SCOTCH & SHERRY
Uncharted vessels
While sherry is a focus for The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, we’re also searching far and wide for other types of wine casks to mature our whisky and delight our members
WORDS: JULIEN WILLEMS PHOTOS: MIKE WILKINSON AND PETER SANDGROUND
There is an old French expression which has now all but disappeared, yet which still has a special place in my mind, considering its poetry and my line of work: être dans les vignes du Seigneur. It translates as ‘to be in the Lord’s vineyard’ and describes someone who’s maybe had one too many ballons of red wine.
If I were a betting man, I’d say this has happened in many an earthly lord’s cellar too. Why is it important, you ask? Well, because today we’re talking wine.
Let’s quickly go back to the beginning. According to archaeologists, the oldest winery known to us was in present day Armenia and operated somewhere around 6,000 years ago. Back then, though, any whisky producer (there was none, so you’ll have to imagine it) would have been dismayed to see wine preserved in amphorae or clay jars, which would have been no use to mature spirit. The cheek!
Fast forward a few millennia, as Ancient Greek and Roman trade lines expanded, and the first records of oak casks used for the transport of beer and wine appear. North and west of those Mediterranean and Aegean powerhouses, in territories straddling France, Western Germany and Northern Italy, the Gauls already made extensive use of wooden barrels. Among them, the oaken ones were said to be a firm favourite.
When Julius Caesar eventually came knocking, the empire settled in Gaul, and then the Iberian Peninsula. One of its concerns was spreading its culture, planting vines wherever possible, which no doubt helped supply the growing demands of the empire. The legionnaires were likely very good customers, but let’s not forget about the local nobility – they needed their tipple too. Wine transport and storage in barrel became much more widespread as a result. Another couple of millennia later and here we are, trying to find as many tasty casks as time and money will allow to bring an additional wealth of flavours to our national malt whisky.
Though sometimes generous in flavours and quite stunning in appearance, if you remember Cask No. 48.104: Punnets of pink, not all wine casks are always a good fit. This has to do with the nature of the drink. Wine is alive and can quickly spoil in its barrel during transport, generating off notes of an utterly undesirable nature lying in wait for anything that might come into the barrel next.
ABOVE: Julien Willems from the SMWS Whisky Team at The Vaults
This is, as you can imagine, something we are very keen to avoid. But looking back at French and Spanish history, the inherent dangers of exporting non-fortified wine in casks is one of the core reasons the cognac and sherry industries evolved and grew the way they did. Distilling a portion of their harvest (or all of it in the case of Cognac) offers winemakers the option of fortifying the rest of their production to a high enough ABV that it will fear neither transport nor multi-decade maturation.
Since becoming more adventurous with cask types between 2019 and 2020, beside the huge rise in its sherry cask offerings, the Society’s releases have explored everything from red wine casks through various styles of port to much rarer and, for many, unheard-of types of fortified wines.
Think of names like Muscat de Setubal – moscatel you may have chanced upon once every so often on holiday (or if you’re an SMWS member living in those delightful wine-making regions), but it’s by no means a common sight in shops here.
Nevertheless, the Society’s Whisky Team has been sparing no effort in trying to source new, worthy, quality casks for its whiskies, just to keep the flavour landscape moving for our members.
In recent years, some of these unusual releases have started cropping up on the menu. Australian Muscat, for example, is a fortified wine from Down Under that is both delicious and rich (I like to think it meets whisky halfway between port and Pedro Ximénez) and releases like Cask No. 9.265: All things dark and mystical or the maybe wider known small-batch Full Bloom from our ‘heretical’ clear glass releases. Do not worry if you have missed these releases, I’m sure it’s not the last time you will come across them.
Many other wine types have been more present in the last few years with moscatel, for instance, a close cousin to sherry. Releases like the exceptionally foodie Cask No. 10.170: Cooking for Hades or the totally bonkers Cask No. 128.27: Chilli Danish wasp stings have also shown all the goodness that can be achieved by going out of our comfort zone.
When it comes to wine, it’s not all about Spain though. Sherry country’s neighbours also have pretty heavy artillery when it comes to flavoursome fortified wines. For me, some of the smoking guns here, or barrels as it were, are from Portugal. Madeira casks made a space for themselves with releases like the stunning Cask No. 4.343: Analytical allure or award-winning Cask No. 37.127: Coconut curry down the Douro valley.
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A bit closer to our shores, Portugal’s most famous fortified wine has also seen a substantial increase in interest for casks either seasoned with port or barriques and pipes actually used for long term port ageing. Some worthy releases are International Spirits Challenge award-winning Cask No. 93.148: Tour de force and the more contemporary Cask No. 73.160: A cherry good time. Let’s not forget about our ‘heretical’ small batch release Douro Cruise. With very different styles of port available –think white, tawny or ruby – this is a rather unexplored wine for the Society, but the good news is that there is a lot to look forward to in that regard. Some recent releases also cover rare and lesser-known casks such as Cask No. 128.30: Smooth and suave, offering the chance for our members to discover something new entirely.
Closer to home, though it is no longer called Gaul, France still uses vast quantities of casks to age its wines and spirits. Old habits die hard, it seems. All the better for us, as France has been a major exporter of wine and barrels to Scotland through our Leith home since the 1600s at least. So, it’s probably fair to say that the Auld Alliance historically extended to bonded cask warehouses, as French casks and Leith distillate shared the space.
Some of these wine casks are still in high demand today, with sauternes (though not fortified) on top of the list. Expressions such as the amazing Cask No. 135.3: Red carpet welcome will stay with me for a while, as an immense dram that reached the Old & Dignified status despite its 16 years of age. More recent releases like Cask No. 36.218: Penumbral pleasure or Cask No. 28.100: Fresh as a mountain stream are keeping the flame alive, and there are definitely more in the making.
As if these casks weren’t enough, we can guarantee our members that there are numerous new types of wine and fortified wine casks in our warehouse that are currently ageing some soon-to-be discovered new Society drams and sherry alternatives. Some experiments may take longer than others to reach you, but when they eventually land, Society members will be able to enjoy some new and unexplored flavours. Beyond bourbon and sherry casks, there is a phenomenal world of flavours to explore.
We are embarking on a journey that will keep us marvelling at the variety of whisky flavours for years to come. So, join us in lifting a dram to the world’s vineyards which we all like to visit, as least in spirit.