Side by side: Two refill-sherry drams from The Sipping Shed

A recent tasting by #TheSheds of five @TheSippingShed releases allowed us to taste two refill sherry drams, 11yo's from Aultmore and Blair Athol.

Let's see how they compare!

@TheSippingShed was founded in 2014 by Dan Hipshon. Discussing his romantic idea of bottling single casks with friends in his kitchen one evening and before he knew it he had a business partner and talented friends offering their services. They bought their first casks and released a blended whisky called VatOne (a blend of Tamdhu, Glengoyne, Glenrothes and everyone's favourite family run Speyside that doesn't like to be named). Since then they've gone from strength to strength with 9 releases to date and 3 following soon.

We tried the whiskies as part of a zoom tasting where Dan took us through some of his whiskies!

Refill sherry is another of those 'standard' casks used to mature whisky, either for full term of as a finish. In this case both were full-term for their 11 years - let's see what they were like:

Dram	Aultmore 11yo Single Cask 900019	Blair Athol 11yo Single Cask 301012
Characteristics	61.3% ABV Refill Sherry Hogshead 77 bottles	59.1% ABV Refill Sherry Hogshead 114 bottles
Distillery notes	It’s a big whisky at cask strength, rich and complex. After adding a drop of water, wonderful flavours unfold, and it becomes a gentle giant with a big heart. There was a problem with this cask the tale of what happened and why it’s so limited can be found here. Nose: Praline, honeycomb, orange oil, singed raisins picked from a slice of cake. Some dry earthy heather notes and a touch of earl grey. It’s rich and spicy on the nose with a gentle waxiness. Palate: The palate follows through from the nose. Lots of classic sherry notes, dried tobacco, hints of treacle, oak spice and a dash of dandelion and burdock. It has depth and weight from the Aultmore spirit which brings a mineral note and stone fruits to the sherry party. Delicious stuff. Finish: As the sherry notes fade the minerality and spice come through a little more. Warm and satisfying	A superb Single Malt Scotch Whisky, rich and satisfying in the mouth, a feast of dried fruits with touches of praline and candied orange peel – a classic gently sherried style. Nose: Immediate wow factor – dried fruit, peaches, nectarine and Bakewell tart. Jammy and intense. The refill sherry cask adds sweet spice but never overwhelms the distinct distillery character that adds floral notes and a hint of herbal heather. The nose on this whisky is just delightful so take your time. Palate: A rich palate with dried fruits from the refill sherry cask combining delightfully with cooked stone fruits from the elegant spirit which also provides a gentle herbaceous element that plays with the wood spice from the cask. There’s a touch of cinnamon over a malty nuttiness, mocha and creamy toffee.  A wonderful, warming whisky, complex and intriguing yet very approachable and easily tamed with a drop of water. Finish: A delightful finish balancing fruity notes with spices. Impressive length, improved with just a drop of water.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls leave a hairline crack which beads up slowly and falls as slow thick legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls leave a hairline crack which beads up slowly and falls as slow thick legs.
Nose	Musty dunnage warehouse notes to start, blueberry jam, toffee and strawberries drizzled in balsamic vinegar. Some dried fruit: raisins, currents, dates; with some glacier cherries. There's a little orange zest tickling at the nose if left in the glass for a while.	Lacking the musty notes but sharing the blueberry jam, toffee and strawberries from the Aultmore. The dried fruit, Christmas cake, notes are here too. This one is a little sweeter, nuttier and with hints of coffee.
Palate	Thick mouthcoating arrival, toffee and jam, a bite of peppery spice and drying brown sugar. Huge blueberry notes linger on the tongue. There's some mineral notes as suggested by the official tasting notes - I've not tried too much Aultmore so can't say if they are a trait. This is a dram for a cold winter's night in front of a roaring fire. Nice!	Again a thick mouthcoating arrival and again very dry but not as spicy. More strawberry than blueberry on the palate. Dark fruits including dates, figs and prunes linger with hazelnuts and that coffee note from the nose. The spice comes after a few sips, gentle but making itself known. Yummy!
Finish	Medium length dry brown sugar and blueberries.	Lingering dark fruit, coffee and gentle spice.
Overall	My last blog was also about The Sipping Shed but looking at two of the ex-bourbon releases - these two refill sherry were part of the same tasting. For all I harped on about ex-bourbon being my go to drams I actually scored these two slightly higher! I know sherry has a major place in the maturation of whisky but I think it was it's place as a winter dram whereas ex-bourbon can be enjoyed all year round. The story of the Aultmore (link above) is a warning tale to other small indie bottlers - but the liquid that Dan was able to rescue was very good. I think the Blair Athol (home of Bells!) was actually better - it didn't have the musty dunnage notes I like on a sherried dram but the dark fruit notes just made it stand out. Sadly the Blair Athol has sold out but the Aultmore is still available if you are quick!