There is always something new coming into the distilling world. New experiments are carried out every day so that the taste can be maintained. These days, distillers are not only thinking about better grains and exotic yeast, they are also trying to do something radical, the most important of which is choosing the right finishing cask.
But the question now is what things should be kept in mind while sipping the cask so that it aligns perfectly with your distillery’s flavors.
This is not just a part of business, it is a science and art of maintaining the taste. If you want to popularise your distillery brand, you will need to know about barrel aging, cask types, and different flavor profiles.
In this blog, we are going to talk about the same.
Why Finishing Casks Are the Secret Weapon of Flavor?
It first starts with the barrels; it is through these barrels that it sets its taste. In olden days, the spirits were kept in oak barrels to add a smoky taste to them. After staying in these barrels, it developed notes of vanilla, caramel, and spices. But of late, there has been some innovation in this as well. These days, spirits are not only aged in barrels, but to enhance their taste, they are transferred into a different cask so that they can achieve additional maturation.
These finishing casks create a taut layer on the spirit that makes it refreshing. This refreshing taste is not achieved after aging in traditional barrels. Using this technique, distillers:
- Create an unmatchable flavor that makes you different from other distillers.
- Experiment with new combinations of wood and previous fills like wine, beer, or even exotic spirits.
- Make sure their products fit with customers’ shifting tastes, which are seeking new things and greater depth.
Different Cask Types and Their Flavor Impact
Each cask is different. Everything depend upon the barrel, as the residual liquid is soaked into the wood and mixed with your spirit during barrel aging.
- Sherry Casks: To add rich notes of dried fruits, nuts, and warm sweetness these casks are the best. They make the spirit ideal for adding depth to hard whiskies.
- Port Casks: These casks are best for offering dark berry flavor, plum, and chocolate flavor. The flavors give whiskeys a luxurious and velvety finish.
- Madeira Casks: Best for adding unique flavors. This cask adds caramel, citrus zest, and a subtle tang for a unique, lively taste.
- Rum Casks: If you are all set for lighter whiskeys, go with these casks. The added ingredients like molasses, vanilla, and tropical fruits to the whiskeys, may provide a flavor profile that is light and tasty on the palate.
- Bourbon Barrels: These barrels are used for pre-aging or primary aging. If whiskey is to be created with classic vanilla and toasted oak, then these are the best barrels.
How to Choose the Right Finish as per the Taste?.
- Understand Your Base Spirit
First of all, you need to set the base spirit. So decide whether it should be delicate, bold, or smoky. If you are focusing on light gin, then a white wine cask is the best. And on the other side, a peated whisky can handle the richness of an oloroso sherry finish.
- Define Your Audience
Plan everything as per your audience. Do your customers love traditional classic spirits? Or do they want new flavors blended with innovative spirits, or do they like exotic finishes like Cognac or tequila casks?
- Experiment in Small Batches
Start with creating pilot batches. Even a few months in a finishing cask can tell you about how the wood and previous fill interact with your spirit.
- Mind the Maturation Time
Time is very crucial while maturing in a barrel. Too lengthy a finale might break your spirit.
Conclusion
Selecting the right finishing cask for your spirit is a complicated task. If you really want to add a romantic flavor to your whiskies, you need to choose the right finishing cask. And for this, you need to know about the different cask types. You need to know how barrel aging works and the art that adds flavor to these spirits.
