This is a collaborative post: Searching for the perfect gift for a whisky lover? Perhaps you’re looking to add a tasty tipple to your own drinks cabinet?
Whether you’re a whisky beginner or a full-blown connoisseur, finding a quality Scotch or whisky gift set can take time and effort. After all, several things contribute to the taste and scent, including (but not limited to) the water source, grain recipe and distillery method.
Though it’s not a legal requirement, age statements are clearly visible on most whisky bottles – including miniature 30ml measures – so it’s only natural to wonder how much of a difference it can make to the flavour.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at whether age is just a number or if older drams really do taste better than younger ones.
So, let’s get started.
How does the whisky ageing process work?
The ageing process in whisky occurs while the spirit is maturing in the oak casks.
At a minimum, whisky must mature in Scotland for 3 years to be legally classified as Scotch.
American bourbon, on the other hand, must age for at least 2 years in fresh charred oak barrels to help withdraw butanol and ethanol to provide a smoother taste.
Whilst maturing, the whisky gains flavour from the cask too. This is because they are usually treated with spices and other flavourings to enrich the taste.
What does a whisky’s age statement mean?
A common misconception about whisky is its age.
Most people assume that a 12-year-old whisky has been matured for 12 years, taken out of the cask and bottled. However, the truth is that most whiskies are blends – made up of several different batches that vary in age.
As the distillation process can take a long time, distillers often infuse younger batches with older ones. This helps to maintain a standard across a large volume of whisky whilst keeping the taste of a popular brand the same.
The age statement is always the youngest whisky in the batch – regardless of the ratio.
Labelling is a tightly controlled aspect of whisky making, therefore, distillers are legally bound to correctly label their whiskies.
Does whisky get better with age?
Whisky generally improves with age – but as soon as it’s bottled, the ageing process immediately ends.
That means, whether a 5-year-old expression spends a year or 50 years on the shelf in your home bar untouched, it will still be a 5-year-old whisky.
The taste profile of a whisky doesn’t alter if it remains unopened, as it draws all its flavour from the wood that it matures in at the distillery.
Admittedly, if a whisky spends a long time in the barrel, ageing, it can start to lose its grain taste. However, it will impart more flavour from the oak – providing a more sophisticated, mellower taste with more notes to savour.
If the cask is kept in warmer conditions, the whisky will also mature much quicker as the heat causes the wood to expand, allowing the spirit to penetrate the wood. Once the cask cools down, the whisky is pushed back out from the wood, along with the extra flavour.
Is an older whisky right for you?
Choosing the perfect dram based on your taste profile can be challenging, especially if you don’t have much whisky-tasting experience. But why not treat yourself to an Old and Rare Scotch whisky gift set?
Within the hand-finished gift box, you’ll receive five 30ml bottles of Scotland’s finest single malt whiskies – just enough to sample and savour the taste without it going to your head. Also included are individual tasting cards that give you a little more info about the whisky itself and the distillery, plus a luxury whisky-tasting mat.