Side by side : Oloroso v PX from Paul John

A side by side of two sherry cask finished whiskies - Oloroso v PX both from ex-bourbon stock from @PaulJohnWhisky

Let's see how they compare!

Established in 1996, John Distilleries grew to be a leading spirit company in India before expanding across the world. They started with a molasses based whisky for the local Indian market before developing Single Malt whiskies made from local – barley, water and yeast. Goa’s coastal tropical climate offers the ideal temperature and ambience for whisky to mature more quickly than in Scotland but this also means a higher Angel’s Share of 8-10%. They started distilling single malt whisky in 2008 and launched the brand in the UK in 2012.

Paul John’s single malts are distilled using six row barley grown in northern Indian, Scotch Single Malt is made almost exclusively from two row barley. Two row has a higher starch content resulting in more alcohol but Paul John believe that the higher protein and fibre content of the six row barley helps create the fruity, floral and honey ester charters found in their whiskies. Malted barley for their peated expressions comes from Scotland.

The barley is mashed in a 2.5m diameter 2 tonne steel mash tun and then fermented in 14 stainless steel washbacks (each with a capacity of 12,000 litres) for around  75 hours.

Photo: Whisky.com

Distillation takes place in one of two sets of Indian made copper pot stills. The wash stills have a capacity of 15,000 litres and the spirit stills are 9,000.litres. They collect 1000 litres of new make from 2 tonnes of barley @ 63% ABV with a capacity of around 4,000 litres per day.

They have 3 warehouses on site: an underground warehouse with a capacity of 4,000 barrels with a comfortable temperature and less humidity and two upper warehouses at ground level which are warmer and hold around 12,000 barrels.

Before we try the whiskies let's have a look at the finishing casks - what's the difference between Oloroso and PX sherry? 

Sherry is a fortified aged white wine made in the province of Cádiz in south west Spain. There are many different kinds of sherry made from 3 types of grapes,  Oloroso and PX are just two varietals as described by whiskeymuse.com:

Dry Sherries from Palomino Fino grapes	Fino Sherry (biologically aged)	Fino, which means “fine” is a very delicate, dry type of sherry. Thanks to that flor, the sherry does not oxidize leaving this type very light and delicate with notes of green apple, almond, yeast, brine and chalk.
	Manzanilla Sherry (biologically aged)	Similar to Fino, Manzanilla which means “chamomile” is a delicate, dry type of sherry which is exclusively produced around the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Because it is produced near a sea estuary, Manzanilla Sherry tends to have a more salty flavour profile than that of Fino sherries.
	Amontillado Sherry (hybrid)	Amontillado (am-on-tee-ah-doh) sherry starts out as a Fino or Manzanilla and after it has been aged for a period of time under flor, it is fortified to a higher ABV to stop the flor from forming. From there the sherry is aged oxidatively, giving it some of those apple, citrus and salty notes but with more developed caramel, nut and marmalade notes too.
	Palo Cortado (hybrid)	Similar to Amontillado, it undergoes both biological and oxidative aging. However, where Amontillado sherry is intentionally fortified to kill off the flor, with Palo Cortado, the flor inexplicably disappears and it continues to age oxidatively. Only about 1–2% of grapes develop into Palo Cortados making them quite rare to purchase, the resulting sherry is said to have the ‘aromatic refinement of an Amontillado with the structure/body of an Oloroso.’
	Oloroso (oxidized)	Oloroso, which means “scented” in Spanish is fortified to 17%+ ABV immediately and so flor cannot develop in the barrel. This allows the sherry to develop dark, nutty, dried fruit notes that are complex and rich (as opposed to the fresh, yeasty taste of a fino). While some may think Oloroso sherries are sweet, they actually contain 0–5 grams of sugar/litre. However, because many of the mainstream Oloroso’s are sweetened whereby making them a Cream sherry.
Naturally Sweet Sherries from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes	Pedro Ximenez (oxidized)	Considered a dessert wine, Pedro Ximenez grapes are left to become extremely ripe (or sun dried) and so the sugars become super concentrated. From these grapes, a thick, black liquid is produced. After maturation, PX possesses strong notes of raisins, molasses and syrup with more matured expressions developing meaty and leathery notes
	Moscatel (oxidized)	Moscatel sherries, also considered dessert wines, are produced in a similar fashion to that of PX. While Moscatel wines / sparking are not uncommon, the sherry editions of them are more difficult to find. After maturation Moscatel sherries develop notes that are floral, honeyed and raisiny
Sweetened Sherries from a blend of the sherries above	Pale Cream	Made predominantly from Fino / Manzanilla sherries and sweetened to about 45–115 grams of sugar/litre.
	Medium Sherry	Often made from Amontillado sherry and sweetened to 5–115 grams of sugar/litre.
	Cream	Often made with Oloroso (and sometimes Amontillado) and sweetened to 115–140 grams of sugar/litre.

