Review: Six Sherry Cask Whiskies

I’ve got a handful of ex-Sherry Cask whiskies here to look at today, so I’ll start with them in order of rough color, lightest to darkest, and saving the peated Glendronach for last, as it’s quite a different profile to the rest.

Macallan Classic Cut 2018 / 51.2% / $165

I bought this on auction because I was feeling nostalgic about the old Macallan NAS CS releases, of which I bought by the caseload 7 or 8 years ago when they could be had cheap, hoping it would recreate the magic.

The bottle claims that it’s natural colour, and:

Matured exclusively in hand-picked sherry seasoned oak casks from Jerez, Spain & bottled to reveal the extraordinary character of a timeless spirit

That’s right, these are not Sherry casks used for aging Sherry for any real production purpose, but casks they’ve knocked together and “seasoned” with Oloroso Sherry for some indeterminate amount of time — probably months not years. The current industry of Sherry casks is almost all seasoned casks, but the parameters used are more or less a trade secret black box; in this Macallan, parameters which would improve the seasoning have been tuned down in favour of quicker production.

There is also a horrible plastic cap + holographic tamper seal + Polish tax seal on it.

• Color: chestnut (1.25)
• Nose: fruitcake, cinnamon, dry sherry, molasses, and beef jerky
• Taste: figs, sherry’s a bit thin, alcohol is a bit hot, oatmeal, orange peel, some butyric acid
• Finish: medium, spice and tannins, grapes

A thinner, less integrated version of the old Macallan CS, it’s definitely a lot lighter in colour, and hasn’t been given enough time in the wood to really develop significant complexity.

Rating: 83/100

Glendronach 12 / 43% / $60?

This is the post-revival Glendronach 12, dated 2017/07/17, matured in a combination of Pedro-Ximinez (PX) and Oloroso Sherry casks. As Glendronach shut down in 1996 and re-opened in 2002, the ideal sweet spots for buying Glendronach that’s older than the label are:

12 Year - 2013 - actually 18 years or older
15 Year - 2016 - actually 21 years or older
18 year - 2019 - actually 24 years or older
21 year - 2022 - actually 27 years or older

There is a diagram on Worlds of Whisky that illustrates the best batch dates for each expression.

• Color: russet (1.3)
• Nose: mikan oranges, ginger, licorice, marshmallow and campfire
• Taste: bright, integrated sherry; mulled spiced wine, cream, lemon sorbet
• Finish: medium, shaved orange peel and tobacco

Quite a lovely dram — in its budget category, I think it sets the standard for a 12 year sherry.

Rating: 86/100

Longmorn 2007 12 Year “The Distillery Reserve Collection” / 59.4% / $123

I haven’t tried any of The Distillery Reserve Collection yet, a relatively new Chivas Brothers’ owned distilleries OB offering. This bottle is a 12 year Longmorn distilled 11 May 2007 and bottled 13 June 2019 from first-fill sherry butt 46519, bottle 153 of 900 — they’ve tried to stretch out the line with a smaller 50cl size, but it is at least natural colour / cask strength.

• Color: old oak (1.8)
• Nose: stewed prunes, white pepper, portabello mushroom, hint of citrus
• Taste: extremely rich sherry, oily and a tint of mealiness; mint
• Finish: long; campfire smoke, dry fruit, chocolate

This definitely needs water to open up, but it’s excellent. It’s only 12 years, but in a proper first-fill sherry cask, it’s a bomb. This butt would make an excellent 20+ YR second-fill contribution, hopefully Chivas doesn’t try to milk it again for a quick turnaround ;)

Rating: 95/100

Benrinnes 21 / 56.9% / $190

This Benrinnes is bottle #0956 distilled 1992 and bottled 2014, from sherry casks of unknown provenance. I was a huge fan of the previous special release 23 year old version; how does this stack up?

• Color: tawny (1.4)
• Nose: ethanol, green apples, PX sherry, lemon-cake
• Taste: peanuts, yeast and malt, porter beer, cereal grains; tawny port
• Finish: long; glazed strawberries and ash

While this is not the absolute banger that the 23 year old was, the 21 year old is still a fantastic dram — more on the nutty, malty profile, with more subtle sherry. If you can find a bottle < $200, and you’re a Benrinnes fan, you’d love it.

Rating: 91/100

William Cadenhead Blended Scotch Whisky 12 / 46.0% / $60?

This whisky is Batch 8 of a 12 year blend; it contains whiskey from Glenfarclas, Miltonduff, and Invergordon (plus presumably more).

• Color: brown sherry (1.9)
• Nose: plums, sherry, peaches, pipe smoke
• Taste: butter, cream, sherry, cashew, roasted yams
• Finish: long and warming

I am very regularly disappointed in blends, but I am also a sucker for interesting labels, and the 70s style bottle label intrigued me. That and the good experience I’ve had with Cadenhead’s single cask/small batch products in the past.

This is an excellent sherried blend.

Rating: 90/100

Glendronach Peated Port Wood / 46.0% / $80?

This Glendronach is smoked with highland peat and then finished in Douro Valley port pipes.

• Color: russet (1.3)
• Nose: dirty highland peat, sea urchin gone off, bacterial cultures, vinegar
• Taste: a bit of sweetness and fruit, blueberry pie, hot alcohol
• Finish: peat peat peat dirty boggy highland peat

I don’t like this at all; the port finish is barely noticeable, the spirit is super young, and the peat they used is revolting. Closest comparable dram would be the West Cork Port Finish.

Rating: 45/100