Morris Whisky Smoked Sherry Barrel

Morris Whisky released a limited edition Smoked Sherry Barrel Single Malt Whisky just in time for Christmas. This Australian whisky takes the Sherry Barrel from Morris’ core range and finishes maturation in heavily charred barrels to impart a smoky flavour to an already popular dram.

Watch the video review below, or keep reading for full whisky tasting notes.

Morris Whisky was started by Morris Wines of Rutherglen, known internationally for producing award winning fortified wines. They are genuinely one of my favourite Australian distilleries. I’ve never been disappointed with any of their releases, and their whisky isn’t drastically overpriced.

Their latest release, the Smoked Sherry Barrel has been aged in casks that held the Morris Wines 10 year old aged Amber Apera, then further matured in heavily charred oak to give it a wood smoke note, before bottling at 50% ABV.

These charred barrels are hand-toasted at the Morris Wines’ own cooperage by head cooper Anton Remkes. The result is intended to be “a marriage of impressive dried citrus sherry notes with lingering smoky finish“. This is a similar process to their smoked Muscat Barrel, which was also very highly regarded.

Naturally, I was very happy to review this one. Morris Whisky did send me this bottle in order to review it, but that’s not going to influence my tasting notes.

Whisky Tasting Notes

Appearance: Notably darker than the standard Sherry Barrel, this whisky is an amber colour with a faint reddish hue. It has some incredibly thick legs, characteristic of those oily congeners their distiller, Darren Peck, loves to make sure are present to carry full bodied flavour.

Nose: Pleasant and interesting nose. I expected to get something quite different to the original Sherry Barrel, but those notes are there with a layer of smoke on top. The more you nose, the more these two balance with each other. There are zesty citrus notes that come from the sherry casks, elements of charred wood smoke, and somewhere in the middle the two meet to create almost this cooked citrus aroma.

Palate: Initially your palate is hit with the charred smoke, but as that subsides a little you actually start picking up notes of Apera. Not necessarily an Apera barrel aged whisky, but actual notes of Australian Apera aged in a warm climate. This is followed by buttery biscuity notes that are characteristic of Morris Whiskies. Further development reveals some mulled wine herb flavours, nutmeg and burnt butter.

Finish: The smoke lingers on the palate like a campfire the following morning, entwined with citrus and grape fruit flavours.

I’d recommend anything from Morris Whisky and the Smoked Sherry Barrel is no exception. Most single malt drinkers enjoy these whiskies, and I think this would appeal to people looking to explore flavours that are peat adjacent – that is, similar to a peated whisky, but a little bit different.

Keep in mind, this is a limited release, much like the Smoked Muscat, which is sold out. So if you want to get hold of this, you may need to hurry.