SHERRY, QUEEN OF SCOTCH

In my last post, you may remember the mention of the Classic Malts of Scotland set. Turns out it is available in an alternative version comes as the 'Distiller's Edition'. Each of the same six single malts have been finished in casks of six different types of sherry. Sounds gimmicky at first, or just a reason to jack up the price. Only later did it dawn on me that for a major flavor component of many of my favorite scotches, I knew next to nothing about sherry itself.

A month or two ago, I had the same realization about peat, and found it illuminating to do some preliminary investigating about why the Islay and Island malts taste like they do. It made sense to do the same for the other side of the spectrum - the fruity, rich, complex Speyside malts, for which sherry is often a significant (if not dominant) factor.


TOSSED SALAD AND SCRAMBLED EGGS

Other than occasional recipes calling for a tablespoon, or splashing some into my chowder, I never seriously considered drinking sherry by itself. We had an ancient bottle of the dirt-cheap salted variety strictly for cooking, and the thought of taking a straight sip of it was abhorrent to me. I have enjoyed port by itself on occasion, but somehow missed the connection that there was such a thing as good sherry, at least one that didn't come from the baking aisle.

A few weeks ago I walked into the living room to find the television blaring to nobody in particular, in this case a rerun of Frasier. I'd watched the show enough to be familiar with the character's names and the show's basic premise, but that's about it. While searching for the remote, I realized the Crane brothers were giddily talking about drinking sherry. These characters were supposed to be sophisticated, snooty even; did I miss something?

A week or so later I found myself in the wine section of Kroger. It had recently been revamped, forcing me to pay more attention where to find stuff. Sure enough, I happened upon an entire sherry section, finding a bottle bearing a familiar term to any seasoned scotch drinker, 'oloroso'. I threw it in the cart next to the tossed salad and scrambled eggs, Frasier Crane can be very persuasive.


SPANISH (SHERRY) BOMBS IN ANDALUSIA

Reference too obscure? Hint: there are also "Spanish bombs in a disco casino". Go ask your uncle (the hipster one with the vinyl collection, not the creepy one always wearing that same orange shirt).

I suppose a little background info about sherry would be appropriate before we pull the cork. What we're really talking about is a fortified wine produced in the Jerez region of Andalusia in southern Spain. The name 'Sherry' itself is an anglicized verion of 'Jerez' (aka 'Xeres'). Of importance to its popularity with scotch drinkers, Sir Francis Drake absconded with 2,900 barrels of sherry back to the British Isles after sacking Cadiz in 1587, a notorious incident known as the "singeing of the beard" (in reference to Spain's bearded King Philip II). Sherry has been popular in Britain ever since; use of the casks for scotch was likely a natural progression from there.

Dry sherry (90% of sherry production) is typically made with white Palomino grapes. Sweeter dessert sherries are made from Pedro Ximenez or Moscatel grapes, which are allowed to dry in the sun for some time to concentrate sugars. All three types grow in soil heavy with chalk, clay, and sand. This terroir does not lend itself to producing flavorful varietals, but as a neutral flavor does prove ideal for imparting flavors with the sherry making process.

YEAST INFLECTION

After fermentation is complete, the batches are divided up by quality (in contrast, port wine [from Portugal] is fortified during fermentation, which stops the process and leaves leftover sugars for a sweeter flavor). The best batches will be fortified with 'grape spirit' up to 15% ABV and aged under a 'yeast cap', known as a flor, protecting its flavor from oxidation. This becomes 'fino' sherry, the top shelf stuff. If allowed to be partially exposed to oxygen, imparting darker, nuttier flavors, these sherries are either 'Manzanilla' or 'Amontillado' (you may recognize this last variety from Richmond's favorite hometown poet, Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"). You heard me, Baltimore - he's a Virginia boy.

The strongest and most common variety of sherry is the most familiar to scotch drinkers, 'oloroso' (Spanish for 'scented'). The raw wine is fortified up to 20% to discourage formation of a flor, then a 500 L cask is filled 5/6ths full, leaving 'enough room for two fists' for oxygen to work its magic. Cream sherries are made in the oloroso style, possibly helping lend that creamy texture to some of the smoother whiskys. Over the next three years (at least), this will develop into the heaviest, richest, darkest, nuttiest type of sherry, ideal for adding that refinement to your Speyside malt many years from now.

There is a tedious number of other types of sherry, but I'm only trying to expound on the ones that have some direct impact on our taste in scotch. I'll at least mention that the batches of wine that don't ferment so well get distilled into the afore mentioned 'grape spirit', used in fortifying sherry, port, marsala, and vermouth.


SHERRY GOT A BIG OL' BUTT (OH YEAH)

The 500 L casks used for aging sherry are known as 'butts'. In comparison, most standard bourbon casks check in at a mere 200 L. The extra volume means that less direct contact with the aging whisky, and additional purchase price and storage costs for using sherry casks for the scotch manufacturer. A single sherry butt can go for about £4000 (approx. $6,000 USD), eight times what a secondhand bourbon cask runs, which is likely the main reason a 750 mL bottle of Macallan 18 is now running over $220.

These casks are often made of American oak, which is reportedly more porous than European oak. This porosity allows the cask to 'breathe' somewhat, losing a certain percentage to evaporation (the Angel's Share), but also absorbing sherry flavor into the wood more readily. During significant temperature fluctuations, the wood will expand and contract, pushing spirits in and out of the oak.
After repeated fills of a cask, the oak gets saturated, and any imparting of flavor shows diminishing returns, hence the sought-after (and more expensive) designation of 'first fill' single malts.

POPPING THE SHERRY

So, I finally did pour myself a glass of oloroso sherry, just to see what the fuss what all about, and the color, aromas, and flavors were immediately familiar. I tasted it at room temp, but am now second guessing that decision since it's technically a white wine after all. Even so, it was a pleasingly rich flavor. The fruit notes and nutty flavors were obvious, and the finish sweet and musty like a cider. The aroma was the kicker though, it smells almost exactly like watered down scotch.

I'm not exactly ready to fill my wine rack with sherry, but at least I have a better understanding of what I'm tasting in my scotch. Perhaps now I could investigate those 'Classic Malts - Distillers Edition' whiskys and see how that changes things up a bit:

- Dalwhinnie 15 (Oloroso sherry)
- Glenkinchie 12 (Amontillado sherry)
- Cragganmore 12 (port)
- Oban 14 (Fino sherry)
- Talisker 10 (Amorosa sherry)
- Lagavulin 16 (Pedro Ximenez sherry)

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