Sherry or Bourbon Matured ?????

[shane]

With all the hype and marketing on todays Malt whisky bottles, many distilleries are claiming Bourbon wood matured is the way to go. We all know Bourbon barrels cost about a tenth of the price so putting all bias aside what is your prefered wood in whisky maturation. I personally love Spanish sherry oak and would like to know if its just me. When voting look back at your all time favorite whiskies and take that into account as well.

[vitara7]

spanish sherry here

[Spirit of Islay]

Must admit i prefer Bourbon casked whisky , i get a lot more out of them smell/taste wise , sherry tends to mask an awful lot . Mind you once you get to 1st/2nd refill sherries they start getting better .
Of course there's always the exceptions to the rule , the 239X Ardbegs , the Sig 1967 Begs , Glenfarclases , My PC bloodtub ......

[Di Blasi]

I voted Spanish Sherry, but again, for me, it's always dependant on mood. I fell in love with whisky with Ardbeg, all or mostly Bourbon cask right (?), therefore I should say Bourbon is my favorite. But I have had unbelievable whiskies from both types of casks, again, dependant on the mood of the moment.

[shane]

Its good to see everyones opinions on this subject. I also have had some wonderful bourbon whiskies, but whatever I try the good sherry ones scar in my memory for some reason eg- Bunnahabhain 1965, Macallan ESC 1, Macallan 1874 Replica, Black Bowmore 1st ed, Laphroaig 30 YO, Very old Ardbeg 30 YO, Macallan cask 17112 and 17113 from 1975, Springbank 30 and 35 Millenium and countless others. I must say though I am a real sucker for dried fruit smell in whisky. May all you whisky lovers have a great Xmas and a safe new year. Oh and dont forget to open that special bottle for the festive season.

[Drrich1965]

I voted Bourbon, which I would say that is an overly simplistic answer. It depends upon the degree of sherryness, and the power of the malt. When sherry over powers other elements, it is not my thing. When it compliments and adds complexity awww.. A good example, Talisker DE..I am not a fan of the well-loved sherry monster; if I cannot get a good base of malt or peat underneath, it loses me.

[Deactivated Member]

I feel much the same about sherry as about peat these days. I love an a'bunadh now and then, just as I enjoy an AVY. But if I want to taste whisky, it's a bourbon cask for sure. Lately that seems pretty much all I drink (and I've stayed away from peat for the most part, as well). Put it this way: if I had to give up one or the other altogether, there would be no question.

As I've said elsewhere, I'd love to see the development of an all-malt cask--wood that has never touched anything but malt whisky. Fill it fresh for three years or so, and use the product for blending, or for a lower-priced bourbony bottling; then refill for optimum single malt production. That would be the purest form of Scotch whisky, I think!

[Di Blasi]

Gosh Mr T, you're back!! Nice! I missed your 5000th, what was it after all of our childish speculation and expectation??

[Deactivated Member]

The one above...I just waited until I had something to say. Not like usual!

[Wave]

This is a tough one. I love a bourbon casked whisky and that is usually my first choice when selecting a whisky. In many cases I'm not real fond of a first fill Sherry as it tends to overpower most lighter whiskies, a stouter whisky like Springbank or an Imperial seems to hold up much better to the weight of a first fill. As for a 2nd or 3rd refill Sherry, they are up and coming to being my fav along with the Bourbon casked. I like more of a Sherry essence as opposed to a Sherry attack.


Cheers!

[Di Blasi]

I feel much the same about sherry as about peat these days. I love an a'bunadh now and then, just as I enjoy an AVY. But if I want to taste whisky, it's a bourbon cask for sure. Lately that seems pretty much all I drink (and I've stayed away from peat for the most part, as well). Put it this way: if I had to give up one or the other altogether, there would be no question.

As I've said elsewhere, I'd love to see the development of an all-malt cask--wood that has never touched anything but malt whisky. Fill it fresh for three years or so, and use the product for blending, or for a lower-priced bourbony bottling; then refill for optimum single malt production. That would be the purest form of Scotch whisky, I think!

Yes, that would be cool, definitely interesting to give a try. Maybe one of the distilleries will be spying on us and actually give this a try! It's sure to be a collector's item!!

[peergynt323]

I like second-fill Sherry for a single cask. Too much sherry burn can overpower a whisky.

I'm also learning that too much bourbon/oak can overpower the whisky with nuttiness and somtimes ruin it with bubblegummy flavors.

My all-time favorite whiskies are all bourbon/sherry vattings, so what do I vote for.

[Quaichuser]

I guess when I look at the whiskeys I am most partial to, the sherry cask ones are probably in the majority. Having said that my last dram was an Oban.

