Sherry, baby! Whisky picks from sherry casks

• Posted on 30 October 2024
• By Whiskybase
• Posted in amontillado, blog, craft, fino, flavors, manzanilla, oloroso, palo cortado, pedro ximenez, px, recommendations, sherry, whisky

Beloved by some for rich and complex flavors, reviled by others for purportedly masking distillery character with cask influence, sherry plays a divisive role in the whisky world.

Every type of sherry cask has found its way into whisky maturation. You may have tried oloroso or Pedro Ximenez, but what about manzanilla, amontillado, fino, palo cortado, and cream? Read on for more about the various sherry profiles—and what ex-sherry casks can do for whisky maturation.

Fino
A dry, white sherry made from Palomino grapes, finos are aged under a yeasty layer of “flor” before maturation in American oak.

We don't often see the words "fino sherry" on whisky labels, but Islay's Kilchoman has experimented more than most. Kilchoman whiskies matured or finished in ex-fino often show bright citric and nutty notes like limes, hazelnuts, and almonds. We love an ex-fino whisky for an aperitivo round. Rather uncommon for whisky maturation, you sometimes have to get lucky to find a fino! (See all Finos in the shop.)

Manzanilla
Essentially a fino, manzanilla is produced only in the Spanish seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Aficionados swear they can taste chamomile and salty, ropey, and funky seaside air in every sip of manzanilla.

If that's the case, what’s a more perfect match for a manzanilla cask than something mysterious? Cadenhead’s Speyside Enigma – Manzanilla elicits Whiskybase tasting notes that include a fantastic mix of flavors, including cinnamon, salt, cherries, olives, butter, honey, and even Coca-Cola.

Amontillado
All amontillado sherry starts life as a fino before the yeast layer of flor is removed. This exposes the sherry to air for a round of oxidative aging. The resulting sherry is richer and nuttier than fino, and really shines in whisky maturation.

This Tomintoul from Chapter 7, for example, from an ex-amontillado cask, is a raisin bomb. It's full of dried fruits, coffee, and ground black pepper. If you've never had an amontillado, this is a great whisky preview that preserves many of the wine's flavors.

Oloroso
Less than 20% of all sherry is oloroso, but it's among the most well known whisky casks. All oloroso sherries are fortified prior to aging, and the high alcohol content means no flor develops, so no yeasty, fermenty "veil." Instead, oloroso whiskies only undergo open-to-air oxidative aging, meaning nutty, caramelized characteristics that often carry over into whisky.

For a quintessential sherry bomb, you can’t go wrong with an Aberlour Abunadh. An iconic and celebrated sherried whisky, Abunadh is known for notes of Christmas cake, oranges, nutmeg, and cloves. A cozy dram for fall and winter nights, and a great crossover whisky to pour for that friend who says they only like rum and bourbon.

Palo Cortado
The rarest type of sherry, palo cortado sherries are essentially happy accidents: a sherry intended as a fino or amontillado that fails to develop flor and instead oxidizes like an oloroso.

We highly recommend Cley’s Palo Cortado Finish. Expect grapes, marzipan, apricots, and toasted mixed nuts. Palo Cortado sherry is famous for "personality," so expect nothing less in any P.C. matured whisky!

Pedro Ximénez (PX)
The sweetest, darkest sherry of them all, PX sherries are made from sun-dried Pedro Ximénez grapes. The resulting wine—made from raisins—tastes like raisins! Many PX whiskies are showcases for raisiny flavor. If you think of sherry as sweet dessert wine, you no doubt have a Pedro Ximenez in mind. (See all PX whiskies in the shop.)

For more info check out:

• Andrew Derbidge of Whisky & Wisdom has a great blog post, "The Whisky Lover's Complete Guide to Sherry"
• The official Vinos de Jeréz page

Thirsty yet?

We’re always happy to help you find the perfect sherried whisky. Check out the above selections or our staff picks to get started. Cheers!