So you pick up a bottle and read the label… there is allot of information on it… most of it is about how the liquid within the bottle is the basically the nectar of the Gods… however behind all the fluff there are some key information which you may use to compare with other bottles of whiskies so you know what exactly you are buying!
Front Label:
1. Distillery Name: The rule is, if you can’t pronounce it then you need to try it! It is usually the name of the distillery in which the whisky is made. In other cases it is the blending company e.g. Johnnie Walker in which blends the whiskies from different distilleries.
2. Type of Casks used for whisky maturing, there are a great variety however the main casks used are:
a. Ex-Bourbon Cask: In America it is against the law to re-use bourbon casks. So if you could imagine the amount of “used ex bourbon casks” that the big bourbon companies with large production volumes such as Jack Daniels and Jim Beam, have left over. The biggest buyer of ex bourbon casks are the Scottish distilleries, this is their greatest source of flavour filled casks ready for maturing their own whisky in.
b. Ex-Sherry Cask: Sherry the wine was first made in areas around the little town of Xeres (Jerez) in Spain and “Sherry” is just the translation of the name Xeres. Sherry has around 8 different styles from light, dry and darker with more intense flavours and the ex-sherry cask is very popular to be used to mature whiskies in. Recently there has been a move that only the Sherry from the particular area in Spain may call their wine “Sherry” and everyone else who even although use the same grapes and technique etc. has to call it some other name. In America being American they still call it sherry but they can’t export it to the European Union, but other countries such as Australia and Canada they call it Apera.
c. Double and Triple Oak – This is usally just combination of Ex Bourbon + Ex Sherry or Ex Bourbon + Ex Sherry European Oak + Ex Sherry American Oak etc.
There are other ones too such a Japanese Oak, French Oak etc. And then we can get into first filled or 2nd or 3rd filled oak casks, this relates to the intensity of the flavour from the cask.
3. Region: This in particular refers to Scottish whisky regions, there are 5 regions: Lowland, Speyside, Highland/Islands, Campbeltown and Islay regions. Each region has its own particular taste and flavour.
4. Type of Whisky: There are four main types:
a. Single Malt: Singly Malt Whiskies (SMW) contains only water and malted barley at a single distillery by batch distillation in pot stills.
b. Single Grain: The majority of grain whisky used for blended whiskies. Blended whiskies uses approx. 60% to 85% of grain whiskies as the main ingredient for its blends.
c. Blended Malt: Some might know this as vatted malt whisky this is a blend of SMW from other distilleries, it contains only SMW and no grain whiskies.
d. Blended: This believe it or not make up roughly 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland. Blends contain both malt whisky and grain whisky at a rough 40% by 60% ratio. Blended whisky normally uses approximately 14 to 40 whiskies for its blending process and by far dominates the market in the number of bottles sold over the styles of whiskies.
5. Vintage or Age Statement: This refers to the youngest whisky age that is in the whisky within the bottle. In the case of a No Age Statement (NAS) then this usually refers to a blend or a vatted matt. In most cases it indicates some very young whisky was used in this blend, but older whiskies could also be used to enhance the flavour. I would also like to remind you that in Scotland the minimum age of maturation to be called a "whisky" is 3 years and for the rest of the world there is a minimum of 2 years of maturation,
6. Alcohol by Volume: It can be labelled as ABV, abv or alc/vol, it all means how much alcohol is contained within a given volume of alcoholic beverage. Or in simpler terms how much of the water in this bottle is alcohol! The lowest abv for a whisky I have seen is around 40% abv and can range up to cask strength and this is usually in the 60% abv range. The ABV can also give an indication on the body of the whisky as a rough guide:
Light Bodied 40% to 43%, Medium Bodied 44% to 47% and Full Bodied > 48%
7. Country of Origin: This is important as depending on the country of origin this specifies the laws which govern how this whisky is made.
8. Bottle Volume: This is usually 700ml/750ml or 1,000ml.
Back Label
Back Label:
9. Government Warning: Depending on country of purchase each Government have their own warnings in particular pregnant women shouldn’t be drinking and warnings for excessive consumption of alcohol. This is expected... and if you see none… you should be worried!
10. Barcode: This contains a wealth of information about the item. You can download a barcode app for your phone and scan the labels. See what sort of information you can find!
11. Your local importing company and also your point of contact if you have any questions or how you can order more!
Other important notes that you might see:
- Chilled Filtering: This is the process in which the distillery chill filters the whisky to remove residue, this is done mostly for cosmetic reasons that is to remove cloud formation. Some people think this affects the taste as it could remove certain characteristics from the whisky. But from a Marketing point of view if the label says "Non Chilled Filtered" this is supposed to be positive.
- E150a: Better known as colouring in whisky, or maybe labelled as E150b, E150c and E150d. This is a spirit caramel colouring used for harmonizing of colours and also making the whisky look darker for the perception of "older" whisky is darker in colour.
There are other more interesting labels for example:
There is the common recycle icon and the KA label is the Kosher Certification in Australia, I am not sure what the other one is... any ideas?
So now armed with this understanding, the next time you look at a whisky bottle label hopefully you will be able to see through the fluff and pull out the information that you seek.
From a personal point of view, the information provided on the label helps me select the type of whisky i want to try and also justify the price of the whisky. It is easy to judge a bottle by its looks, but as mentioned above if colouring is added, then a younger whisky could be made to look much older but not have the flavour that you might expect. You need to be label wise in order to understand just exactly what you are buying and if it worth the price you are paying for. But in the end... if it tastes good... does it matter? ha ha
I hoped that this has helped in your next whisky bottle selection.
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May 2016
- May 4, 2016 Ardbeg Uigeadail May 4, 2016
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April 2016
- Apr 22, 2016 Glen Orrin 30 Years Apr 22, 2016
- Apr 15, 2016 Hakushu 12 Years SMW Apr 15, 2016
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March 2016
- Mar 28, 2016 Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky Mar 28, 2016
- Mar 22, 2016 World Whiskies Awards 2016 Mar 22, 2016
- Mar 18, 2016 Glen Grant 10 Years Mar 18, 2016
- Mar 11, 2016 Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask Mar 11, 2016
- Mar 4, 2016 The Macallan 12 years Sherry Cask Mar 4, 2016
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February 2016
- Feb 26, 2016 Monkey Shoulders Blended Malt Feb 26, 2016
- Feb 19, 2016 Whisky 101 - Understanding the Label Feb 19, 2016
- Feb 12, 2016 Amrut Fusion SMW Feb 12, 2016
- Feb 8, 2016 Lagavulin 16 Years Old Feb 8, 2016
- Feb 7, 2016 The Yamazaki Single Malt 12 years old Feb 7, 2016