SMWS WHISKY TEAM
Solera inspired
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Whisky Team has taken inspiration from the bodegas of Jerez and the ‘sherry triangle’ to create its own small-scale solera system, now taking shape at our maturation warehouse in the heart of Scotland’s Central Belt
It’s no secret that the Society loves its sherry cask-matured whisky – in fact we even produced our own feature length documentary, Scotch & Sherry: A Flavour Odyssey, covering the entire journey of sherry cask maturation.
Inspired by their close relationship with several bodegas in Jerez, our Whisky Team have now taken this to the next level and have opted to create the Society’s own solera maturation system in our maturation warehouse.
Cask operation planner Ed Furmston-Evans explains: “Solera systems are a traditional way of maturing sherry in Jerez, where the casks at the bottom hold the oldest stock and as they deplete stock from the casks above gets moved down. So, you end up with this ever-developing blend which allows for really great consistency and massive complexity.
“Because of the way the solera systems work, what we’ll get coming out of it is a constantly evolving product that will always be slightly different. And like the rest of our offerings, it will always be about exploring new flavours and really giving variety into our mix.”
The Society’s Whisky Team are of course no strangers to innovation, and perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of this 20-cask solera system is they’re not 100 per cent sure what will come next, or when.
“For us, creating a small-scale solera system is a fun way to play around and experiment with getting new flavours inspired by our heroes in the sherry region,” says Ed. “As for what we’re going to get from it, or when we’ll be bottling anything from it, members will have to wait and see.”