By far the most important evolution of the 2026 Hell Diver was the introduction of Oloroso casks. Hell Diver has always focused on sherry casks and the predominant cask type of the 2026 release remains Pedro Ximénez sherry. However, the secondary cask maturation for Hell Diver First Flight and Hell Diver 2025 was Cognac casks, which provide a soft cushion of white fruit and a creamy foundation that helped to hold together those first two editions of Hell Diver.

In Hell Diver 2026, we replaced the affable Cognac casks with the far more domineering Oloroso.

We created a straightforward blend of 6 whiskies aged between 16 and 25 years. Alongside the Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso we used two different ISC, heavily toasted, new American oak types - Char #1 and Char #2.

Candidly, we avoided the temptation to overblend this whisky. We did not sand away every rough edge or dampen the intense flavors. Instead, we accentuated the densest notes, only slightly reining in the rowdiest flavors and letting the intensity of Pedro Ximénez sherry match the intensity of Oloroso sherry.