Does Scotch Whiskey continue to "age" after it has been bottled?

Question

aging of alchol

Answer 1

No
Whiskey is an alcoholic beverage made by distilling a fermented mash of grain. In North America, corn is the primary grain, usually combined with malted barley, rye and/or wheat. In Scotland, Ireland and Japan, barley is the main grain, both malted and unmalted.

The first difference between whiskey and grain neutral spirits (i.e., vodka) is the proof of distillation. Neutral spirits are distilled at more than 190 proof (i.e., >95% alcohol), while whiskey must (by law) be distilled at less than 190 proof. In practice, most whiskey is distilled at much less than the legal maximum proof, usually between 110 and 140 (55% to 70% alcohol).

The proof of distillation is significant because alcohol is alcohol. That is, pure alcohol, regardless of the source, all tastes the same. The distinctive flavor characteristics of any alcohol beverage are conveyed by the non-alcohol components.

These distinctive flavor characteristics have not always been considered desirable, however. The quest in all distilling cultures has been to find ways to make their national beverages more palatable. Some, through better stills and or multiple distillations, managed to create a nearly pure (and tasteless) spirit, which they then flavored with herbs, berries, spices, etc. An example of this is gin, which is grain neutral spirit (GNS) flavored with juniper berries and other natural flavorings. Other cultures discovered ways of making a lower proof spirit taste better. The most inspired of these solutions was to age the new distillate in wood, preferably oak. Both the fruit distilling cultures and the grain distilling cultures discovered this, thus whiskey and brandy, respectively, were born. In the U.S.A., it was discovered that charring the inside of the barrel and using it only once created the most pleasant result of all: bourbon whiskey.

Today, almost all whiskey is aged in oak barrels before it is bottled and sold. Unaged whiskey, also called green whiskey or white dog, is as clear as vodka, but with much more flavor. Corn whiskey is just about the only green whiskey you will find at retail. It is the only unaged product permitted to use the term "whiskey" in the U.S. "Georgia Moon" is a widely distributed brand of corn whiskey.

Aged whiskey gets all of its color and much of its flavor from the oak. The aging process works like this. During warm weather, the liquid expands into the wood. During cool weather, the liquid contracts, pulling liquid out of the wood and bringing with it various sugars, tannins and other flavors. Whiskey does all of its aging in the wood, which is why it is left there for many years. Bourbon whiskey is always aged in new, white oak barrels, the insides of which are deeply charred. The whiskey is usually considered to be mature in 4 to 6 years. After about 12 years in most cases, the spirit becomes too woody for most tastes. Unlike wine, whiskey does not continue to age (i.e., change) in the bottle. A well-filled and well-sealed bottle of whiskey will taste exactly the same in 100 years as it does today.

Tennessee whiskey is very similar to bourbon, except that the whiskey is run through a charcoal filter 10 feet thick before barreling, to leach out some of the fusel oils. Distillers on either side of the Kentucky-Tennessee border will argue until the end of time about whether this improves or ruins the flavor.

In contrast to the practices of Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey makers, Scotch, Irish, Canadian and Japanese distillers reuse their barrels many times, literally until they fall apart. They often buy old bourbon barrels, sherry casks and other used cooperage. Because these barrels are already somewhat spent, the whiskies benefit less from short aging and more from extended aging, which is why we see more 25 year old scotch than 25 year old bourbon.

Straight whiskey is the product of one distillation at one distillery and is fully aged. Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey and Rye Whiskey are examples of US-made straight whiskeys. A Single Malt Scotch or Single Malt Irish Whiskey is a "straight" too, but they usually don't use that term. Blended whiskey may be a blend of several straight, aged whiskies, as is typical in Canada, or a blend of both aged and unaged, which describes most Scotch and Irish Whiskey. Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey are always straights. There is such a thing as Blended Bourbon (sometimes labeled "Bourbon, a Blend"), but you will see it almost never. As the name suggests, it is a blend of bourbons from several distilleries, similar to a Scottish Vatted Malt.

American blended whiskey is something very different. It contains very little aged whiskey. By law, 20% of the blend must be 100 proof straight whiskey. Some brands may contain a little more. The rest is green whiskey, neutral spirits, and who knows what else.

Answer 2

Yes, even after it's bottled it will still bottle age, just because it was taken out of it's barrel doesn't mean it won't change, just like wine I'm sure that certain components that it get's from the barrel will mellow out. I work for a winery and I know for a fact that wine does bottle age too. And the cool thing about ageing a bottle of whiskey is that the alcohol is high enough (even 80 proof) that you could keep it forever (unopened).

Answer 3

Once in the bottle, it gets older, but doesn't age past the time of uncasking.

Answer 4

No. It ages in the barrel. Once it is bottled the "aging' process ends.

Answer 5

no, bottling essential stops the ageing process.

Answer 6

No.

Spirits such as whisky, brandy, vodka do not age. They remain as they were when bottled.

Answer 7

Nope!

Answer 8

No...once its out of the cask it remains the same in glass

Answer 9

No

Answer 10

of coarse it does