Q. Is the included cask real?
Yes! A cooper has handcrafted it in the same way, from the same materials, that large casks are constructed for maturing whisky directly by the distilleries.
Q. What kind of wood is the cask made of?
The cask is new American White Oak and has been toasted to a medium char. It has never been filled with whisky or anything else, so that maturing will occur relatively quickly.
Q. What kind of whisky is included in the kit?
The whisky is a Pure Malt Whisky, consisting of a blend of about 10 individual Single Malt whiskies.
Q. Where is the whisky from?
Most of the whisky (99%) is Scotch Whisky. Our master blender has selected whiskies from various regions of Scotland to create a unique blend especially for Whisky Works.
We have also added 1% Canadian Single Malt Whisky in order to comply with Canadian Law.
Q. How old is the whisky?
The youngest Single Malt incuded in the whisky is 3 years old. The oldest is more than 12 years old.
(The label on the whisky bottle lists the age as 3 years old, the youngest malt in the vatting.)
Q. How soon before I can drink the whisky?
Since the whisky has already been matured a minimum of 3 years, it is quite drinkable and can be enjoyed as it is.
Of course, maturing it further will result in a whisky with more character and robustness.
Q. How long should I leave the whisky in the cask to get the benefit of maturing?
This is a matter of personal taste, and we encourage you to experiment.
However, you will find that the whisky matures relatively quickly.
This is because there is a small amount of whisky with a proportionally large surface area of wood.
That is, unlike hogsheads (250 litre) casks or butts (500 litre casks) typically used to mature Scotch, your 1 litre cask allows greater contact of the whisky with the wood.
As well, Scotch whisky is matured in used oak that, while adding flavours from Bourbon or Sherry, reguires greater time to mature its contents.
Like Bourbon, which is also aged in new oak casks, less time is required to mature the whisky in "new fill" casks.
Q. How soon will changes start to occur?
We have found that after only one or two weeks, the whisky in Whisky Works turns a rich golden colour and already has great vanilla , toffee and oak flavouring.
Each cask is different; therefore your whisky will take on unique colour, nose, taste and finish.
You may want to buy serveral Whisky Works kits to experiment!
Q. What is the maximum amount of time I should leave the whisky in the cask?
Since the whisky matures quickly, you will find that after a couple of months the whisky has matured considerably.
You should sample the whisky frequently to determine when you want to remove it from the cask, after which maturation will cease.
We have found that a couple of months is generally long enough to enjoy the benefits of maturing with Whisky Works.
Q. Can the cask be reused?
Yes. Of course, subsequent uses may require longer periods of time.
Q. Can I put other whiskies in the cask?
Sure. We would recommend a cask strength whisky, but know that this may be hard to find. You can put any type of whisky in the cask and have it mature further.
Some people turn the cask into a "living cask", continually adding new whisky of different types as they draw off whisky from the cask to enjoy.
Q. How about experimenting with different finishes?
Lots of people have, with excellent results, experimented with putting sherry, rum, and other wine or spirits into the cask for a couple of weeks, draining it, then adding the whisky.
They have reported unique finishes to their personal style whisky.
