Hey scotch/whisky drinkers...do you buy it and age it like wine drinkers do?

[Ed_Flecko]

I find the topic of scotch and whisky very interesting.

I used to belong to a "wine of the month" club where I received two (2) bottles of wine every month. The idea was that you drank one of the bottles right away and just kept the other bottle to age and drink at a later time.

Since aged scotch and/or whisky seems to be so coveted (and potentially expensive), I was just wondering (for those of you who are big fans of scotch and/or whisky)...if you do something similar? Do you buy it today for the sole purpose of enjoying it "someday"? Is that a fun thing to do, or a waste of time?

Ed

 

[kschachn]

Unfortunately distilled spirits do not age in the bottle. Depending on the wine it may.

 

[stormgol]

Scotch does not age once it is out of the barrels. once it is bottled and sealed. aging is done. forever. but you can keep these bottles for a very long time. but your 25 years old Glenfarclas is still going to be 25 years old in 25 years.

 

[Ed_Flecko]

Very interesting!...thank you.

Ed

 

[Oillover]

Scotch does not age once it is out of the barrels. once it is bottled and sealed. aging is done. forever. but you can keep these bottles for a very long time. but your 25 years old Glenfarclas is still going to be 25 years old in 25 years.

What about bottle fermented beers?
There's some fancy English/German beers that have the yeast in the bottle.
Will these continue to age?

 

[Leo99]

I didn't think Scotch/whisky ages at home in glass bottles. Only in the barrels.

What about bottle fermented beers?
There's some fancy English/German beers that have the yeast in the bottle.
Will these continue to age?

I've aged the higher alcohol barley wines. They mellow a little after a couple years and then get worse.

 

[kschachn]

Also whether it is wine or some other fermented drink, don't confused "ages" with "improves".

This also applies to distilled spirits in barrels, sometimes the increased cost is only going to storage and volume loss. You can also definitely get an increase in undesirable taste. My father worked in the liquor industry for many years, sometimes lengthy barrel aging is strictly marketing.

 

[ecotourist]

Also whether it is wine or some other fermented drink, don't confused "ages" with "improves".

This also applies to distilled spirits in barrels, sometimes the increased cost is only going to storage and volume loss. You can also definitely get an increase in undesirable taste. My father worked in the liquor industry for many years, sometimes lengthy barrel aging is strictly marketing.

I expect you're right. But older Scotch does tend to be better. Maybe it's blended with more care.

As far as I know a "single malt Scotch" is a blend of different years and different barrels of a single facility's production. There are rules about what goes into a (say) 15 year old single malt Scotch. You can also buy single malts that come from a single barrel but they tend to be on the spendy side.

A "Blended Scotch" however uses product from different years, different styles and product from different facilities. There are some very good blended Scotches. My boss once bought me a bottle of the really good stuff from Whyte and MacKay. It was exceptional. And then there is Johnny Walker Blue, mostly famous (in my opinion) for being expensive. Though I do like Johnny Walker Black. And an inexpensive blend from Whyte and MacKay makes for a decent before dinner tipple.

 

[double vanos]

Around my house bottles of wine and scotch struggle to see the end of the month!

 

[Allaneddie]

The aging of Scotch is done in preused American bourbon barrels and/or Spanish wine casks. All the aging is done in the barrels in the barns. It doesn't get any more aged once it is bottled. All the age on the label is how long it sat in those barrels.

My drink of choice: a 14 year or older speyside like Glenfiddich.

 

[ecotourist]

My current supply:
Dalmore 12
Glenlivet 14
Old Pulteney 12
Auchentoshan 12
Bowmore 12
Whyte & MacKay (Blend)

 

[sloinker]

Once beer is bottled the time clock is on, especially clear bottled beers. At some point in the future it will become skunky and undrinkable. Nasty. I don't think bottled wine ages for flavor anymore either. I do know that spirits, once opened will lose volume magically over the years. I have also seen unopened, seal present, liquors with a quarter of the bottle volume missing after a decade. In the barrel it is called the Angel's share. In the bottle, not sure.

 

[stormgol]

my favorite scotch are those who are not chill filtered, not colored and have a minimum ABV of 46%. and if the distillery use worm tubes on top of that for me it is even better as me and my friends like meatier spirits. my favorite distillery is Edradour. they are very small. i believe a 2 to 3 man operation in Scotland. i have many incredible bottles from their distillery. all cask strength , non chill filtered, non colored and this distillery use worm tubes for a meaty spirit. they also make an excellent peated scotch under the Ballechin name. it is very smoky.

