'The wonder of wood: whisky's secret weapon' by Stuart Harvey

When I tell people outside the whisky industry that creating a Wood Policy is one of my most important jobs, I tend to see a few raised eyebrows and polite nods. But it’s true.  

The art of pairing new make spirit with wood is at the heart of every single one of our whiskies. And you can only become a Master Blender through grasping this element of the craft. Mature casks are variable – some are great, some unfortunately are terrible. The trick is to know the difference, and after nosing over 100,000 casks in my career to date, I’m getting there!  

When I started at International Beverage nearly 20 years ago, we bought up the best bourbon casks we could find when they became available. But I was convinced that the road to great whisky meant thinking differently about wood and creating a plan for the future, with the flexibility to react to hidden treasures when they were available. 

Today our Wood Policy does just that. We have an over-arching focus on American oak ex-bourbon and Spanish oak ex-sherry – particularly for our aged whiskies. It’s tried and tested, and it’s a big factor in the global success of our single malt, along with the close, long-standing relationships we’ve built with our global cask suppliers to source the very best.

The true method of knowledge is experiment

To complement our Wood Policy and drive innovation we’re also experimenting more with further maturation, for example moving spirit from American oak into Spanish oak for a full two-year further maturation, not just a finish. This takes time (six months minimum for whisky to penetrate oak, two years to truly impact its colour and flavour). But it brings so many layers and interesting flavours to the final whisky that it’s well worth the wait. It’s a complex and experimental process, but all part of the fun! 

In my early days at IBH, I’d sampled around 8,000 casks when suddenly one day I tasted one containing Old Pulteney 1989. It went on to be named World’s Best Single Malt Whisky; so that was a good day! The chance of finding that one special cask to kick off an incredible new expression is one of the best bits of the job.  

Taking more risks with maturation is also good for business. There’s a magical element and unique flavour profile that special casks bring to whisky which we know our customers want (especially all the whisky afficionados out there). Today’s curious malt whisky fans known their stuff and they love to be surprised by something new and unexpected. 

Every great inspiration is but an experiment: Old Pulteney Coastal Series

It’s this kind of experimentation that has led us to the new Old Pulteney Coastal Series which launched earlier this month, a collection of four limited edition whiskies that have been matured in casks that are found close to the sea. I’m really excited about these four new expressions because you can see a direct line from wood to bottle. A conversation with Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring and a contact at a Cognac cooperage in France led to the creation of our first expression in the series, Old Pulteney Pineau des Charentes.   

Pineau des Charentes is an iconic aperitif native to the Charente-Maritime region, found on the Southwest coast of France which produces fortified wine created with unfermented grapes, its amber hue offers a beautifully unique rich sweetness. To achieve the distinct, sweet flavour of the limited edition Old Pulteney Pineau des Charentes, a slow maturation process was required. The result? - each cask comes together beautifully to create a unique, sweet flavour. 

We firstly matured the liquid in hand-selected, second-fill American oak casks, which previously held American Bourbon. 400 litre Pineau des Charentes casks native to the Charente-Maritime region were subsequently used for further maturation. These were previously filled with Red and White Pineau des Charentes.

The casks were first sampled after 2 years, and while we noticed big variations across each cask, we knew we had something special. Interestingly however the casks that had previously been filled with Red Pineau des Charentes were already fantastic, whilst on the other hand the White Pineau des Charentes casks required more maturation time. And so, time was just what we gave them. Another couple of years passed and when we last drew our samples we were thrilled with the result.  The American and French oak had fully integrated to create a unique product and we all agreed it was excellent quality. By the time the casks were emptied into the Vat for Bottling, the Vat sample was even better. It was evident we had created an exceptional whisky with unique characteristics – moments like those are amongst the most rewarding for myself and my team. 

Looking to the future

Going forward, the relationships we’ve built with our cask colleagues around the world are more important than ever, at a time when there is a shortage of supply. And it’s still all about sampling casks, sometimes 300 a day (although these days I always take a break after 40). I’m also thankful to have a new generation of Blenders coming through in our talented team, who are just as passionate about finding something amazing in the casks scattered across our warehouses. It’s this dedication that plays such an important part in making our Single Malts the cream of the crop in the Scotch Whisky industry.