Story by Ross Blainey, The Balvenie Model Ambassador. Attain him @ross_blainey
‘Una historia sobre el roble y el fuego.’ That’s the above title in Spanish. I’m feeling very impressed in as I sit within the centre of lovely Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, the house of sherry and our Spanish oak barrels for The Balvenie. Fireplace and oak are about as pure as you may get, they’ve a way of magic to them, an unpredictability and a capability so as to add or take away from the making of our whisky. As I’ve discovered over the previous few years working with Lennox Hastie (proprietor, chef of Firedoor and Gildas, Sydney), this is similar with meals additionally. Persevering with our partnership with Lennox and Firedoor has received me excited to continue learning and sharing what I discover with you… that is just the start of a Story of Oak and Fireplace.
Fireplace, an amber glow by no means dies on the coronary heart of Firedoor. Via our partnership with Lennox Hastie and Firedoor over the previous few years, I’ve been fortunate to see the element and care put into each side of the world-renowned restaurant. Fireplace isn’t a part of what they do, it’s what they do. Each ingredient of cooking is completed over wooden fires. No fuel, no charcoal it’s all fastidiously chosen wooden. It isn’t only a warmth supply however an ingredient in each dish that leaves the kitchen. Ironbark makes up about 50% of what they use, then there are various varieties added like cherry wooden, apple wooden, wine barrels and naturally whisky barrels.
Lennox has proven me that there’s a two-way relationship between the wooden and the substances being cooked over it. The flavour of the particular wooden provides to the substances above earlier than the juices and fat drip down again to the wooden. This modifications the wooden once more earlier than it continues to affect the meals above. It’s calculated work discovering the nuances of every kind of wooden and the way it interacts with completely different substances. It’s actually the last word craftsmanship, one thing we maintain near our coronary heart at The Balvenie.
Taking the time to know, pull it aside, perceive, tweak and re-build within the pursuit of perfection. My favorite strategy of Lennox’s is what I might name “ending”, it’s one other nice parallel to how we make our whisky at The Balvenie. After cooking over the iron bark Lennox will “end” substances over a unique wooden for a brief time period. Simply lengthy sufficient so as to add a layer of recent flavour from cherry wooden or perhaps a Spanish oak barrel. It’s nearly precisely the identical means we end our whisky in Spanish oak sherry barrels.
Oak boldens the guts of our whisky. Spanish oak, ex oloroso sherry barrels play an enormous half at The Balvenie and in Scotch.
Lennox has proven me that there’s a two-way relationship between the wooden and the substances being cooked over it. The flavour of the particular wooden provides to the substances above earlier than the juices and fat drip down again to the wooden. This modifications the wooden once more earlier than it continues to affect the meals above.
I truthfully assume that using sherry barrels is among the most misunderstood elements of manufacturing for the fashionable whisky drinker. After my second go to to Jerez I’ve determined we actually must get the true story of this lovely oak on the market. As bartenders, you’re the purveyors of data to the drinkers of the world and I’d like to share the depths of this space with you. Spanish oak is a selected kind of oak, Quercus Robur and is grown in Spain, normally within the North (and another locations, however then it’s not Spanish anymore). The barrels are normally seasoned with oloroso sherry after they’re constructed.
There’s a false impression that whether it is seasoned with sherry by having sherry in it for a yr or two it’s in some way inferior and that outdated sherry barrels are the actual deal. I can let you know that mainly, all ex-sherry barrels utilized in Scotch whisky are seasoned and nearly at all times have been. Previous sherry barrels weren’t the unique and aren’t one of the simplest ways of doing it. In sherry manufacturing they need outdated barrels for much less flavour and like American oak as a result of it has much less tannin in it. For whisky we would like oak flavour so outdated barrels don’t do it for us. We want the daring, candy fruit and nut from Spanish oak. Seasoning the barrels with oloroso sherry works completely for us and for The Balvenie as sits in there for about 2 years. In these 2 years, the sherry impacts the wooden itself however extra importantly, it removes tannins, bringing it to the extent of tannin we would like earlier than we ship them to Scotland. With the Balvenie 12 DoubleWood we age for 12 years in American oak and end in Spanish oak, ex oloroso sherry for as much as 11 months. It’s known as DoubleWood as a result of it’s in regards to the wooden, not a lot the sherry.
Identical to with Lennox and his journey with hearth and oak, we curate the flavour from the start, from the forest and its surrounds. The barrel is an ingredient, and we solely use one of the best. The spirit and oak work together with one another, intertwining their affect on one another again and ahead, altering over time, guided by our malt grasp Kelsey McKechnie who has lately taken over the reins from David Stewart MBE, however that’s one other story for one more time.
I couldn’t hope to clarify the entire processes of Firedoor or sherry barrel use in whisky in a single article. They’re intricate and detailed with learnings over a few years. Possibly we’ll need to put one thing collectively for somewhat occasion and share the entire story with you. When you’re enthusiastic about studying the entire Story of Fireplace and Oak, give me a shout! The extra we find out about our craft the higher we are able to perceive, enhance and proceed our pursuit of perfection within the distillery, the kitchen or the bar.
Slàinte!
This story featured on the entrance cowl of the October version of Australian Bartender journal which is hitting bars now!
