With only a short time before it’s Christmas, now is an ideal time for a sherry cask matured whisky.
These, often sweet, drams, have hints of spice, dark fruits and a richness of flavour that means they’re perfect for trying with cheese and a mince pie or two.
With this in mind, I’ve picked three of the best rich, Christmas cake style whiskies that will make a brilliant festive dram.
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Best for: those that love a bit of rich smoke
Score: 5/5
Available from The Whisky Exchange, priced at £63.95. Buy a bottle here.
This new release from the Glendronach is part of the Master’s Anthology, a new collection of Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky that captures the breadth and depth of sherry cask maturation.
Curated by acclaimed master blender Rachel Barrie, this anthology celebrates almost 200 years of expertise in crafting rich and complex single malts.
The new collection comprises three non-age-statement single malts, with each expression composed to celebrate a different aspect of the rich and rewarding Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Ode to The Valley, Ode to The Embers and Ode to The Dark.
Ode to The Embers blends smoky peat with spiced richness from Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks. This is a rich dram with delicious notes of dark chocolate, spices, fruit cake, nuts and whisps of peat smoke.
Rachel Barrie has had this whisky ‘basks The Glendronach in rich splendour.’
Best for: Those that love a cask strength style
Score: 5/5
Available from Master of Malt priced at £89.90. You can buy a bottle here.
This is a classic sherry bomb of a whisky, that has a loyal fanbase, despite recent price increases.
A'Bunadh, which is Gaelic for 'of the origin' or 'the original' is a rich, sherry monster that has been matured exclusively in Spanish Oloroso sherry butts.
It has a high abv, which means that it opens up with some water (though we recommend you drink it however you want and can see it’d make a fabulous festive old fashioned).
Tasting notes include spiced orange and dried fruits on the nose, with a lovely, rich finish filled with those spiced orange notes coupled with dark chocolate and cream. Basically Christmas in a glass.
Aberlour A’Bunadh is available in different batches meaning that every bottle will have a different flavour profile.
Best for: those that love a classic sherried whisky
Score: 5/5
Available from The Whisky Exchange priced at £51.75
Earlier this year the GlenAllachie rolled out its first newly packaged limited-release Wood Collection expressions: three Sherry cask-finished whiskies.
The first trio of these new bottlings were a 9-year-old Fino Cask Finish, a 9-year-old Amontillado Cask Finish and a 9-year-old Oloroso Cask Finish.
The one we’ve picked for a Christmas whisky is the darkest dry Sherry style, Oloroso.
Known for its dried fruit and nut flavours, this whisky has taken on some of these but is also bursting with notes of dried cranberries, ginger biscuits, dark chocolate and almonds. Simply delicious.
