Old school, dirty sherry...

The Macallan 10/12 Year Old Sherry Cask.

I would recommend Glendronach (the 15 yo Revival) - dirty oldschool sherry style; if you want to spend more older Karuizawa or Benriach are also excellent.

@OCeallaigh - Ruben (Whiskynotes) referred to dirty sherry style in a discussion recently - maybe you can find it (I couldn't) or contact him...

Dirty sherry is essentially sulphury sherry with meaty, beafy notes. Some of us really like that, others (including myself) don't, or at least only to a certain degree. Old-school sherry for me isn't necessarily dirty, it rather means that the sherry casks used were "real" sherry casks and not just the modern, merely infused casks that weren't actually used in bodegas. This is typically fuller, richer sherry than we tend to find today.

For dirty sherry, I suggest old Mortlach. This spirit is sulphury already, and a dirty sherry cask can enhance these notes. Some GlenDronachs also have this indeed, as do more recent Glen Scotia, Glengoyne, Springbank, Tamdhu and Tobermory. Germany is a good place to find them, a lot of Germans seem to be fond of this style.

For clean, rich old-style sherry, you'll have to look for old Longmorn, Strathisla, Macallan, Glenfarclas or Glen Grant, especially the ones from the 1960's / 1970's or even before that. Gordon & MacPhail have a lot of good Strathisla / Longmorn in this style, especially the ones bottled for Limburg Whisky Fair.

...I once dated a girl named Dirty Sherry.....

@WhiskyNotes, excellent information. Thanks for sharing.

@TheConscience That just made me laugh out loud.:D Did she have beafy notes too?

@Fons LOL. Literally...