Sherry barrels can bring flavors such as malt, raisins, figs, almonds, cinnamon and cloves to whiskies, making them the first choice for many whisky lovers.
Due to the loneliness and coldness of Spanish sherry, shirley oak barrels that are actually from the Solera system are extremely rare and expensive on the market today. The vast majority of shirley barrels on the market are actually custom shirry barrels, that is, whisky distilleries intervene in the shirry barrel production line and cooperate with the coopers and shirley wineries to produce shirley barrels according to their own needs. The specific process is: the whisky distillery customizes the required oak barrels from the cooper, and the distillery rents or gives these new barrels to the sherry winery to run the barrels, the barrel polishing time is about one to two years, and then the empty barrels after the barrel are sent to the whisky distillery, which is a custom sherry barrel created for the winery.
Compared with sherry barrels, bourbon barrels are cheap and well supplied, so the number of bourbon barrels used by whisky distilleries is far more than that of shirley barrels. Even so, there are still many wineries that produce 100% shirley barrel-aged whiskey, some of which are called shirley "bombs" and are remembered and appreciated by whisky lovers.
Macallan 10 Year Old Cask Strength
Alcohol: 58.4% ABV (varies slightly from batch to batch), origin: Spencer, Scotland, international average price: $2152
McAllen's 10-year barrel strength (1000 ml), introduced around 2000, was the real Shirley "bomb." The wine is 100% aged in Spanish oak sherry barrels, bottled in strong barrels, with a dark mahogany color, with a very rich aroma of dried fruits, spices, chocolate and other aromas, the taste is rich and smooth, full and round, slightly sweet, and with the taste of sherry and oak.
Around 2000, the whisky industry was at a low ebb, and many high-vintage whiskies were not easy to sell. It is said that the 10-year barrel strong introduced by McAllen at this time contained a lot of high-vintage original wine, which was only sold for a few hundred yuan at that time. No one can believe that 20 years later, the market price is close to more than 20,000 yuan and a bottle is difficult to find.
2. Glenfarclas 1989 The Family Casks
ABV: 51.4% ABV, Origin: Spencer, Scotland, International Average Price: $688
GranHuager is the only distillery in Scotland that insists on 100% sherry barrel maturation and has the largest inventory of sherry barrels in Scotland. The GranHuager family barrel range is strong in single barrels to fully demonstrate the traditional winemaking process passed down from generation to generation in the distillery. Distilled in 1989 and bottled in December 2018, granger 1989 family barrels (barrel size 13010) are 28 years old and have a mellow taste with strong flavors of dried fruit, preserved fruit, toffee, leather, nuts, spices and more.
3. Aberlour A'Bunadh
Alcohol: barrel strength (different batches), origin: Spencer, Scotland, international average price: $94
Aged only in Spanish Oloroso sherry barrels, the wine is full-bodied, creamy, with hints of spices, nuts and citrus, with bright fruity flavours and ginger and dark chocolate. Since its launch in 1997, it has insisted on small batch production and strong barrel bottling, and is known as a game changer of whisky, with many fans.
Its launch is said to have been helped by the fact that in 1973, workers found only half of the whiskey left in a bottle of liquor under the foundation of the distillation chamber, which was built in 1898. The distillery sends the wine to a laboratory for analysis and launches Aberlour A'bunadh based on its composition.
4. The GlenDronach 15 Year Old Revival
AbV: 46% ABV, Origin: Scottish Highlands, International Average Price: $96
In the 1990s, Grandona was listed as a single malt whisky (40% ABV by alcohol) for 15 years, and has been discontinued and re-listed several times, with 2015 being the most recent due to inventory reasons. In 2018, Grundona re-released the 15-year Revival Single Malt Whisky, aged in Oloroso and PX Shelly barrels in Andalusia, Spain, with an alcohol content of 46% ABV, non-condensing filtered, and no caramel-colored additives. The amber colours are rich and deep, with hints of beautiful and bright blackcurrant, black grove and palm sugar, with surprisingly bright and popular fruit flavours, persimmon gingerbread, raisins, brown butter, roasted stone fruits, almond cakes and cloves, accompanied by rich aromas of honeydew, lemon peel, cedar branches and mint stems, with a long aftertaste of blackcurrant, light menthol and pleasant caramel bitterness.
