Blind Tasting No. 14 Recap
Finished February
During this tasting we tried three different barrel finished American whiskeys and boy, were they delicious. Barrel finishing is when matured whiskey is transferred to another cask prior to bottling to add an additional layer of flavor and complexity to the whiskey. It’s a relatively new concept that’s becoming more popular in the American whiskey industry. You might also see brands refer to barrel finished as cask finished, double oaked, double wood, double matured, extra matured or whiskey finished in _____ casks. It’s been around in the Scotch industry since the 1980’s starting with brands like The Balvenie and Glenmorangie, who are still known to this day for finished whiskies.
Cask finishing can spark quite the controversial discussion with whiskey purists in the room. For example, George Grant, the 6th generation owner of Glenfarclas, believes that barrel finishing a whisky is cheating. The brand even put out an ad that stated “we don’t need to finish our whisky, but you can” to slight other brands that finish their whiskies. So why do some, like George, believe it’s cheating to finish a whiskey? They view it as blending in flavors from whatever liquid was previously in the finishing cask directly into the whiskey.
To understand where they’re coming from, let’s talk about the logistics of barrel finishing. Used casks that previously held something like sherry, wine, rum or beer are typically what’s used for finishing. And being that wood is porous, it absorbs that liquid. For example, 60 L or sherry is absorbed into a 500 L cask (called a butt) over two years. This is known as the indrink or “devil’s cut” according to Jim Beam. So when matured whiskey is put into that cask for a finishing period, the indrink diffuses into the whiskey. This is why some consider finishing the same as blending in whatever was previously in the cask into the whiskey.
However, this is not the whole story of finishing. Distilleries that are known for producing finished whiskies claim that adding sherry directly into the whiskey produces a completely different flavor profile than the same whiskey finished in a sherry butt. This is because the chemical make up of the indrink isn’t the same as what’s in the liquid. There is a high concentration of oak derived compounds in the indrink that also diffuse into the whiskey. Some would argue that there is a greater impact coming from the oak than the indrink.
As we all know, there are two sides to every story. And I think most would conclude that there are flavors coming from both the indrink and the oak when it comes to barrel finished whiskies.
Anyways, let’s talk about the tasting! Remember, the members tasted all three of these whiskeys blind and had to decide which whiskey was which based solely on their palates. Here’s what we tasted:
Barrell Whiskey Private Release KY Whiskey Finished in Jamaican Rum Cask:
Barrell Craft Spirits has been fully embracing and excelling at barrel finishing and the industry has taken notice. They have so many private releases that you can try any type of barrel finishing you can possibly think of. In this whiskey, the members picked up so many classic Jamaican rum notes like caramel, toffee, rose, overripe banana, wood and banana pudding with whipped cream on the nose. The palate was even more funky with notes of menthol cigarettes, kerosene, medicinal, caramel and ginger.
Blackened Blend of Straight Whiskeys Finished in Black Brandy Casks:
Blackened was created as a collaboration with the late Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and Metallica. Yes, the band. They even blast Metallic in the warehouse while the whiskey is maturing to “sonically age” the whiskey. The members picked up notes of honey, cinnamon, apples, maple, strawberry and pickle on the nose as well as strawberry, maple, cinnamon and clove on the palate.
Isaac Bowman Port Barrel Finished Straight Bourbon Whiskey:
A. Smith Bowman Distillery is a family owned distillery located in Virginia. They have two stills that are named Mary and George. Mary is a very unique pot still with a long coil for a swan neck and the distillery triple distills their bourbons, which is more common for single pot still Irish whiskeys than bourbons. Everyone was picking up rich notes of fruit, berry, cherry, port, cotton candy, candied apples, coffee and cocoa on both the nose and palate.
These whiskeys were so different from one another and most members correctly guessed all three. However, blind tasting is never easy! I’m always impressed by everyone’s palates! This tasting showed everyone that barrel finishing can dramatically impact a whiskey’s flavor profile.
