HI there,

Its not usually the type of wood that effects the taste and colour of the whisky, but what the cask has had in it before.

Some Distilleries such as Macallan use nothing but Ex sherry casks to infuse the right amber colour and sherry taste. Obviously by using a new sherry cask you get more of the sherry infusing into the spirit and colour than if you use an refill sherry cask. Other distilleries use Borbourn casks and at the moment now a number of distilleries are experimenting with Port and RUm casks and some like Glen Moray are finishing the whisky off if Chardonnay wine casks to give the whisky a subtle finish. The longer you leave the spirit (which becomes whisky in 3 years) in the cask the more colour and flavour it takes out of the wood. If the cask is used too often without charring of the whisky is left in too long all the flavour will have come out of the barrel and the whisky will then begin to taste woody which will ruin the whisky.

Hope this helps