Finishing is the procedure that some single malt Scotch whisky

Single malt Scotch

Single Malt Scotch is whisky made in Scotland using a pot still distillation process at a single distillery, with malted barley as the only grain ingredient...

 undergoes whereby the spirit is matured in a cask of a particular origin and then spends time in a cask of different origin. Typically, the first cask is an American oak cask formerly used to mature bourbon

Bourbon whiskey

Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...

. The second cask is usually one that has been used to mature some sort of fortified wine

Fortified wine

Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

, often sherry

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

, though sometimes port

Port wine

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...

, madeira

Madeira wine

Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...

, or even standard wines such as burgundy

Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...

 or chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

.

Some of the more well-known finished whiskies include Balvenie

Balvenie

The Balvenie Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland owned by William Grant & Sons.-William Grant:...

 "Double Wood", which is finished in sherry casks, Glenlivet "American Oak Finish" and "French Oak Finish", which are finished in brand-new casks of the respective woods, and the Glenmorangie range of sherry

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

, port

Port wine

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...

, madeira

Madeira wine

Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...

, and burgundy

Burgundy wine

Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...

finishes.