Summerton Whisky Club’s April 2024 Club Bottle: SLYRS Single Malt Whisky Amontillado Cask Finish
Whilst the story of SLYRS starts in 1994, with the first spirit distilled in 1999, it is 2007 and the construction of their own whisky distillery where the story gets tasty. Before then, like so many in central Europe, their whisky was created in a distillery that traditionally crafted fruit spirits.
Once they had their own distillery they began producing consistently high quality make spirit using local Bavarian barley and Alpine spring water, and ageing onsite, where the local environment ensures the casks have a greater impact on the resting whisky than in Scotland, creating a truly local Bavarian whisky.
This has given rise to their slogan, “It’s not a Scotch, it’s not a Bourbon, its a SLYRS”
By 2014 the effort started seeing rewards, when they were voted Europe’s Best Single Malt, and those who have been watching my travels to distilleries will have seen that I have been visiting since 2019, with the aim of bringing them to the UK for us to enjoy. Thankfully after four years they finally gave in and I am very happy to be able to share their whisky with you.
This whisky is initially aged for two and a half years in new American white oak casks, then transferred to first fill Amontillado sherry casks for a further four years, casks that have been used for fifty years by Bodegas Tradición in Jerez, Spain before being sent to SLYRS. Like me, it took SLYRS a number of years to convince Joaquín Rivero of Bodegas Tradición to supply the casks, it was only after the fifth visit to the distillery that he agreed… the effort was worth it.
Whilst we often see Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso casks used, Amontillado is a unique style of its own. To give an explanation of Amontillado I have asked Dan Parsons, a friend who is one of the three behind the Waxhouse Whisky Co brand and the greatest sherry fan I know, to share a description…
“To my mind and palate, Amontillado is one of the most interesting and unique varieties of Sherry.
Starting life as a Fino, the driest and most delicate of the sherry wines made from the first press of the palomino grape, these wines are initially aged under a yeast ‘flor’ and have no contact with the oxygen in the cask. This biological ageing produces a dry savoury wine with notes of orchard fruit and toasted almonds.
If left to its own devices, this flor will die once it has consumed all the sugars in the wine and this then allows contact with the oxygen. This oxidative ageing, nature’s alchemy, is where the wine will have more interaction with the cask and start to colour and take on notes of nuts and tobacco. That musty bodega hit that conjures such wonderful aromas. (Romance killer alert- many bodegas will force this process after a number of years by adding more alcohol, bringing the ab up to 18%, thus killing the flor).
Aged in the Solera System, wine is drawn from each cask twice a year and each is topped up from the cask above, or with new wine in the case of the top criadera. Wine is drawn from the Solera cask at the bottom for bottling, meaning that in every glass you are truly drinking a little history.
This process produces a truly elegant dry wine which once you have nosed will certainly surprise your palate as you are expecting a sweeter hit. Best serve straight from chilled, do not pass go, do not collect £200, this is an incredibly versatile wine and pairs well with…pretty much anything.
Many wonder why Amontillado is not used for ageing whisky as widely as the more popular Oloroso and PX. It is true to say that less of this wine is produced than Oloroso but I think the reason lies more with the dryness of this wine. I am always intrigued whenever I see a new Amontillado aged whisky released but not all hit the spot so my guess is it can be a difficult one to get right. But when you do, wow, it can be a winner!
On the nose, I would hope to get classic sherry notes of dried fruit, with softer hints of vanilla and spice and on the palate like to see this carry through and be joined by that nutty influence and a dusty leather characteristic which will transport me back to that musty bodega. The kind of whisky that you would like to quaff whilst sitting in my armchair in front of the fire with a good read.”
70CL • 46%ABV
Members £74.95 // Non-members £79.95
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Member’s Photo Competition
Don’t miss this month’s Member’s Photo Competition. Twenty winners will receive a small jar of SLYRS whisky-infused jam.
To enter, share a picture with your bottle on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, tag us @SummertonClub) and use #SummertonWhiskyShots. Every picture you share gets you an entry and there’s no limit to how many times you can enter.
Entries start from the afternoon of Tuesday 23rd April, please don’t post before as it might ruin the surprise for other members.