Re:How Sherry Became the Secret to Great Scotch
by tptacek on Thursday July 19, 2018 @08:15AM
(#17565518)
I don't really believe this, maybe just based on the mechanics of how aging work. I know that if you put the same spirit in front of me, one aged in sherry and the other bourbon, the difference will be night-and-day; you could be a first-time scotch drinker and easily have a strong preference (Aberlour does this at the distillery tour). I also know that the difference between new oak and 1st fill is enormous, because I have the Woodford demo where new oak is dark and woody and 1st fill is blonde and much less flavorful.
What I think is that if you did a triangle test between 1st and refill ex-bourbon, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
If it's a 1st-fill cask you can get a lot of flavour imparted from bourbon. A lot of my favourite "tropical fruit" flavour whiskies come from 1st fill bourbon casks.