[#AllAboutWhiskyph] Cask Finishing.

Oak Casks play a very important role in making whisky. On the way to becoming a whisky, the distilled malt/grain (called a "new make" spirit) is required by law to be matured in oak barrels. For #scotch, it is common for these barrels to have previously stored either #bourbon or sherry.

Generally, a distillery's standard offering will be matured in only one type of barrel. But there are also a growing number of great cask finished whiskies in the market.

As #whisky spends time in a barrel, the liquid draws from the character of the wood, bringing out various scents, flavors and colors. The porous nature of an oak cask helps the whisky to "breathe", allowing the outside air to come in and evaporating alcohol and water to come out. As the maturing liquid breathes, the liquid's character also leaves its traces in the wood.

This is where the idea for cask finishing comes in. Sometime in the 1980s the good people at the #Glenmorangie and Balvenie distilleries figured it would be a good idea to innovate on their offerings by adding a second maturation for their whisky.

This second maturation is called cask finishing. This means that a whisky originally aged in say ex-Bourbon Barrels for several years will then be transferred to a finishing cask for a shorter period of time (maybe weeks, months, or even years). The finishing imparts new flavors to the whisky, heavily influenced by what was previously stored in the finishing cask.

While the cask finishing trend appears to have started with sherry casks, all sorts of casks have since been used for this purpose like Rum Casks (#Balvenie Carribean Cask), Cognac Casks (#Glenlivet Captain's Reserve), and Beer Casks (#Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition).

True to its heritage as a cask finishing pioneer, Glenmorangie continues to release exceptional cask finished whisky.

The #QuintaRuban spends its first 12 years in ex-bourbon casks and is finished for 2 years in ruby port wine casks. #aTaleOfCake is exceptional for being finished in Tokaji dessert wine casks after initial maturation in ex-bourbon casks. Sláinte!🥃

Image Courtesy of @WhiskyPH

@WhiskyPH

At its core, whisky appreciation is an exercise in memory. Notes of a whisky enthusiast in the Philippines. 🥃🇵🇭