Vatting vs Finishing

[Frodo]

Question. With what I'm hearing about the cost of (especially) new sherry casks, I'm wondering why batches of whisky are not made with the odd port or rum cask "thrown in". I'm thinking instead of finishing runs with first-fill port (or whatever) casks, one could age 90-95% of the batch in bourbon and the rest in port casks, and then marry the two for a while. It would cut down on using new barrels for finishing and cut down on costs re: wood policy. There must be an answer why this is not done. Any ideas?

Frodo

[hpulley]

This is done all the time. Not everyone advertises it but some distilleries and bottlers will even tell you that a run was a vatting of 40% sherry and 60% bourbon. It doesn't sound as sexy as a 'pedro ximinez' finish and finishing is hot these days so you don't see it advertised much.

Harry

[Tom]

Balvenie and Glenfarclas are doing it and it works excellent for both.

[Lawrence]

Aberlour 10 is a mixture of bourbon and sherry casks with the majority being bourbon. I think it's 60% to 40% but I'd have to check to be sure.

[Frodo]

Entry deleted. CI basicly answered my query. I'm still wondering why more "odd" casks such as ex-port or rum are not used in general vattings to affect flavour profiles.

And I'm still waiting for that Tequila finish to come out. Are you listening, Glenmorangie?

Frodo

[Lawrence]

Sorry, I got off track there, that's a good question. Perhaps rum and port don't provide the flavour profile that the distiller is looking for?

[hpulley]

I can't remember any port matured (not finished) whiskies. Rum is relatively rare, mostly because of tradition but there are some old rum casks out there (Ian Mcleod has a good number as do others), mostly independents though. Glenfiddich is about the only distillery I know which is sourcing rum casks.

Harry

[Lawrence]

I know this is not Frodo's question but I think Springbank is doing an entire maturation in Port and Rum casks, I think there's a small article on their website.

[Frodo]

Yea, I just checked it out. A small blurb, but an indication that they're trying it out. Interesting. I wonder what they'll charge for the "expressions".

Frodo

[Tom]

I might be totally wrong here, but doesnt Bowmore has a Port matured whisky? On the label of the Voyage says Port Casked.
im not sure if its matured only in port or finished. i tasted it and i doubt it is matured all the way in port casks. Anyone knows?

[Admiral]

Didn't Springbank mature some malt in ex-rum or ex-port pipes (can't remember which) and the whisky came out green? Not all finishes work. I was discussing this with Bill Lumsden from Glenmorangie a bit over a year ago, and he confessed that many of the finishes they try are deemed unsatisfactory and unsuitable for bottling.

I'm sure all manner of casks are in circulation around the place, Frodo, and no doubt all sorts of different wines or spirits have been previous occupants. With the exception of unique finishes, or single cask bottlings, this underscores the important need for marrying, etc, prior to bottling, in order to iron out all that variability.

Cheers,
Admiral

[Lawrence]

I tasted the green Glenfarclas at the Vaults and it was nice but nothing to become excited about. It seems to me that rum really doesn't have a big impact on single malts. I turned down the opportunity to buy a bottle because the only outstanding selling point was that the whisky was green.

Tom, I believe all the Bowmore port influenced whiskies are finishes and not full maturations in port casks.

[Admiral]

I imagine that a whisky matured entirely for 12 years in a port cask would actually taste quite unlike malt as we know it.

(Put it this way.....if it tasted great, everyone would be doing it. The virtues of ex-sherry casks are known, surely someone in the last 100 years has tried full-time port maturation and discovered that it's a dud!)

Cheers,
Admiral