producer Byass is widely regarded as being the founder of paxarette for widespread use in whisky maturation in the late 1970’s. However, the Scotch Whisky Act of 1988 banned its use in Scotch whisky entirely, only allowing spirit caramel to be added to alter the colour of the spirit (something we don’t do at the SMWS at all). You only have to take a cursory glance at a sherried whisky from the 1980’s vs one today to see the colour difference that decision made. We don’t really see its use in Australian whisky, but some new-world producers out of places like Taiwan, England, and elsewhere aren’t bound by the rules of the Scotch industry, so they still use paxarett - not that they’d readily admit it…
STR
Paxarette or ‘Pax’
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I hope that you’ve picked up something from the above terms and words and can confidently talk more on it when asked at your next home tasting!
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