The Top Irish Whiskey Aged in Sherry Casks

The Whistler Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish is a triple-distilled blended whiskey which features 35% single malt and 65% grain whiskeys. Each style is individually matured in ex-bourbon barrels for 4 years and then married and finished in oloroso sherry casks for 12 months. Bottled without chill-filtration or added caramel at 43% ABV.

The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey is triple distilled from 100% malted Irish barley using copper pot stills. Aged in ex-oloroso sherry butts for a minimum of four years. Bottled in a unique, solid black hexagonal bottle at 40% ABV. Available in the US beginning November 2017.

Bushmills Black Bush is aged for 7-11 years, primarily in oloroso sherry casks with some ex-bourbon barrels in the mix. This Irish blend also includes a very high single malt whiskey percentage for a blended whiskey at 80%. Bottled at 80 proof. (SRP $31.99)

Glendalough is an independent distillery founded by five friends that has lead the craft revival in Ireland. Having made a splash with their poitín styles, this double-barrel whiskey is a step in a new direction. It's made from a mash bill of malted barley and corn distilled in Coffey stills. It's matured in ex-bourbon American oak barrels and then finished in first-fill Spanish oloroso sherry casks from Montilla. (SRP $34.99)

The Single Malt is triple distilled and aged in a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The whiskey is produced in 6000 bottle batches and are labeled with batch and bottle number. The brand has recently had a makeover and recently announced plans to build their own distillery in County Carlow, so expect to hear more from this small brand in the years to come.

This sherry cask finished whisky (McConnell's spells it without the "e") is the second release for the brand since it was reintroduced in 2020. Aged for 5 years, the blend is initially aged in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and then is finished in oloroso sherry casks. It's bottled without chill-filtration at 46% ABV and was launched in the US in June 2022.

The 12 Year Special Reserve stays true to the Original bottling in that is a blend of three kinds of whiskey: single malt, grain, and single pot still. In this case, the bottling is largely comprised of the single malt and pot still. The whiskey is aged in a mix of both bourbon and sherry casks, some up to 15 years.

Writers' Tears is a label from Walsh Whiskey Distillery which opened in 2016 in County Carlow. This bottling is a no-age statement Irish single malt aged in ex-oloroso sherry barrels (hence the name, Red Head). Bottled at 46% ABV, this single malt is non-chill filtered. Note: In December 2022, Red Head launched in the US in 22 markets. (SRP $69.99)

This is a single malt whiskey which is triple-distilled. It is a marriage of single malt whiskeys from the same distillery aged at least 14 years in a combination of ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks. This whiskey is non chill-filtered and no coloring is added.

This release from Redbreast is the fifth permanent addition to their core range and will be available in the US beginning October 2016. The whiskey is matured between 9 to 12 years in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks, before being vatted and finished in first-fill oloroso sherry butts from Bodegas Lustau in Jerez for an additional year. Non-chill-filtered, it is bottled at 46% ABV.

Redbreast is made in the classic Irish Single Pot Still style. This means it is produced using a mash bill consisting of both malted and unmalted barley which is triple distilled in copper pot stills. The 12 year is aged in ex-bourbon and European oak ex-oloroso sherry.

Arriving in the US in early 2014, the Green Spot is a single pot still whiskey produced at the Midleton Distillery and made exclusively for Mitchell & Sons. These wine merchants would buy casks of pot still whiskey and age in ex-sherry casks. These days, sherry casks only amount for 25% of the barrels with the remainder being ex-bourbon. The name is derived from the dab of paint used to identify the barrels by age, which in the Green Spot's case, is 7-8 years.