A Flask of Amontillado (With Apologies to…)

[Gillman]

I had some Amontillado sherry in the bar for a while, partly open. Didn't really know what to do with it. At the same time, I had about 5-6 bottles of a complex "Gillmanized" Scotch/Irish blend (60-80 Scotch, Irish, and other whiskies in this style blended) and I wanted to give a fillip to them. So I added some of the sherry to each. It is remarkable how the scotch blend came into its own. In the past, I might have added sweet sherry like Pedro Ximinex, but the addition was much better with the dryish Amontillado, counter-intuitively to me. It lend a rounded and nutty note yet one completely characteristic of the Celtic whisky world shall I say. I can see now how ex-sherry barrels improved scotch maturation just by a natural matching of flavours, and I'd think much of the sherry character for which scotch and malt became famous was from dry sherries not sweet ones.

And so a dram of fine-blended scotch is raised to the raven - what else? - night to celebrate a long week.

Gary

[DBM]

Wow, that's a level of mixology I will probably never attain. It's great to know that it's being attempted though, I won't feel weird about trying it in the future.

[Gillman]

Thank you but it's very simple, really.

Gary

[Harry in WashDC]

Thanks, Gary. I'd have never thought of this on my own. I have a 3/4 bottle of an unnamed Kentucky whiskey bottled on some estate which I cannot drink (although I hear that some others really like it). I've liked some of the sherry and port finished whiskeys that have come out lately. SO, following your lead, I took a bottle of Savory & James Fino with about 1/4 inch left in it from the back of my cabinet and dribbled it a couple drops at a time into the whiskey. Didn't take much to make that shelf-hog a semipalatable, ersatz-finished whiskey. Maybe a little sweet, but since I'd use it as a mixer, anyway, . . .

[squire]

Makes sense to me Gary, were I to mix a bit of Sherry in some malt whisky it would be a Dry Amontillado.

[Gillman]

Thanks, Gary. I'd have never thought of this on my own. I have a 3/4 bottle of an unnamed Kentucky whiskey bottled on some estate which I cannot drink (although I hear that some others really like it). I've liked some of the sherry and port finished whiskeys that have come out lately. SO, following your lead, I took a bottle of Savory & James Fino with about 1/4 inch left in it from the back of my cabinet and dribbled it a couple drops at a time into the whiskey. Didn't take much to make that shelf-hog a semipalatable, ersatz-finished whiskey. Maybe a little sweet, but since I'd use it as a mixer, anyway, . . .

[Gillman]

Makes sense to me Gary, were I to mix a bit of Sherry in some malt whisky it would be a Dry Amontillado.

[portwood]

I can see now how ex-sherry barrels improved scotch maturation just by a natural matching of flavours...

I haven't tried blending (yet) but your comment rings true.

Is it just co-incidence we see so many whiskies on the market that are "finished" in ex-fortified wine casks (mostly sherry) after spending most of their lives in ex-bourbon cooperage? I say no. While Scotch matured in ex-bourbon casks is a most enjoyable drink, IMO, sherry takes them to another level.

Most of the finishes are very short in duration. Adding sherry (akin to what Gary did) is illegal, but the rules don't preclude a little (or a lot ;-) sherry being left inside the cask prior to filling with Scotch. Just a hunch but my suspicion is that the vast majority of sherry (or port, madeira, any other wine) finishes are simply a cover for addition of sherry to already mature Scotch in order to add a little more flavour (legally) to whisky that came out of very tired casks*.

Most people don't realize (the dirty little secret of Scotch) many ex-sherry casks currently in use by the Scotch industry were never used to actually produce (drinking) sherry. They are mostly casks "seasoned" with very low quality "sherry" (or paxarette used in the past before it was banned).

Long story short, what Gary has done is not unique. The Scotch industry practice it on a large scale. They just use a different method. The Canadian Whisky industry, OTOH, has no qualms about adding wine directly to the mature whisky (up to 1/11 of the finished product)**!

*remember the Scots re-use casks more than once, this after they were already used to mature other spirits. By the second or third (fourth?) re-use the wood has very little to give.

