Taste Guide: PX Sherry Cask
After numerous bottlings that had been matured in ex-bourbon casks and/or Oloroso sherry casks, Kilchoman introduced a new type of cask at the beginning of 2014 with the first PX Finish Single cask releases. Pedro Ximénez sherry casks are often used in the whisky industry for finishing, as they not only give the maturing distillate more complexity and depth, but also fruity-sweet notes. PX full maturations, on the other hand, are rather rare; the risk of the PX sherry cask dominating the character of the distillate too much is even greater here than with Oloroso sherry casks, for example.
To date, almost 100 PX finish single cask bottlings have been released, making Pedro Ximénez finishings by far the most common finishing variant used by Kilchoman.
In contrast, Kilchoman has rarely brought PX full maturations onto the market. Surprisingly, the majority of the 20 PX single cask bottlings released to date are 100% Islay whiskies, while the finishes were based on Port Ellen malt peated at 50 ppm, with one or two exceptions. The fact that Kilchoman has matured its slightly less peated product variant more frequently in PX casks is somewhat surprising at first, as one would assume that the risk of a PX sherry flavour dominance is even greater here than with the whiskies peated at 50 ppm. However, as the bottlings show, Kilchoman has succeeded impressively in achieving very balanced whiskies. On the one hand, this is certainly due to the fact that they were generally bottled at an age of around 5 years, while on the other hand, the 100% Islay distillate was able to hold its own surprisingly well against the Pedro Ximénez sherry cask.
.
The first PX Sherry Cask Matured Limited Edition, i.e. the first major Kilchoman PX release, only appeared in 2021. Contrary to what its name suggests, the bottling, which was first released on 5 May 2021 with a run of 12,000 bottles, is not a pure PX sherry cask maturation, but a vatting of 9 PX casks and 24 PX finishes with a finishing period of 12 to 18 months. According to Anthony Will, the exclusive use of PX full maturation would otherwise have dominated the Kilchoman distillery character too much. The blend of approximately 2/3 finish and 1/3 PX casks, all with a phenol content of 50 ppm, would then have produced the desired balance of maritime peat smoke notes, citrus and fruit flavours and a pronounced honey sweetness.
“Pedro Ximénez casks aren’t always the easiest to work with. That was why we decided on a combination of full maturation and finishing, to balance the distinct PX influence with that of our spirit. I’m delighted with the result; big and bold but with a delightful poise and balance of flavour,” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder & MD
.
Kilchoman released another PX Sherry Cask Matured Limited Edition in October 2023. This time, however, it was a pure PX full maturation. Anthony Wills and Robin Bignal selected a total of 61 PX sherry casks with an age of at least 5 years. In order to achieve a balanced whisky without PX sherry dominance, fairly young casks were selected for the release.
“The 2023 PX Sherry Cask Matured release is our first limited edition to be fully matured in PX casks. Some might consider five years to be a short maturation, but these PX hogsheads give such a rich and sweet character, shorter maturation is the only option to maintain a good balance of flavour. Here, the citrus sweetness and peat smoke of our spirit balance beautifully with the PX character to create a multi-dimensional whisky, rich and sweet with hints of light citrus sweetness and waves of maritime peat smoke.” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder & MD
.
Within the Small Batch Series for selected markets, the concept of which is to illustrate the influence of different “experimental” cask types on Kilchoman whisky, nine bottlings with Pedro Ximénez sherry cask content have been released worldwide to date.
.
PX Sherry cask bottlings from Kilchoman (selection):
For reasons of clarity, only the PX full maturations and the bottlings with PX content in the Small Batch Series for selected markets are listed here. Please refer to the Kilchomania database for the countless PX finishings.
.