What does cask finish mean?

Cask finish is a second maturation period. The whisky first lies for years in the main cask, usually a bourbon cask, and then moves into another cask.

The second cask has almost always held something different: sherry, port, madeira, rum or wine. Because the wood is soaked with that previous content, it releases different aromas than the first cask. The label then says, for example, port cask finish or sherry finish. The whisky is and remains Scotch whisky in both phases, provided all legal requirements are met.

The law sets no minimum and no maximum. In practice a finish ranges from a few months to a few years, depending on the cask and the intended result.

A small, fresh cask that gives off a lot works faster than a large cask that has been used more often. Because there is no standard, the term finish on two bottles does not mean the same thing. Some distilleries state the duration themselves on the label or on their website. If nothing is stated, there is no way to work it out from the label.

Oak casks of up to 700 litres are permitted: new, or previously filled with wine, fortified wine, beer or spirits. Casks made of stone-fruit wood, among others, are excluded.

The Scotch Whisky Association sets the boundary in its guideline on permitted maturation casks. Casks that have held wine, beer or spirits of stone fruit are prohibited, as are casks of beer or spirits to which fruit, flavouring or sweetener was added after fermentation or distillation. Cider casks are also out, because cider is not beer, wine or spirits. On top of that list, it always applies that the result must taste, smell and colour like Scotch whisky.

With full maturation the whisky lies in the same type of cask for the whole period. With a finish only the last part of the maturation is in the second cask.

A bottle that has been matured entirely in sherry casks is often described as fully matured or sherry matured. The influence of the wood is then stronger and more even. With a finish, a layer lies over it: the character of the main cask remains recognisable and the second cask colours it. Which of the two you like better is a matter of taste; legally there is no ranking.

No. The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 do not know the term. What they do regulate are the categories, the maturation period, the cask material, the cask volume and the age statement.

What the law fixes, then, is the framework within which a finish must fit: oak, at most 700 litres, everything in Scotland, and the whole maturation counts towards the three-year requirement. If an age is stated on the bottle, it remains the age of the youngest whisky in it, including the time in the second cask. What a producer exactly understands by finish is up to him.