Whisky Posts & Articles

The whisky lover’s complete guide to sherry

When you first start to explore the world of single malt Scotch whisky, you learn early on that the vast majority of whisky is matured in two different types of casks:  Casks that previously held bourbon, and casks that previously held sherry. 

With further exploration and perhaps some self-education with your nose and palate, you’ll probably begin to be able to identify when a whisky’s maturation journey has been influenced by sherry casks.   In other words, you’ll either smell or taste the sherry cask influence on the spirit.  And, like many people, you might even find yourself favouring the sherried style of whisky, and you’ll have a preference for the distilleries that make sherry cask maturation a feature of their house style and portfolio.  (Glenfarclas, Glendronach, and Macallan arguably being the three main front-runners in this regard, although the Aberlour’s a’Bunadh release is also a long-time favourite).

Whilst many people understand and appreciate the concept of using second hand sherry casks to mature whisky, few people actually understand or appreciate sherry by and of itself.  What is sherry, as a drink?  What are the different types of sherry?  Do some sherry types work better with Scotch whisky than others?  If you’re one of the many whisky lovers who enjoys a sherried dram, Whisky & Wisdom presents this complete guide to sherry to help you understand more about what you’re actually enjoying and why…..

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Iniquity whisky and Tin Shed Distillers

Looking for information about Iniquity whisky?  Read on…

In the busy, buzzing, and bulging world of the Australian whisky industry, it would be fair to say that the distilleries of South Australia tend to get overlooked.   At the very least, they don’t get the share of the limelight they deserve.

The reasons for this are fairly straightforward: (i) South Australia is not in Tasmania, where most punters perceive all the action to be.  (ii) The distilleries are generally small operations (with one exception), and the higher profile or “big brand” distilleries are in other states. (iii) The distillers behind the distilleries are modest folks who focus on making good whisky, rather than focusing on their social media and playing the popularity game.  (On that note, and as an aside:  I would not be the first commentator to observe that, in some cases, a whisky brand’s social media profile and volume are inversely proportional to the quality and quantity of its whisky).

The irony of this situation is the reality that, by and large, the distilleries of South Australia consistently make good whisky and are genuinely amongst the most lauded in the land.   All distilleries will generally have hits and misses over their journeys; the trick is obviously to have the ledger filled with more of the former than the latter.  One distillery that has excelled at achieving a consistent DNA; a reliable house style; and churning out a string of hits is Tin Shed Distilling Co through its Iniquity whisky label.

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Morris Whisky – Rutherglen shows its Signature

The Australian whisky industry continues to keep its fans both delighted and curious as the list of new and emerging distilleries grows – seemingly unabated.  It almost seems like a new distillery lifts its head above the parapet every month, and the latest to do so is the previously unheralded Morris. 

That much, in itself, is a story.  Many distilleries elect to announce their establishment through social media channels, and then drip feed news, pictures, and work-in-progress releases or similar teasers as they build brand awareness whilst waiting for their spirit to mature.  In contrast to this, Morris went about its business with almost ninja-like stealth, before suddenly announcing its arrival with the launch of its first two initial releases.

Of course, Morris is anything but a new name in Australian drinks circles, with Morris of Rutherglen being one of the most famous and respected producers of fortified wines in the world.  With such a long and celebrated history of making some of this country’s greatest muscats, sherries, ports, and tokays (okay, aperas, tawnys, and topaques), it was perhaps only a matter of time until they turned their attention to whisky.  Little wonder, also, that they turned to their ex-wine cask inventory to mature their spirit!

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Australian whisky’s beer loophole

Imagine you’re at home watching the Olympics, and you turn your television on just as the medal presentation ceremony is starting for the marathon.  You immediately notice there are two runners standing on the podium for 1st Place.  In an incredible outcome for the race, it turns out there was a dead heat for first, and the two front runners finished in a tie!

But here’s where things get weird:  It turns out that only one of the gold medallists actually ran the full 42 kilometres!  The other runner started at the 30km mark, and in fact only had to run the last 12km of the race.  And, to top it all off, that runner also received extra assistance along the way. 

Now that’s hardly a fair race, is it?  Clearly, the work, effort, and energy put in by the two runners was vastly different – but by virtue of crossing the finish line at the same time, they each received the same reward and recognition.

