GALVESTON SINGLE MALT
Cask No. 2 (2020)MASH BILL – 100% malted barley
PROOF – 90
AGE – 12 years in VORS Amontillado Sherry casks
DISTILLERY – Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana
PRICE – $54
WORTH BUYING? – Yes
A whisky made entirely in Spain?
The only thing about Spain I associate with whisky is sherry casks used for aging. But for some reason, in 2008 the now 233-year-old Spanish winery, Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana, decided to distill some barley harvested from the Sierra Nevada hills of Granada. After a 72-hour fermentation, the wash was double-distilled in copper stills, then poured into two American oak barrels that had previously spent 200 years in Hidalgo’s Napoleon Amontillado VORS solera system. After 12 years in Hidalgo’s wine cellars, the whisky was deemed ready.
Fans of Spanish and American history will clock the name, Galveston. It is the name of a Texas island city, south of Houston just off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The city was named after its founder, Governor Galvez (1746-1786), in what was then Spanish Louisiana, later Texas. Galvez played a key role in the American war for Independence against Great Britain. He won honors for leading a battle against the English fleet in the port of Florida.
Why did Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana decide to honor Galvez with a Scottish style single malt whisky? I have no idea. Neither the bottle’s label nor Hidalgo’s website offer any detailed reasoning. The endeavor appears to have been a one-off, in any case, as no mention of it can be found on their current website and trademark records indicate they were fairly quick to let it go.
I found six bottles of this stuff collecting dust on a local shop’s shelf sometime in 2021. Curious, I brought one home. But I’ve only just recently opened it.
And what a surprise! Spicy sherry on the nose, not at all overpowering, with black pepper, tangy beef jerky, pork salami, and blackberry jam. The taste followed the nose’s lead, emphasizing the fruit over the meat notes, and with a silky texture verging into syrupy. On the finish a touch of sherry sulfur finally arrived. But not too much. Just a whiff amidst lingering baked cherry and blackberry compote notes.
Well now. Who knew the Spaniards knew their way around single malt whisky? Not me. Out of the gate this was good, approachable, and complex whisky, with a strong yet relaxed sherry cask influence. Well done, Hidalgo. How would the bottle air out?
Here we are, three and a half weeks after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – a dusty but clear amber-orange
NOSE – sweet and earthy sherry, juicy raisins, dried figs, subtle sulfur, rich mulchy soil, bay leaf, dry stone
TASTE – very like the nose, emphasizing the dried fruits and sherry
FINISH – sherry, rich red plum, sulfur like on high-end dried fruit
OVERALL – 🍷💣❗️
The meatiness from uncorking has dissipated, leaving the sherry and its vibrant fruity influence to dominate. Though less complex as a result, the whisky remains approachable and very easy to sip.
One must like sherry though. I’ve had many Oloroso and PX sherry casked whiskies. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a whisky aged in Amontillado casks. I’m not a sherry expert, by far. Beyond Edgar Allen Poe’s short story in which a cask of the stuff figures, my understanding of Amontillado is that it sits somewhere between Fino and Oloroso on the scale of dry. Absorbed by this single malt whisky for 12 years, it comes across like fine dried fruits, sweet but sulfury in a rich, not unpleasing way.
Sulfur is one of those odd notes that can be divisive, like the rubbery creosote that shows up in some rye whiskeys. It’s certainly counter-intuitive when it manages to be pleasing. Here it’s right at the border for me. I enjoy this whisky, like I enjoy really good dried fruit. But even when the quality is high, I’d ultimately prefer less sulfur or even none.
So when I’m in a sherry-bomb mood, I’ll reach for this. I’ll also put it to use in cocktails that call for sherry, where it will likely substitute well. If you’re not big into sherry yourself, you certainly don’t need to seek this out. But if you’re curious what a Spanish whisky can be like, Galveston is worth a go if you stumble across it. And quite fitting actually that a whisky from Spain, the land of sherry, would be such a showcase for the impact old sherry casks can have.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 