The Whisky Club's Guide to Sherry and Sherry Casks
We love a Sherry cask here at The Whisky Club. Rich Christmas cake notes, dark chocolate aromas and baking spices like ginger and nutmeg are all aromas and flavours synonymous with a great Sherry cask matured whisky. But there is much more to this Spanish fortified wine than meets the eye. This is The Whisky Club's comprehensive guide to Sherry and Sherry casks.
To see how Sherry stacks up against other fortified wine casks, check out The Whisky Club's guide to Sherry, Port and Madeira.
What is Sherry?
Where is it from?
Sherry is a fortified wine from a very specific region of Spain, namey the Sherry triangle. This is an area of vineyards that stretches between the city of jerez de la Frontera; Sanlucar de Barrameda and La Puerta del Santa Maria. All of the grapes must be grown in this region or in very specific villages on the outskirts. All of the wine must be matured in this region, and in the case of Manzanilla Sherry, all of the wine must mature in the coastal town of Sanlucar de Barrameda.
What grapes are used to make Sherry?
Sherry can only be made from three grape types, all of which are white.
- Palomino - these are the most abundant varietal used. They deliver a crisp, sweet juice. The resulting wine is bone dry.
- Pedro Ximinez - perhaps the most famous of the three varietals. These are harvested and then left on wicker mats in the sun of the vineyard. This dries the grape like a raisin, concentrating the sugars. The sugar level in these grapes is so high, they will only ferment so far. The result is an intensely sweet dessert wine with over 450g/L of sugar.
- Moscatel - these grapes can either be harvested and laid in the sun like Pedro Ximines, producing a thick, dark rich sherry or harvested at peak ripeness without sun drying delivering a golden, floral style of Sherry wine.
What do we mean when we say Sherry is fortified?
Sherry wine must be fortified with brandy spirit. This means high ABV spirit (~40%) is added after fermentation but before ageing to achieve a specific ABV. The ABV will determine the style of wine being produced.
Is Sherry aged in oak?
Yes. After an initial period of 6 months to 2 years in young American oak casks, the wine will move into a Solera system. This is a system of casks set in rows. The top casks contain the youngest wines, the bottom contain the oldest. Sherry is always bottled from the bottom casks. These are then topped up with wine from the row above, achieveing a consistency in profile from one vintage to the next. Casks are never fully emptied, so you could argue that there is always a trace of the oldest wine in every bottle.
What are the styles of ageing?
There are two types of ageing in Sherry manufacture.
- Biological ageing - this involves fortifying a palomino based wine to 15% ABV. This ABV is low enough for a yeast or 'flor' to develop on top. This seals the wine from oxygen, ensuring the wine doesn't sour. It also ensures the wine doesn't take on colour from the cask or oxidize.
- Oxidative ageing - this involves fortifying a wine to 17%+ ABV. This ABV is high enough for the flor to die. The wine then interacts with the air and the cask to oxidize, developing nutty flavours and aromas and darkening in colour.
Is Sherry blended?
In addition to the perpetual blending within a solera system, Sherry styles can also be blended to achieve new flavour profiles. Cream Sherries are a blend of Oloroso and sweeter Moscatel and PX wines.
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1. Oloroso
What is it?
The most popular of the ‘whisky’ Sherries, Oloroso is a bone-dry wine made from palomino grapes. Ranging from 17%-22% ABV it is produced using oxidative ageing where it develops a beautiful dark colour. Nuttiness, rich dried fruits and Christmas cake notes are all present in the wine.
What does it do to the whisky?
Counter-intuitively, it is not Oloroso Sherry you can taste in a Sherry-casked whisky, but the same notes the wine picks up from the oak. Oloroso is used because it acts like a sponge, removing harsh tannins and bitterness from the oak. Many Oloroso Sherry casks are made using European oak from the North of Spain. This more tannic species of oak delivers rich dried fruits, nutty aromas and dark chocolate and remind us of the Sherry that was in the casks before.
2. Fino
What is it?
Fino is a pale Sherry that is bone dry and biologically aged. Fortified to just 15% ABV, the wine is made using a ‘gentler’ production method rather than pressing the grapes, they’re softly squashed under their own weight. They don’t cram the barrel full either. Two fists worth of space is left to develop a layer of Flor, which gives Fino its amazing fresh taste.
What does it do to the whisky?
Fino casks are a rare commodity in the Scotch industry. The low ABV makes them more susceptible to spoilage during freight, so many distillers will avoid them. When they are used, they bring a weight and chalkiness to a whisky. Interestingly, as Fino wines are not exposed to oak, they can bring a darker colour to some whiskies, as more of the tannin is left in the wood.
3. Pedro Ximénez
What is it?