Glengoyne 25 Year Old
Alcohol: 48% ABV, Origin: Scottish Highlands, International Average Price: $456
The wine is made of Golden Promise barley, aged in the finest European oak sherry barrels, aged for up to 25 years in the cellar of the distillery's traditional building, non-condensing filter bottle, with bright amber and red fruits, aged leather, brown sugar and other aromas, soft taste, with rich oak, cinnamon, stewed fruit, Serbian citrus jam and other flavors, long tail rhyme, accompanied by spice licorice taste and slight sweetness.
The slowest distillation rate in Scotland, Grangoni uses air drying to dry barley, never using peat, and through slow distillation and carefully selected oak barrels, golden promise barley releases more subtle, multi-layered taste.
6. Tamdhu Batch Strength No.6
AbV: 56.8% ABV, Origin: Spencer, Scotland, International Average Price: $92
Aged in first and refilled Oloroso sherry barrels, the wine is viscous and powerful, with a velvety texture and flavours of chocolate, ganache, dried ginger, figs and spices.
McAllen fans, exhausted by the price of McAllen, are better off buying a bottle of Tando, which is arguably comparable. Tamdhu Batch Strength No.2 was also ranked 8th in whisky advocates' 2017 top 20.
7. Gomaran Classic Solo Series Fino Sherry Cask
Alcohol: 57.8% ABV, origin: Taiwan, international average price: 367 US dollars
Fino, which means "Fine" in Spanish, is the driest and lightest of all the traditional sherrys. Traditional Feno Sherry is usually not sweet. Gomalan's classic solo series, Solist Fino, is aged in only the finest Fino Sherry barrels.
The wine's deep gold amber true reflects the full aroma and taste of premium whisky. The rich aromas of sherry, creamy toffee and rich fudge qualities, as well as a hint of chocolate blend with the fruity notes of the wine's body. The fruity flavor is a complex, multi-layered blend of mango and overcooked citrus fruit, ending with a hint of green apple. The natural sweetness on the tongue has a soft gummy flavor. Intricate fruity notes are interspersed with dried smoked wood. The aftertaste is long and the natural sweetness gives way to a pleasant dry mouth.
8. Lake Kilchoman Loch Gorm
Abox: 46% ABV, Origin: Islay, Scotland, International Average Price: $105
Lake Chihomengam Whisky is named after the largest lake on islet near the distillery. The lake's thick black peat silt makes the lake look like strong tea. Matured entirely in Oloroso sherry barrels (first large barrels of Butts, then transferred to smaller pig's head barrels), aged 9-13 years, with unparalleled complexity and balance, and full of juicy fruits, lemons, sweet coke and smoke.
Founded in 2005, Cihomen is the first new distillery in 124 years on the island of Ere, and it is tied with Edradour as one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, producing 100,000 litres of distilled spirits per year. It is also one of six fully floor-based whisky distilleries in Scotland.
9. Arran Bodega Sherry Cask
Aacity: 55.8% ABV, Origin: Scottish Isles (Allen Island), International Average Price: $64
The wine is matured in Spain's first filled Sherry's head barrel and bottled with a barrel strength of 55.8% ABV, non-condensing filtered, natural color. The wine is particularly intense, with notes of raisins, ripe figs, black cherry, cinnamon and sugared ginger, while on the palate are dried fruit, orange peel, tropical spices such as cinnamon and cloves and dark chocolate.
10. Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso (Batch OLO614)
AbV: 60.7% ABV, Origin: Spencer, Scotland, International Average Price: $83
Nádurra, which means "natural" in Gaelic, is one of the best ways we can come to a pure tasting experience. The wine is only matured in the first Oloroso sherry barrel and bottled in barrels of strong alcohol, non-condensing filtered, natural color. Aromas include a range of dried fruits, apricots and raisins, as well as hints of licorice cinnamon. On the palate it is extremely smooth, creamy and creamy, rich in fruity notes, spices and some permits, with a long, spicy and dry finish.
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