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Why Oak?
One of the most frequently asked questions is “Why do whiskey makers use Oak Whiskey barrels?â€
The reason that Oak is utilized is its unique physical and chemical nature. Oak has strength – physically, its wide radial rays give strength when shaped for a cask.
Oak is also a “pure wood†as opposed to pine or rubber trees which contain resin canals that can pass strong flavors to maturing whisky...
Scottish malt especially is part tradition part marketing BS in almost equal measureI'm sure the still shape is part of the distillate equation but avoiding poor barley, short fermentation and crap casks is much more important. Malt-review.com highly recommended for regular review reading
Very informative! Like that article.
I visited the Glendronach distillery a few years back, they had a cask of 21 year old that had been selected by the distillery manager that you could bottle yourself (at cask strength) for £120 a bottle. They also had for sale what seemed by the description to be the same thing but in a fancier bottle and a wooden case that was £1500. I asked one of the ladies in the shop what the extra nearly £1400 was paying for and she looked around before whispering "Largely packaging, marketing and bullshit."
So, how much did you pay for the swan dive into the cask?
Is this the original version? Saw for only £17 in the supermarket today.I am afraid.....for me....it's Bushmills all the way.
No picture supplied...but if the label is white gold and orange it is!Is this the original version? Saw for only £17 in the supermarket today.
Coincidentally; tried a Bushmills 10 year old single malt at my father in laws this evening. Yum yum. Not tried the originally (yet) - very impressed with the 10 year old. Plus the first whisky I have tried where the bottle had a corkNo picture supplied...but if the label is white gold and orange it is!
I seldom drink the original....its difficult to find any now that I live in Wales...but if you can find them.....the Black Bushmills is nice as well as the 10 year malt. hey also do other more exclusive Malts some only available from the Distillery. I am getting married during the summer in NI and Chrissie and I are going to visit the distillery and get a special one with a custom label!Coincidentally; tried a Bushmills 10 year old single malt at my father in laws this evening. Yum yum. Not tried the originally (yet) - very impressed with the 10 year old. Plus the first whisky I have tried where the bottle had a cork
What a grand thing to do after your wedding!I seldom drink the original....its difficult to find any now that I live in Wales...but if you can find them.....the Black Bushmills is nice as well as the 10 year malt. hey also do other more exclusive Malts some only available from the Distillery. I am getting married during the summer in NI and Chrissie and I are going to visit the distillery and get a special one with a custom label!
Took your advice Rob; bought a bottle of Aberlour 10 from Sainsbury's for £24 yesterday. My first single malt scotch. Much nicer than anything else I've tried. Lovely smell - may be it's the sherry cask.I've only got into ‘proper'whisky over the last few years. I've never liked ‘normal' blended whisky like Bells and Teachers.
I started off with a couple of different bourbon's but after a couple of mates encouraged me to try Single Malt's I've never looked back.
I started off with Aberlour 10 year old. I bought a full bottle, a risk but it was on offer* at the supermarket, so rude not to really. The first mouthful was a revelation. Oh my sweet Lord! Just bloody lovely.
I've tried a few over the years and started enjoying the more peaty whiskies more and more. I bought a miniature bottle of Ardbeg and I'm glad I didn't buy a full bottle. It's way too peaty for me. I might as well been drinking TCP neat. YUK!
I had a bottle of Laphroaig bought for me at Christmas, which has a reputation of being very peaty but I found it easy to drink.
As already mentioned Peaty Whiskies are definitely an acquired taste and something you build up to. If you'd like to try a Whisky with a hint of peat, then I'd recommend Highland Park 10 year.
*Aberlour 10 year old is regularly discounted in Supermarkets. You can pick it for £25.00 most of the time. I'd highly recommend it. It's not Peaty at all BTW.
Took your advice Rob; bought a bottle of Aberlour 10 from Sainsbury's for £24 yesterday. My first single malt scotch. Much nicer than anything else I've tried. Lovely smell - may be it's the sherry cask.
Richard
Thank you sir. Trying to absorb all this knowledge. Next trick learning the tastes.Speyside malts like Aberlour are usually matured in ex-sherry butts from the Spanish sherry industry, so not only does the original content of the cask influence the malt, but so, to a lesser extent, does the type of oak - it's European oak (Quercus robur) rather than the American white oak (Quercus alba) used by most malt whisky producers which originally came from Bourbon distilleries in the US. Not only that, but, where the Bourbon distillers heavily char the interior of the casks prior to using them to mature their grain spirit, the Spanish sherry producers only slowly toast the interior of their larger sherry butts, plus, the surface area:volume ratio with a large barrel is less than with a small cask, so the influence of the wood takes longer to have an effect for a whisky matured in an ex-sheery butt than it does in a smaller ex-Bourbon cask.
See 11 minutes in to the following video:Did a whisky tour at Glen Grant a few years ago and they were replacing one of the stills. A team of guys were preparing the new, gleaming copper still in the yard by tapping it with hammers while looking at photographs. It was explained that they were putting dents in the new still to match those on the old still. If this were not done the flavour of the whisky would be different. Although I had no proof of this, their sincerity was evident.
See 11 minutes in to the following video:
Took your advice Rob; bought a bottle of Aberlour 10 from Sainsbury's for £24 yesterday. My first single malt scotch. Much nicer than anything else I've tried. Lovely smell - may be it's the sherry cask.
Richard
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