Pedro Ximinez is wine made from the grape of the same name. These grapes are harvested and then lain in the sun in the vinyard to dry out. They are raisin-like when being processed. This process ramps up the sugar content which is so high, the wine will never ferment out dry. This means PX is always a sweet wine.
What does it do to the whisky?
Whisky aged in PX casks is sweet and rich. Dried fruits, raisins and a smooth syrupy finish. If Oloroso casks pick up all of their flavour from the wood, PX is so sweet and thick it must leave something behind for the whisky to pick up.
4. Moscatel
What is it?
Moscatel is a sherry grape with prominent fruity notes including jasmine, orange blossom and honeysuckle as well as citric notes of lime and grapefruit. Moscatel wines can either be dry or sweet, the wines used to season whisky casks are almost always of the sweet variety. The sweet wines are generaly more floral than PX with notes of honey and candied orange.
What does it do to the whisky?
Moscatel-matured whiskies pick up fruity, floral and sweet notes including chocolate and golden syrup. Depending on the wine age and type, the effect on colour can be burnt orange through to a rich, deep chestnut.
5. Amontillado
What is it?
Amontillado is a dry wine that sits somewhere between Oloroso and Fino in style. This is because it starts its life as a Fino sherry before finishing it's maturation like an Oloroso. This change in style can either be natural - the ABV increases during ageing killing the flor and starting oxidative ageing - or it can be kickstarted with extra fortification.
What does it do to the whisky?
Amontillado has the elegance of Fino Sherry and the nuttiness of Oloroso Sherry, and whisky from these casks display a similar complexity. There is a floral elegance that Oloroso casks don't deliver, and a nuttiness that is missing from Fino casks. Basically the best of both worlds. Amontillado casks are rare as the wine takes time to produce.
6. Manzanilla
What is it?
Manzanilla is Fino Sherry matured in the town of Sanlucar de Barrameda by the Atlantic Ocean. This brings a soft salinity to the wine.
What does it do to the whisky?
A Manzanilla matured whisky can showcase the soft salty marine flavours of the wine. It’s a little acidic too which brings a beautiful fresh dryness to the whisky, plus plenty of fruit.
7. Palo Cortado
What is it?
Palo Cortado is the rarest of Sherries. Like Amontillado, it starts as a Fino but ends as an Oloroso. However a Palo Cortado has a fuller body than an Amontillado. Less than 100,000 bottles will be produced annually, such is the rarity of this style of Sherry.
What does it do to the whisky?
As the wine started as a Fino, there is an oiliness and breadiness in the flavour profile. This can make Palo Cortado casks difficult to work with, however given enough time these casks will shine as the flavours integrate properly. The most successful Palo Cortado matured whiskies we have seen have spent years in the cask, turning richer and more viscous the longer they mature.
8. Cream Sherry
What is it?
Cream Sherry is a catch all term for blended Sherry. It can be a blend of Oloroso and either grape must (wine juice) or mature Pedro Ximinez or Moscatel sweet wines. It is the most common type of Sherry consumed and is likely the type of Sherry you have at your granny's at Christmas.
What does it do to the whisky?
Cream Sherry casks are rare in whisky maturation as most Cream Sherry is blended then bottled without seeing oak, but when it is used to season oak casks, they bring a sweetness to a whisky. Think Christmas cake, dried fruits and rich spices.
What is Sherry and where does it come from?
Sherry is a fortified wine produced only in Spain’s Sherry Triangle: the region between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. All grapes must be grown and all wine must be matured within this region.
Which grape varieties are used to make Sherry?
Only three white grape varieties are permitted:
- Palomino — produces crisp juice and bone‑dry wines
- Pedro Ximénez (PX) — sun‑dried to concentrate sugars, resulting in intensely sweet dessert wine
- Moscatel — produces floral, citrus‑driven wines, either dry or sweet depending on treatment
What does “fortified” mean in Sherry production?
After fermentation, Sherry is fortified with ~40% ABV brandy spirit to reach the intended alcohol level. This fortification determines whether the wine undergoes biological or oxidative ageing.
How is Sherry aged?
Sherry is aged in oak, initially for 6 months to 2 years, then within a Solera system: stacked rows of casks where younger wine continually refreshes older wine, ensuring consistent flavour across vintages. Casks are never fully emptied.
What’s the difference between biological and oxidative ageing?
- Biological ageing: wine fortified to ~15% ABV, allowing a flor yeast layer to form, preventing oxidation.
- Oxidative ageing: wine fortified to 17%+ ABV, where flor dies, allowing oxygen to interact with wine, developing dark colour and nutty flavours.
Where does the colour of whisky in Sherry casks come from?
Sherry casks get their colour from the oak as opposed to the Sherry.
- European or Spanish oak contains five times more tannin than American oak, bringing a much richer dark red colour.
- American oak brings less colour, but heat treated well it will deliver a dark single malt.
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