In Praise of the Cask
Whisky makers have long used wine casks and other spirits barrels to mature their own products. Drinks merchants in the old days in Scotland and Ireland had plenty of empty port, sherry, and other casks lying around the warehouse, and filled them with whisky rather than buy new barrels. Lo and behold, it was discovered that such barrels imparted new dimensions to a whisky’s flavor. Sometimes they were used for the entire maturation period, and in other cases for shorter “finishing” periods. In the modern whisky world, the art of finishing whisky has become a global phenomenon. Sherry, port, red wine, white wine, rum, cognac and other spirits casks today are joined by exotic woods such as mizunara, amburana, chestnut, and cherry. These myriad options have unlocked an entire universe of…