Lightly sherried single malt suggestions...

Aberlour 10 or Balvenie Double Wood 12 are both lightly sherried; the Aberlour 10 is far less expensive, so might be a better bet.

I would recommend Whisky which has been matured in a combination of american and european oak; if it has been entirely in european oak Sherry casks than you should look for a refill cask as the sherry influence is usually less dominant as in first fill. The cask size is also important (go for the big ones you can check out whiskyforeveryone.blogspot.co.at/2009/05/… for info) so a refill butt would be good.

You can start at independent bottlers or go to original bottlings of Aberfeldy, Ben Nevis, Blair Athol, Balvenie, Cragganmore, BenRiach, Glen Elgin or Dalwhinnie.

For a light sherry influence in a relatively good value whisky you might consider any of these:

Strathisla 12 yr, Balvenie 12 yr Signature (a vatting of whisky from three different types of casks, not just a "finish" like the DoubleWood), Arran 10 yr, and Benromach 10 yr (also lightly peated). Aberlour 12 yr might also fit your desire, but you might want to try it before you buy a bottle.

Probably hard to come by any more, but if you find the older version of Dalmore 12 yr with a cream colored label, it's far superior to the new issue (not so sherried).

@YakLord glenmorangie lasanta fits the bill. pretty inexpensive too.

@dramster - true, but up here in Ontario it is $80 CAD a bottle (and the LCBO just discontinued it)...not sure what the price is in NY, but if I were looking at an intro to light sherry and didn't want to spend too much on a bottle that I may not enjoy, I'd go with Aberlour (but then again, I really like the Aberlour, so perhaps I am biased?)

@YakLord i love arberlour abunadh. simply put...i have yet to speak with anyone who thought it was bad. its a sherry bomb, but you could do a lot worse. how about macallan 12? its a nice balance of sherry, pepper and pretty friendly all-around.

If you want some light sherryed whiskys give Macallan 10 and 12 a go. Fine oak would be lightly sherryed, the sherry oak I'd still call light but it is heavier then there fine oak range. Highland Park 18 is another one, it's also an amazing whisky.

@dramster - haven't tried abunadh yet, but up in these parts it too is expensive (~$95), as is the Macallan 12 (~$90), although I have had the Macallan and enjoyed it, but both are again more heavily sherried than the Aberlour 10 or 12...

Little bump here.....

A store nearby has the Highland Park 15 year for $65...Another store has the Highland Park 18 yr for $90; I'm leaning towards the HP 18 - however I've read that there's been some recent quality control issues...That said I'm thinking of venturing into Aberlour - more specifically the 12 yr, and maybe the Dalmore 12 yr as well.

@FMichael I like everything from HP. I think both the 15 and the 18 have their charms. If I were to be stuck on a desert island, I think I would want the 18, but I sure wouldn't turn down a dram of the 15 either.

The 18 costs $115 here, if I could buy the 18 for $90, I'd buy a case.

-R

I would consider Glenfiddich 15 yr as a lightly sherried Whisky as well. In my opinion a great dram, which is usually pretty inexpensive. Of all the other ones mentioned I would go with Aberlour 10 yr. Another great value for money whisky. The Balvenie DW, is also not bad, but in my opinion much more delicate and sweet than the Aberlour. If you've enjoyed HP 12 and the Bunny 12, Aberlour may really be a great fit.

@drinix Ah - yes...I forgot all about the Glenfiddich 15 yr Solera; very similar to it's little brother from down the road the Balvenie Signature 12 yr.

I haven't seen the Aberlour 10 yr near me - however the Aberlour 12 yr seems pretty abundant.

Second thumbs up on both the GF 15 and the AB 12. I especially like the price point on the Aberlour.

@RobertH A question for you Robert if I may?...How would you rate the "sherry" content of the Aberlour 12 yr?

As I stated in my original post - I like a resonable amount of sherry influenced in my whisky, but not too much ie Glenfarclas 12 yr.

The Bruichladdich Fino 1992 Sherry Edition is one of the lightest sherry expressions I have ever come across. I love a heavily sherried expression from time to time, but this one is anything but heavy. I was impressed at how muted, understated the sherry is in this one. It's a great, "first one of the day" whisky or for something light on a hot, summer day.

Just tried the new Glenglassaugh Revival last night. It's worth considering for a light sherry flavor. It's young (3 years), but like many new, young-uns, it's 46%, not chill-filtered, and has no caramel coloring. With a good piece of chocolate it sings.

Picked up the Highland Park 15 yr...Interesting how different the 15 yr is to it's lil'brother the 12 yr...The lighter flavoured 15 yr spends much of it's time aging in American Oak sherried casks where as the 12 yr is Spanish Oak sherried casks...Both top notch whisky's!

Well - got the Highland Park 18 yr this morning on the way home from work...As I was ready to make my way to the checkout counter I noticed an empty slot (Aberlour 12 yr), but it was the older sibling "next door" - the Aberlour 16 yr for $49 that piqued my interest.

There's the possibility that I may find it "too sherried" for my taste, but what the hell - ya gotta go out on a limb once in a while, and make a spontaneous purchase.

I gotta say that I'm very impressed with the Aberlour 16 yr; nice amount of spice with some sweetness...The Highland Park 18 yr was smooth/sweet/smokey...A more gentle/mature version of the 12 yr expression.

I'm starting to re-think my position on sherried single malts; maybe it's the Glenfarclas range of sherried malts that I'm not a fan of?

Went out for a bit last night; stopped at a liquor store that has a very nice selection of single malts...My intention was to pick up another Highland Park 15 yr - however that did not take place.

Instead I left the store with 2 more Aberlour's; the A'Bunadh, and a newly released 12 yr Non-Chill Filtered.

After meeting a co-worker friend of mine for a few brews - I got home early, and decided to resist temptation on opening up the new whisky's, but instead had a lovely dram of the Aberlour 16 yr (it tasted wonderfully).