There’s a week to go until Christmas, and Hanukkah is well underway, which means there’s still a little time left to pick out that perfect gift bottle. If you’re looking for something specially crafted with the previous holiday in mind, Indian distillery Paul John has just announced the details of the latest edition of its annual Christmas single malt, and this year’s whiskey was unusually finished in a sherry cask.
Paul John is a distillery owned by Sazerac, the parent company of Buffalo Trace (among other distilleries and brands). It’s located in Goa, an Indian state known for its tropical climate, which means it ages faster than Scotland or even Kentucky. Used for the distillery’s single malts that are grown in fields that press the Himalayas, and a mixture of peated and unpeated malts are used to create different expressions. The core line-up consists of a wide range of whiskeys that are initially aged in ex-bourbon barrels, with some cask-finishing in the mix, all of which are highly regarded among whiskey (and whiskey) aficionados.
The Christmas Edition launched in 2018 as a blend of cask and cask whiskeys, and each year the formula changes in terms of the specific whiskey ingredients used and ranges from sherry to brandy to liquor, sherry to cask finish. This year’s release is an 8-year-old unaged whiskey (the oldest ever from the distillery) that spent five years in bourbon barrels and then another three in cream cox. This is a type of cask that is not usually used for whiskey maturation, but refers to a barrel that was held with a mixture of sweet and dry sherry. In this case, Pedro Jimenez and Oloroso. It was bottled unchilled at 48% ABV.
“Every edition of Christmas tells its own story,” Paul John master blender Michael D’Souza said in a statement. “2025 is one of delightful harmonies. Spanish cream sherry cox from Pedro Jimenez and Oloroso wines impart a richness that is as sweet and sophisticated as Christmas.” And that seems to be the point: to capture some element of Christmas flavor, whatever that might be for you. We didn’t get to sample this year’s whiskey, but the official tasting notes describe aromas of plum, cherry and honey on the nose. Followed by apple, stone fruit, caramel, roasted nuts, and butterscotch on the palate. And molasses, dried berries, and Christmas cake at the end.
Some 6,000 more bottles of this year’s Paul John Christmas Edition are being released, with a portion allocated to the US (SRP $85). These are only showing up at specialty retailers around the country, or you can also order a bottle from websites like Master of Malt but act fast, as it seems to be sold out online.
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