Islay, Scotland-based Ardbeg Distillery, whose Uigeadail expression includes whisky matured in older sherry-matured casks. PHOTO BY MARTIN HUNTER
There aren’t many whisky flavors as divisive as peat. You either love it or you don’t, but that doesn’t mean all smoky whiskies taste the same. For some Islay distillers and others around the globe, turning to a popular tool in scotch whisky, the sherry cask, adds new dimensions to peated whisky.
Laphroaig, famous for its peat, has utilized sherry casks for a variety of expressions, including its 10 year old Sherry Oak Finish and the 2021 Càirdeas Pedro Ximénez Edition. “It just does something different with the smoke,” says distillery manager Barry MacAffer of the sherry cask influence. “It doesn’t dampen it, it doesn’t silence it, it doesn’t make it disappear, it just moves it in a different direction.”
Sweetening the peated profile with sherry casks can attract drinkers who might otherwise find it difficult to connect with peat. “There are a lot of people out there that aren’t Laphroaig fans but want to be,” says McAffer. “The Sherry Oak and the PX are a good gateway. The Càirdeas PX Edition in particular still has visitors to the distillery asking for it. It was one of the quickest-selling Càirdeas expressions I’ve seen.”
Elsewhere on Islay, Kilchoman Distillery is a perennial user of the sherry cask—in full maturation with its annual Loch Gorm release, and in finishing. “We look at appealing to a wide variety of whisky drinkers from around the world, and there’s no doubt that our sherry cask releases have been massively popular,” says founder and managing director Anthony Wills.
Wills adds that Kilchoman’s sweet, floral spirit works well with sherry casks, but notes that using them can be a tougher proposition than bourbon casks. “But we enjoy that challenge,” Wills adds because when you get it right, the whisky is something that everyone seems to enjoy, and certainly first-time Islay whisky drinkers,” he adds.
Away from Islay, the combination of sherry and peat also has appeal. “It makes it more approachable— like a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down,” says Compass Box founder John Glaser. Westland Distillery in Seattle is another whiskey maker that consistently has turned to sherry for its peated malt whiskies to achieve greater complexity.
That complexity is of interest to veteran drinkers also—those in search of variety in their flavor choices. Diageo uses sherry casks for a portion of its annual Distillers Editions, finishing Talisker in amoroso-seasoned casks and Lagavulin in PX-seasoned casks. And Westland isn’t the only small distiller to embrace sherry casks. In 2022, Boulder Spirits launched The Trailhead, a limited-edition blend of peated and unpeated malt finished in PX sherry butts.
Perhaps, as with the Càirdeas PX Edition, a limited nature adds even more draw, but as palates shift, the sherry and peat combination may become more widespread. “I can honestly say I’ve seen more change in Laphroaig in the last 12 months than I have in the last 12 years,” Macaffer says.
10 Peated Whiskies That Use Sherry Casks
94 points Ardbeg Uigeadail, 54.2%, $80
Peated to 55 phenol parts per million (ppm), a vatting of single malt whiskies including older sherry-matured casks. Bonfire smoke, brine, peppered olive, sweet vanilla, marshmallow, and toffee, with interwoven notes of candied fruit and sugared almonds.
94 points Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2021 Edition), 46%, $100
Though the recipe changes each year, Loch Gorm is always fully matured in oloroso sherry butts. Black peat embers blend into milk chocolate, luscious dark fruits, and espresso macchiato.
94 points Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt, 43%, $85
A blend of peated and unpeated malts that includes a portion of sherry cask-aged whiskies. Star fruit, preserved lemons, Asian pear, lychee, peach syrup, and an underbelly of spices.
92 points Benromach 21 year old, 43%, $200
Sweet and smoky sherry wood, cinnamon, nutmeg, coffee grounds, clove, Brazil nuts, cassis, a smoky and dark fruit finish.
92 points Bowmore 15 year old, 43%, $100
Peated to 20-25 ppm, matured for 12 years in bourbon casks, and finished for 3 years in oloroso sherry casks. Dark chocolate and cocktail cherries with peat smoke and a hint of dry oak balancing sweet fruitiness.
92 points Laphroaig 10 year old Sherry Oak Finish, 48%, $90
Matured in American oak and finished in oloroso sherry casks for a minimum of 18 months. Chocolate cake and warm chocolate syrup, burnt coffee beans, cooked dark fruits, with a touch of peated sweetness at the end.
91 points Boulder Spirits The Trailhead American Single Malt, 52.5%, $95
A blend of 35 ppm peated malted and unpeated malt that’s finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Oak, sweetness, spice, candy shop flavors, circus peanuts, banana taffy, earthy oak, and tobacco.
91 points Westland American Single Malt, 46%, $60
A blend of single malts, 10% of which is peated to 50 ppm and 15% is sherry-aged. Creamy and honeyed, with vanillin, milk chocolate, poached pears, melon, orchard fruits, subtle spice, and a hint of barrel char.
90 points Compass Box No Name No. 2. 48.9%, $150Built around a smoky Islay malt matured refill sherry butts, then blended with one from the Isle of Skye, with some Brora also included. Ashy smoke, red cherry, plum, orange peel, pepper spice, lemon sorbet, beach bonfire smoke.
NR Lagavulin Distillers Edition 2023, 43%, $125
Heavily peated malt that started as the 16 year old Lagavulin expression and then was finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
