The most common oak casks

By burning the cask out, the light American oak develops its typical toast and vanilla aromas as well as coconut and caramel aromas Apart from these aromas, former bourbon casks also dispense strong oak notes Each cask may only be used once for bourbon. The maturation of bourbon whiskey normally takes two years About 90 per cent of the casks used in Scotland are former bourbon casks. Normally, those casks are smaller than former sherry casks.

The wooden cask is either made of light American or of dark European oak. The casks are “toasted” Due to the initial filling with sherry, the cask develops an intensive colour and an overwhelming sweetness with the aroma of dried fruits The casks are used repeatedly for the maturation of sherry Depending on quality, former sherry casks are six to ten times more expensive than former bourbon casks.