Question about age and how it can affect whiskey

[Patty Logan]

Hi there,

I’m new to this forum and to whiskey in general, I just had I thought that cam to me recently that I think you guys could answer for me.

If I buy a aged whiskey(10,15,20 year etc…) and I left it in my house for additional years, (ex: I bought a 20 year old whiskey and didn’t drink it for another 10 years) would that time left in my house undrinked add to the age of the whiskey? Or would it be the fermentation(I think that’s the term) during the creation process that would determine the age?

Curious to know! Thanks!
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Clan Logan Representative Of Ontario

[Forbes]

Hi Patty and welcome to the world of whisky. Whisky only ages in the barrel it is matured in, it stops aging the second it is removed from the barrel and filled into the bottle.

[Patty Logan]

[Scotchnthings]

Fermentation would happen before the whisky goes in the barrel also. Whisky stops fermenting, then it is distilled to about 62% (no active yeast would survive the distillation process, nor would it be able to survive the high alcohol percentage). So yes as patty mentioned it would age only in oak casks. Unlike vintage ports for example that would have active slur in the bottle.

[Scotchnthings]

On the how long can a whisky be aged: Angel share causes a % of alcohol to be evaporated every year. So until the whisky reaches sub 40% ABV after which it would usually be blended with a higher abv cask from the same age. Think the oldest whisky bottled is a Macallan of around 82y/o?

[TheWM]

I would add that whilst technically not ever ageing further - there is a term known as Old Bottle Effect that when cellared well in good conditions after a number of years (generally 20 or more although has been thought to happen sooner in some bottles) creates an additional dimension. This is by no means a science and is still not generally accepted throughout the spirit world but I (only through age) have had some bottles which have tasted ‘better’

[anitagibbon]