[Admiral]

When I think of the whiskies that have truly taken me to another world with their sublime quality, they have all been single cask bottlings from an ex-sherry butt, or occasionally, an ex-sherry hogshead.

For example:

SMWS 36yo Longmorn
Gillies Club bottling of 1966 Glen Grant
Macallan 17112 & 17113 from 1975 (as referred to by Shane above)
1980 Glenfarclas
Gillies Club 30yo Glenfarclas

[corbuso]

When I think of the whiskies that have truly taken me to another world with their sublime quality, they have all been single cask bottlings from an ex-sherry butt, or occasionally, an ex-sherry hogshead.

Same for me. I love the old Ardbegs in bourbon casks, but the best surprises have been some old peated whiskies sherry matured, such as Caol Ila, Talisker, Benriach, Brora or Bowmore. I also had great unpeated sherry whiskies such as Glen Grant or Glenfarclas.
But sherry can also dominate the whisky too much...

In any case, it is very difficult to get the hands on sherry casks and it is in their interest to promote the bourbon.


Corbuso

[lbacha]

Boy this is a tough one especially with no easy way out like 'depends on the mood, or whisky'. I like to try Islays in both bourbon and sherry I think sencond and third fill sherry casks really make an islay impressive but it is also nice to try them in the raw with out the sherriy to influence the smoke, iodine, salt and other islay characteristics. It is the same for whiskies like Aberlour. When I was at the distillery the tasting you do at the end of the tour (One of the best IMHO) was great because you got to try bourbon matured, sherry matured and then a mix of both as well as the new make spirit. I think this is a great way to see how the wood effects the whisky.

I'm going with sherry though because at this time of the year it is nice to sit back and enjoy a cask strength sherry monster in front of the fireplace.

Len

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Nothing better than a sherry cask fo me but I agree with some that too much sherry can be a turn off at times. I have not had many Islay Sherry bottles yet but I am really looking forward to getting a 30 Laph if I can ever justify the spend.

[Lawrence]

I have not had many Islay Sherry bottles yet but I am really looking forward to getting a 30 Laph if I can ever justify the spend.

It's very good, I recommend it at least once in a life time.

[Muskrat Portage]

I enjoy sherry finish very much and will tend to go with one for a quick dram. However, that being said, if I want to sample the nuances and underlying flavours of the particular distillery, I prefer an oak cask aged SM, so I'll vote ex-boubon.

I am still educating my palate to sense more of the various flavours that inhabit single malts, so do tend to gravitate to ex-bourbon for that purpose. For myself, however enjoyable, sherry tends to overlay the original whisky rather heavily.
Muskrat

[TheLaddie]

Overall if I wanted to try and taste what a distillery were all about I'd go for a bourbon cask.

However a good number of the whiskies that I have truly fallen in love with of late have been heavily sherried, particularly those where the sherry is balanced by a good hit of peat. Bruichladdich Infinity 1st edition, Ardbeg Uigeadail and Ooooooooogling (it's that good), Lagavullin DE.

Essentially, as in most things, variety is the spice of life. Being a whisky lover would be a very boring existance if everything were the same.

[Muskrat Portage]

TheLaddie:
I have to agree about both Ardbeg Ooooooooogling and Lagavullin DE (1979). I've finally acquired Oogie and it was a spectacular New Years' dram.
I do enjoy the variety of the various distillery offerings and sometimes am thankful I live so far away from them. I'd have even less money and far too much SM if I lived any closer.
Muskrat

[parvus]

I'm going to sit on the fence here, I had some smashing drams from both casks last year so it's difficult for me to call it. I'd say for every day dramming, i'm more inclined to reach for an ex-bourbon than an ex-sherry.

[Frodo]

I have not had many Islay Sherry bottles yet but I am really looking forward to getting a 30 Laph if I can ever justify the spend.

It's very good, I recommend it at least once in a life time.

The thing I'm starting to get is that Laphroaig bottlings are well priced relative to the other two southern Islay distillery output. And the QC has woken me up to the fact that there are many expressions I haven't tried from this distillery. I'd seriously consider getting a bottle of this if I could get one under $300.

[Old Bollard]

A difficult one; I eventually voted for sherry matured whisky, but it is of course an over-simplification..
Yes, some whiskies get overpowered by the sherry, and although I'm none too fond of that, I find I'm more apt to forgive sherry than I am the vanilla
that sometimes come on strong from bourbon casks.

Oh well, that's just me

Old Bollard

[Lawrence]

I though about this and have refrained from voting. I like both types and sometimes I appreciate a ex bourbon cask matured whisky and sometimes, usually after dinner a ex sherry casked matured whisky.