Whisky by Flavour - Fruit - Dried Fruits
Dried fruits have had nearly all their water content removed, this is done either through sun exposure or a specialised dehydrator. This process increases the rich textures of the fruits and provides a coating mouthfeel.
The production influence for fruit aromas and notes comes from the creation of esters in the fermentation stage of production. The longer the fermentation the more esters are created which give fruity flavours to the new make spirit, however, the distillation and more importantly the shape and size of the still are key for how dense the spirit is and this results in deeper richer flavours and texture or a lighter and more floral spirit. A dense spirit, with almost a chewy mouthfeel, can come from the use of a Worm Tub condenser, spirit in this style combined with maturation can create a great combination for enjoying Dried fruit flavours.
Secondly, the maturation influence for fruit flavours comes from the previous fill of the cask, dried fruits, particularly raisins, dates, ginger and cherries are typical flavours to find in a whisky which has been matured for some time in a Sherry cask. There are 6 main types of Sherry produced in Jerez, however, the more common cask types specified by distilleries are Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks, these can also provide a deep mahogany colour during maturation, but the colour is by no means a guarantee or exclusivity of the rich dried fruit flavours we can find in our whisky.
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