** best current example being Alberta Premium Dark Horse

Edited November 30, 2014 by portwood

[Gillman]

All very well put (last post). Even in the pre-"finishing" days, a "wet" ex-sherry barrel would have to give some sherry taste to the cask. True, it would alter along with the whisky during the years of aging, but that is always a relative thing. There is no doubt in mind residual sherry taste always had some impact on the whisky, so why not add a little in? Anyone can do it at home to his own supply, no laws to worry about. You don't need to make a blend, just add a touch to any malt in your glass, very little though I advise.

The drier sherries are known for a salty and nutty edge - good malt can have both, hence the affinity. However, sweet sherry can work too, as e.g. from maturation of Macallan and Abelour in ex-sherry casks that held a sweeter style.

Gary

[danz]

Most people don't realize (the dirty little secret of Scotch) many ex-sherry casks currently in use by the Scotch industry were never used to actually produce (drinking) sherry. They are mostly casks "seasoned" with very low quality "sherry" (or paxarette used in the past before it was banned).

[jaycamm]

Mr. Gillman, in your opinion, what percentage of Sherry or other additional spirit would need to be added to simulate a barrel finish?

[Gillman]

Please call me Gary. I happened to start with a 1.14 litre bottle full to mid-neck (the old Canadian 40 ounce bottle). I added one ounce of Amontillado and this noticeably smoothed and deepened the taste. So that is I believe a 2 1/2 % addition. But it is little enough that if anyone tasted the whisky not knowing it was out of the ordinary, they wouldn't suspect anything.

Gary

Edited December 1, 2014 by Gillman

[tanstaafl2]

Doesn't seem all that surprising to me although it is a good to hear that the experiment was a success for the (too) many bottles of scotch I have that are less than noteworthy on their own!

But Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso sherry shows up fairly often in cocktail formulation to add depth and flavor so it seems reasonable it could do the same as part of a blend with whiskey.

[Gillman]

Doesn't seem all that surprising to me although it is a good to hear that the experiment was a success for the (too) many bottles of scotch I have that are less than noteworthy on their own!

But Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso sherry shows up fairly often in cocktail formulation to add depth and flavor so it seems reasonable it could do the same as part of a blend with whiskey.

[jaycamm]

Thank you Gary. I am of the opinion that cask finishing scotch is kind of a sneaky way around the regulation prohibiting flavor additives. Canadian Whisky and Beam's Sherry Finished Bourbon are accomplishing similar effects without beating around the bush. This technique is an exciting avenue for those of us who vat whiskies to travel down.

[tanstaafl2]

Thank you Gary. I am of the opinion that cask finishing scotch is kind of a sneaky way around the regulation prohibiting flavor additives. Canadian Whisky and Beam's Sherry Finished Bourbon are accomplishing similar effects without beating around the bush. This technique is an exciting avenue for those of us who vat whiskies to travel down.

Edited December 1, 2014 by tanstaafl2

[Gillman]

I do view it as an alternative approach to sherry cask aging. One shouldn't beg the question since the prohibition to add sherry to Scotch whisky itself may not make sense (in other words). I noticed when buying brands years ago which were known to use sherry barrels (this was in the pre-finishing era) that you could tell they were so aged because the drink tasted a little of sherry. Always felt this way with Redbreast, for example (Irish, but similar tradition). So why not just add it as I knew the Canadians were able to do to our whisky? What surprised me more than anything when adding the Amontillado was the excellent result despite that the sherry is fairly dry. I had always assumed you needed to use a rich sweet sherry as e.g. Macallan tastes of, but not always and in fact I'm starting to think that Amontillado is superior for Scotch marrying.

Gary

Edited December 1, 2014 by Gillman

[Gillman]

I am not sure that is a fair description from an historical perspective. As noted in another thread in the past whisky in Scotland and Ireland has likely long been finished in whatever barrel happened to be handy. Bourbon barrels for aging whisky is a relatively new phenomenon. As the customers began to vote with their coppers on the styles they liked best, be it sherry, port or wine, the distillers no doubt began to put a particular emphasis on the types of barrels that appeared to be popular. Adding additives seems the sneaky way of getting the effect from the barrel finish.

indeed there would likely be more creativity in having to blend those barrels to create a particular profile as each barrel would bring its own particular influence to the party. Being able to add flavor, be it sherry, port, wine or whatever to a more neutral whiskey would likely be an easier way to maintain that profile than blending individual barrels.

In any case I find the art of barrel finishing and blending to be particular intriguing!

[squire]

Why not indeed, the resulting effect being much the same.