Delco re:View Winter 2020 - 20

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WHY SCOTTISH
DISTILLERS STARTED
USING AMERICAN OAK
"May the best of your past be
the worst of your future!"
In the Fall issue of the Delco re:View we
discussed the significance of American oak
bourbon barrels in the aging of Scotch whisky.
In this article we will discuss why and when
this practice began.
Submitted by an Enthusiast ...

istorically (1689-1815) the British Empire, of which
Scotland is a part, was known as a great naval power.
The British and French fought at sea for global
supremacy in what was referred to as the Second Hundred Years
War. Virtually all of the timber was used to build ships. Unlike
France, methods of re-forestation were not practiced in the
United Kingdom and wood became very scarce. Scotland was
virtually deforested. Even today, the terrain is very rocky and
there is a lack of forest area. New plantings can take more than
a decade to reach the maturity necessary for lumber production.
Barrels were not on the priority list for the small quantity of
wood that was available.
Prior to 1980, the Scottish distillers used Sherry casks that
were sourced from the Spanish sherry industry. Around this
time, Sherry was losing popularity and, therefore, Sherry casks
were no longer available in ready supply. Additionally, in 1981,
Spanish export regulations changed, banning the export of Sherry
in casks. Prior to this time, Sherry only spent time in the cask
for the time it took to ship it to its destination, where it would be
bottled. These casks were referred to as "Sherry casks" or "ExSherry casks" because they had contained Sherry and, therefore,
the flavor was imparted in the wood. Today, an Ex-Sherry cask
is expensive, costing many times more than an Ex-Bourbon cask.
This has resulted in the making of Sherry just to sell the barrels.

20 | Winter 2020

There are many Scotch whiskies available today that are finished
in Sherry casks. They are very tasty, however, expect to spend
at least $60.00. Examples of these are Glenfiddich's 15 Year
Solera Reserve or Balvenie's 12 year DoubleWood.
New oak was not an option, due to the cost, therefore, the
Scots looked towards the huge inventories of used American
bourbon barrels. The Americans were only too glad to help
and enjoyed the financial rewards of this second use. Because
Sherry casks are still in short supply, the distillers typically only
use them for "finishing" ("a second aging" which imparts an
additional flavor, hence the term "double cask").
We learned in "Joined by the Barrel" of the Scotland
distillers' dependence on the American used bourbon barrels. In
Scotland, I heard the pleas of the distillers that we bring back a
message to America that Scotland needs our barrels. These pleas
arise from the fears caused by the rumors that the American law
of "one use" of bourbon barrels may be changing to allow for a
second use.
This caused me to wonder how this would all play out. A
few months after I left Scotland, I found myself in Nashville,
Tennessee, close to bourbon country. There, we visited the
George Dickel Whisky Distillery. The spelling of the word
"whisky" immediately caught my attention. In America we spell
it "whiskey," yet here they are, spelling it as they do in the UK.
George Dickel moved from Germany to Nashville, Tennessee
in 1844, and in 1861 started his liquor sales using the Scottish
spelling "whisky" that was common in Europe. Upon further
investigation, I found that this Tennessee distillery was now
owned by a prominent conglomerate, Diageo Corporation, who
also happens to own a number of other well-known distilleries
(ie. Johnnie Walker, Oban, Talisker and Lagavulin). They also
have other companies in their portfolio, such as Cragganmore,
Seagrams, Bulleit, Crown Royal, ... .

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Delco re:View Winter 2020

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