The above parable would never happen in real life and, yet, a variation of this is precisely how the Australian whisky industry operates.  Puzzled?  Here’s how it pans out…..

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Whisky art, Cryptowhisky, and NFT whisky

Whisky art is nothing new, and whether it’s a beautiful photograph of a distillery in the setting sun, or an oil painting of a copper pot still in the stillhouse, there are some incredible pieces of art out there that any whisky enthusiast would be happy to hang on their wall.  But whisky art took an unexpected twist recently, with the category moving into the NFT space.   WTF is NFT?  Well, it’s almost as controversial as NAS, but easily twice as confusing.  For whisky has now entered the cryptocurrency arena:  NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token.  Still need help?  You’re not alone, so let’s dive in.  Just keep an open mind…..you’ll need it.

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Teeling Blackpitts

It’s now more than six years since Whisky & Wisdom wrote its first article about Teeling whiskey, and there’s been three or four further articles along the way with subsequent reviews of their excellent whiskies.  With the release of Teeling Blackpitts whiskey, the brand has put peated Irish whiskey back on the radar and it’s excited fans of the category worldwide.  But before we dive into the specifics on the Blackpitts rekease, it’s worth recapping on the basics….

The Teeling Distillery was completed in Dublin in 2015 and became the first new distillery to be built in Dublin in over 120 years.  It also became the first operating distillery in Dublin since the closure of the old Powers distillery in the mid 1970’s.   While the distillery’s new spirit was quietly slumbering and maturing, the brand established itself by bottling older whiskey that had been distilled at Cooley.  (Cooley had been founded by John Teeling in 1987, hence the connection.)  The distillery’s first release of their own home-made spirit was the Single Pot Still release in September, 2018, and there have now been several batches of that bottled since.  However, the new Teeling Blackpitts release is the next exciting home-made chapter…

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23rd Street Distillery – XXIII Batch 01

23rd Street Distillery joins the growing list of distilleries established in the last 5-6 years that are now bringing their single malt to market.  23rd Street has released a small range of whiskies in the recent past with varied provenance (such as the evocative Hybrid, which was a blend of Scotch whisky and American Bourbon!) but the release of XXIII (Batch 01) heralds in a new era for their home-grown, signature style.

The site at 23rd Street Distillery – located conveniently on 23rd Street in Renmark, South Australia (about a three hour drive north-east of Adelaide) – has a long history in the drinks industry that dates back to 1914, although that was chiefly in the wine industry.  The site was acquired by Bickford’s in 2014, and a reported $6.6M (including a government grant of $2.3M) was injected into the project over two years to bring 23rd Street Distillery to life.   The distillery launched in 2016 and produces gin, vodka, rum, brandy, and whisky. 

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That Boutique-y Whisky Company – Australia Series

The global whisky community continues to grow, particularly as interest and awareness develops around the “new world” distillers outside of Scotland.  The craft whisky scene is nothing new to Australia which, it must be said, is exploding with over 65 established whisky distilleries now bringing their matured product to market.  In spite of the thriving local scene, few have sought or established international distributorship (mostly due to the small volumes being produced), and so whisky lovers outside of Australia usually have to go to significant lengths to find and try Australian whisky.  Having said that, the situation is slowly changing, and one big leap forward occurring this month is the launch of the “Australia Series” range by That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

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Diageo Special Releases 2020

The Diageo “Special Releases” range is keenly awaited each year, and the latest collection (2020) is now being made available to markets around the world.

[Update: If you’re looking for info on the Diageo Special Releases for 2021, see our more recent post here.]

Whisky & Wisdom has attended the launch events for the Special Releases range in previous years, but with COVID still largely preventing such public events, a special media kit was prepared for this year’s range.  The box – a very attractive and well-presented affair, it must be said – contained samples of the eight releases.

Diageo Special Releases - the media box

The idea behind the Diageo Special Releases range is to present and showcase whiskies from selected distilleries that differ significantly from the usual or familiar form that we associate with those distilleries.   We thus see things like unpeated releases from Islay distilleries; or releases with significant age statements that aren’t normally available; or releases given special cask treatments or finishes; or simply releases from closed or rarely seen distilleries.   There’s always something for everyone, and each year’s Special Releases range showcases a diverse spectrum of flavours and also price points.

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