Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Did you guys know that the scotch industry is permitted to use E150A (caramel color) in scotch? I guess it's because the most commonly used cooperage is used bourbon barrels from the U.S. and the majority of the wood coloring has already been pulled by the American whiskey.
If you hold up a glass of scotch and the color has sort of a "fluorescence" to it you are most likely looking at the color additive. Sherry cask aged scotches will look redder and that color will more likely be natural. This is why I like the scotches in dark green bottles. It prevents the bias due to color at the store and prevents the distilleries from adding as much, or any, E150A. Ardbeg Ten has a very light color, in fact, which tells me that they most likely don't add coloring.
I believe the whole practice may be geared toward Americans who tend to equate color with age and quality. You MAY be able to equate color with age for a bourbon (level of barrel char can do it as well), but not with scotch. With scotch the color means almost nothing.
Not to mention the "No Age Statement" that is allowed and some distillers take advantage of.
see ralfystuff youtube channel (which I mentioned earlier), as he goes into detail about the NAS and origins of E150A
Did you guys know that the scotch industry is permitted to use E150A (caramel color) in scotch? I guess it's because the most commonly used cooperage is used bourbon barrels from the U.S. and the majority of the wood coloring has already been pulled by the American whiskey.
If you hold up a glass of scotch and the color has sort of a "fluorescence" to it you are most likely looking at the color additive. Sherry cask aged scotches will look redder and that color will more likely be natural. This is why I like the scotches in dark green bottles. It prevents the bias due to color at the store and prevents the distilleries from adding as much, or any, E150A. Ardbeg Ten has a very light color, in fact, which tells me that they most likely don't add coloring.
I believe the whole practice may be geared toward Americans who tend to equate color with age and quality. You MAY be able to equate color with age for a bourbon (level of barrel char can do it as well), but not with scotch. With scotch the color means almost nothing.
Not to mention the "No Age Statement" that is allowed and some distillers take advantage of.
see ralfystuff youtube channel (which I mentioned earlier), as he goes into detail about the NAS and origins of E150A