Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine produced primarily using the Palomino grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Spain and takes it name from the anglicisation of the French name for the town, Xérès. As with other fortified wines, it is made by mixing grape spirit in order to increase the alcohol content. Popular varieties include white sherries like Fino and Manzanilla, or darker, heavier examples such as Oloroso, Palo Cortado, Pedro Ximénez and Amontillado.

The use of sherry casks in ageing whisky has a grand tradition as docks in Ireland and Scotland were awash with surplus casks used to transport the drink from Spain during the height of its popularity in the 19th century, conveniently the time first boom periods were observed for whisky production in both of those nations. These "transport casks," as they were known, are a thing of the past however, with a Spanish ruling enforced in 1986 that stipulates all sherry must be bottled in Spain. Instead, casks are now specially prepared in Spanish cooperages through a process known as sherry seasoning, specifically for use in whisky maturation.

While the market for sherry itself has declined, the market for sherry casks has anything but and they remain a cornerstone of the wood policy for whisky distillers across the world. As sherry is a geographically protected term within EU law, sherry-style wines produced in Australia and Canada have been known as apera since 2011 and 2014, respectively.

Sherry casks tend to be quite large in size, predominantly in the shape of puncheons and butts, however coopers can also take staves from these casks and fashion them into smaller 250 litre hogsheads.