Edradour distillery - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Edradour Ballechin 19 Year Old Manzanilla Cask (55% abv) - Craft Cellars

Ballechin, the peated Edradour expressions, have released this beautiful marriage of three first fill Manzanilla Sherry Butts, all originally filled in 2004. After resting for 19 years it was bottled at cask strength, 55.5% abv, with no chill-filtration or added colour.

craftcellars.ca

https://craftcellars.ca/product/edradour-21-year-old-52-1-abv/

 

[ecotourist]

I don't think bottled wine ages for flavor anymore either.

It's complicated. The acid in wine interacts with the tannin to produce complex organic compounds that give it a mellow flavour.

That's why red wines (especially those with lots of tannin and acid) do improve for a while. But when the acid runs out, the wine just deteriorates. I've occasionally done that with fine wines I stored too long.

A wine with lots of complex organic compounds (ie a fine wine) produces wine tears (seen on the sides of a glass).

And white wines which have negligible tannin don't age well.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Unfortunately distilled spirits do not age in the bottle. Depending on the wine it may.

A truthful but inconvenient fact for people who don’t understand distilled spirits.

I’ve been in almost 100 rickhouses around Kentucky, full of barrels of some of the most expensive bourbons in the country. The thing I learned from the people who distill, barrel, age, then bottle the bourbon: once it’s hit its time in the rickhouse, the very best time to enjoy a fresh bottle of bourbon is NOW, and with some good friends!

 

[y_p_w]

They don't age in the bottle. Aging is done in wooden casks - typically those that were previously used for something else like bourbon, sherry, port, rum, etc. Some are even aged in wine casks. Sherry isn't terribly popular any more, but sherry casks are, and apparently there's a lot of sherry being made just so the casks can be sold. Maybe the sherry is sold cheap or turned into vinegar.

None of the Liquid, All of the Flavor: The Actual Business Behind Sherry Barrel-Aging

Sherry-cask whiskies are wildly popular. But if people aren’t really drinking sherry, where do sherry casks come from?

vinepair.com

There is some aging in fresh oak casks.

Whisky in Virgin Oak Casks - Whisky.com

www.whisky.com

I had a bottle of Lagavulin 16 and didn't drink it for a while - at least 5 years. I got back to it and it didn't taste like much. Not sure what the deal was with it. It tasted close to just tap water. It was only about 75 ml left though.

 

[y_p_w]

Scotch does not age once it is out of the barrels. once it is bottled and sealed. aging is done. forever. but you can keep these bottles for a very long time. but your 25 years old Glenfarclas is still going to be 25 years old in 25 years.

My understanding is that a lot of single malt Scotch may be blended from the output from different years of the same distillery. I'm not sure exactly what they do when they take them out of the barrel - maybe store it in tanks?

It's also a minimum age. If it's marked as 10 years, there could be older stuff in the blend. Supposedly older will mellow out somewhat, but also add color and some flavors. Ardbeg has an 8 year old they call "Wee Beastie" that supposedly has a stronger flavor because it hasn't been aged as long.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

What about bottle fermented beers?
There's some fancy English/German beers that have the yeast in the bottle.
Will these continue to age?

Seirra Nevada XX Ales have some yeast in the bottom, unsure if aging will improve it but doubt it. Some take a few sips out of the bottle then swill it around lightly to mix up some of the hops...

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

What about bottle fermented beers?
There's some fancy English/German beers that have the yeast in the bottle.
Will these continue to age?

There are a couple of barrel aged American double/Imperial Stouts that are high alcohol and age in the bottle. Deschutes Abyss recommends a year in storage for their wax sealed bombers before drinking. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is a similar offering, but their bottles aren't wax sealed and I notice after a while they tend to flatten out.
My palate isn't refined enough to taste the difference between the new stuff and aged, though.

 

[y_p_w]

Seirra Nevada XX Ales have some yeast in the bottom, unsure if aging will improve it but doubt it. Some take a few sips out of the bottle then swill it around lightly to mix up some of the hops...

They say it's bottle conditioned, but I don't believe they recommend any aging. I know with Russian River Brewing IPAs, they absolutely don't recommend bottle aging. Which is ironic because the first IPA was created so that there would still be flavor when transported from the UK to India which would take weeks. Sour beers can be bottle aged. I had an expensive sour that I left in the fridge for three years and it was great after that.