does bottled scotch age?

Question

if I have a 21 year old bottle of scotch and keep it for two years, does it turn into a 23 year old bottle of scotch or does it taste the same?

Answer 1

What you would have is a two year old bottle of 21 year old scotch. Wine and beer are different because because they still have the yeast in them. Hard alcohols like scotch or vodka are distilled, killing the yeast. With no yeast to turn any sugar into alcohol, it wont get stronger, it won't age or change in flavor. (oak barrels have flavor, glass bottles do not.) Once it has been distilled and bottled, thats it. As long as it stays sealed, in a dark place and away from heat, it won't get "better" over time. Expose it to any of those three things that I mentioned, and the taste will change, most would agree that the change wouldn't be for the better.

Answer 2

Aging Scotch

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

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RE:
does bottled scotch age?
if I have a 21 year old bottle of scotch and keep it for two years, does it turn into a 23 year old bottle of scotch or does it taste the same?

Answer 5

Then you still have an 8-year-old Scotch. Scotch is aged in barrels. Once bottled the aging process stops.

Answer 6

Your scotch will not continue to age in the bottle. But, contrary to another answerer, it will not go "off", unless the seal is faulty or it isn't kept closed tightly. It would help if answerers backed up their remarks with facts or sources.
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When an age is quoted in 'years old' on a bottle, it is the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle. When a year is marked on the bottle it indicates the year of distillation.

A note on whiskey aging; Scotch whisky, like all spirits, will only mature while in a wooden barrel; once in a bottle it is 'dead,' with the possible exceptions of bottles with bad seals which will eventually 'go off'. So, if you have a bottle of 1946 whiskey which was bottled in 1956 it is still only ten years old; there is no point in keeping bottles of whiskey in a cellar hoping that they will improve with age.

Most bottlers who put a year of distillation of the bottle will also state the bottling year (in very small print) somewhere on the bottle. This will give you some idea of the quality of the contents of the bottle.

The Ideal Age for a Bottle of Whiskey?

In short, there isn't one. Whiskey is like wine in this respect; different whiskies require different lengths of time to mature.

Bottom line--drink it!!

Answer 7

No. Once bottled all aging stops.

Answer 8

YES - It continues to age and change in the bottle, but DIFFERENTLY than if it were in a cask. So from a vintage viewpoint, it's still 21 year old Scotch. But from a taste viewpoint, it WILL taste different as it continues to age in the bottle.

Lest you doubt this, think about vintage wine. It is bottle aged, and everyone knows that a good wine will continue to improve in the bottle, a crappy wine will turn sour/bitter.

In a similar sense, various beer styles require certain aging periods to mature, but they continue to get better or worse as time marches on.

Answer 9

The only way that a bottled liquor will change over time is if it is improperly stored, for example, sitting in the sun or in a very hot area for an extended period of time. The reason that liquor ages in the casks or barrels is because the climate changes pull the liquor in and out of the charred wood of the barrel, which mellows and adds color and flavors to the alcohol. With a glass vessel, the liquor just sits there, not picking up any more character.

Answer 10

Only in your mind! Scotch doesn't age once its bottle keep in cool dry space though cuase it can sour a little..
aging occurs in cass situation (Barels) they abre it accordingly 12,18,21,25,50,75, years to make it more mellow tasting..