Why are old bourbon or old sherry casks used for the maturation process?
In the bourbon whiskey industry casks can only be used for 2 years under American law. Thus, there are literally thousands of casks that would otherwise be thrown away if the Irish Whiskey Industry or the Scotch Whiskey Industry did not use them for maturing their whiskeys. Furthermore, the fact that these casks have been used before adds an extra dimension to the flavour for the maturing whiskey. The same is true for sherry casks. These are especially sought after because having been used previously in sherry maturation, they add a sweet, nutty dimension to the whiskey.
