Wine cask maturation can pack a full-flavour punch. Here’s why these casks can be so potent, with five top wine-influenced Scotch whiskies to savour now.
There’s a lot to love about wine cask-finished – and indeed fully matured – whiskies. Firstly, they take on a character of their own. The most commonly used casks in maturation globally are ex-bourbon (by law, bourbon makers can only use them once), and, in Scotland, ex-sherry casks for historical reasons. Throw a wine barrel into the mix, and you get a totally distinct flavour profile than if you’d opted for one of these more conventional casks.
Why? It’s worth taking a moment to consider how cask maturation works. Casks are watertight – you hope! Leaks can happen… – but they’re not airtight. They breathe. This is due to evaporation. And with this, they draw whatever liquid is being held in and out of the wooden staves themselves. It’s the interaction that happens here between the oak and the spirit that has a huge influence on flavour and aroma.
If that cask is being used for a second time, there will be some residual liquid from its prior inhabitant still in those wooden staves. If it’s an ex-bourbon cask, the whisky that’s filled into the barrel will take on some of that character. Same for sherry. Now you can see how ex-wine barrels have such a profound effect on flavour.
There are other factors at play too. Casks can be used two, three, four times or more. But just like a tea bag, the flavour intensity that the cask imparts lessens with each use. Then there’s the size of the cask. Smaller casks provide greater flavour intensity because there’s comparatively greater surface area for the liquid to interact with the oak. Think about climate too: in warmer environments, evaporation happens at a faster rate which supercharges the maturation process.
Finally, whether the whisky has been fully matured or finished in a cask can have an impact on the intensity that the spirit gets from the cask. Finishing refers to a short secondary maturation, sometimes just a few weeks, sometimes years. A full maturation will typically give the most flavour, followed by a longer finish, and then a shorter finish. But – and this is the fun part – all casks are individuals. Some are more potent than others. This is where the skill of a whisky-maker comes in. They will monitor casks to make sure they choose the right whisky at the right time for their creations.
With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why wine cask-matured or cask-finished whiskies offer such abundant opportunities for flavour exploration. From the vibrancy of sparkling wines to the depth of red Bordeaux, the vast wine spectrum offers near-limitless opportunity for flavour creation in whisky.
Fancy a taste? Here are five bottles we’re loving right now, all with some kind of wine influence.