Whisky matured in different sherry casks will take on some of the sherry's characteristics:

Of the ten, Fino is the driest, PX is the sweetest, and Oloroso falls somewhere in the middle. Oloroso sherries tend to have a rich dark flavour in which I find caramel, walnut, deep fruit and spice notes. PX sherry tends to be sweeter with even darker flavours like toffee, fig, raisin, and molasses. 

Sherry casks for whisky maturation are typically seasoned or washed with the sherry, Paul John's hold sherry for at least 4 years before they are emptied and shipped to India. 

Paul John Oloroso Select Cask and PX Select Cask are recent expressions alongside the Classic Select Cask and Peated Select Cask (all around 7 years old). The two sherry cask finishes start as 5yo Ex-bourbon matured Indian whisky before Michael D'souza, the Master Distiller, finishes the whisky for a further 2 years in either Oloroso or PX casks. The four Select bottles are available for around £60-£80 if you shop around, the ex-bourbon Classic and Peated Select are bottled at 55.5% whilst the Sherry finishes are at a lower 48% reflecting the higher cost of the sherry casks.

So let's see how the same whisky finished in the two different type of sherry cask taste:

Dram	Oloroso	Pedro Ximénez
Characteristics	48% ABV NCF, Natural colour 5 years or more in 1st fill ex-Bourbon barrels and 2 years in 1st fill Oloroso casks from a Bodega in Andalucia, Spain.	48% ABV NCF, Natural colour 5 years or more in 1st fill ex-Bourbon barrels and 2 years in Pedro Ximenez barrels
Distillery notes	A special edition of Indian single malt from the sunny Goan coasts, the Oloroso is a sensational explosion of incredible flavours. With dark mahogany hues, this exquisite expression presents an aromatic tapestry of sherry influenced fragrances of peach and apricot with a light note of molasses and blood orange. Sublimely finished in Oloroso casks, its soft flavours are filed with a nutty chocolate and Melton Hunt cake. The long finish is intense and sweet with delicious heavy spices imbibed from the Oloroso casks and melded with a dash of coffee mocha and sumptuous dark chocolate. Nose: Peach, apricot and light notes of molasses and blood orange. Taste: Soft and sweet, with nutty chocolate and Melton Hunt cake. Finish: Long, intense and sweet with delicious heavy spices imbibed from the Oloroso casks, a dash of coffee mocha and sumptuous dark chocolate.	Hailing from the tropical shores of Goa, this exotic Indian single malt, in rich shades of dark copper, has complex aromas of fig and apricot with a rare hint of banana. On the palate are tremendous flavours of sweet barley with creamy butterscotch, dry fruits and a profuse Christmas cake. The finish is long and exquisite, with delectable chocolate fudge, delicate orange peel and hints of exotic wine drenched nuts. Much of the intrinsic characteristics of the Paul John PX owes allegiance to the famed intensely sweet and dark Spanish dessert sherry, having been gloriously finished in handpicked Pedro Ximenez casks Nose: Fig and apricot with a rare hint of banana. Taste: Sweet barley with creamy butterscotch, dry fruits and Christmas cake, Finish  Long and exquisite, with chocolate fudge, orange peel and exotic wine drenched nuts.
My thoughts:
Appearance	No discernible difference in colour between the two.
	Bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, slowly bead up and fall as slow thick legs.	Bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, slowly bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Sherry bomb notes but without any of the mustiness you'd usually expect - rich sherry soaked dried fruit, thick strawberry jam and orange marmalade, a little oak and a hint of spicy ginger. A little time and air offers nutty chocolate, fresh coffee notes and some balsamic vinegar.	More of a typical sherry bomb with a little dunnage funk - the rich sherry soaked dried fruit are here but with more dark fruit - dates, figs, prunes and black cherries. There's a little toffee and almond note but no sign of the orange marmalade. Again a little time and air offers dark chocolate, expresso coffee and a honey sweetness.
Palate	Thick sweet arrival but immediately drying. Typical Christmas cake mix notes of sherry soaked dried fruit : raisins, sultanas, cherries and huge orange zest notes. Walnuts, milk chocolate and brown sugar or caramel notes appear before a kick of ginger spice as the liquid disappears. Yummy!	Again a thick sweet arrival but this isn't drying - the sweetness lingers with honey, barley sugars and nutty toffee. The Christmassy dried fruit are here but again the dark fruit of figs, prunes and dates come to the fore. There is a gentle bite of peppery spice as the liquid disappears. Yummy!
Finish	Lingering sherry dryness and ginger spice.	Lingering dark fruit and honey sweetness.
Overall	To summarise as simply as possible the Oloroso finish gives dryness and spice, the PX gives dunnage funk and sweetness but this is doing a great disservice to two complex drams. Both share similar Christmas cask notes but here we have two different recipes - Delia Smith v Mary Berry? Delia's Oloroso is more traditional - sherry soaked dried fruit - sultanas, raisins, current, glace cherries and citrus peel whilst Mary's PX is a little more up market - figs, dates and prunes. Delia has added the spice but Mary has added more brown sugar. My preference is the PX - I love the dunnage funk and sweetness over the drying and spice notes but it's a very tight call. I suggest you get bottles of both, try them side and side and let me know your thoughts!