Scotches aged 30, 40 and older can be sourced, but know that means paying a substantial premium for whisky that may be past its best years. In other words, “the whisky loses its cohesiveness,” he says. He deems a Scotch too old when the wood notes overtake the distillery character and flavor compounds that have developed over time. The problem with pinpointing an ideal age for Scotch, is “it all depends on the style of whisky you want to bottle,” says John Glaser, founder and whiskymaker for Compass Box, which releases primarily blended Scotch whiskies. Scotland’s humid climate also slows down evaporation, so the spirit isn’t as concentrated as those aged in drier climates, like Bourbon. The late distiller Dave Pickerell once described this as “the tea-bag effect.” The second time that a tea bag is used, there’s less flavor left to draw out, so it needs to steep longer. Since Scotch whisky is aged typically in used barrels, it takes longer to extract vanilla or caramel flavors from the wood. How Wine Affects Your Whiskey Scotch whisky: Best aged 12–25 years “In this range, all of the immature character of the white dog is gone, but there are still a lot of the bright and delicate flavors from grains and fermentation that have developed in the barrel, and with the barrel, to create that perfect balance.” Beyond the 12-year range, says Elliott, “there will be fewer and fewer that are still ‘improving’ each year.” “The majority of barrels peak in the 5–10-year range,” says Elliott. That means the distillate extracts flavors from the wood relatively quickly, so Bourbon matures faster than most other barrel-aged spirits. Getty Bourbon and rum: Best aged 5–12 yearsīy law, Bourbon is made in new, charred oak barrels. For those seeking a special bottle to commemorate a specific year, this may help in finding a vintage-year pour that’s not just enjoyable, but possibly exceptional. Here’s a guide, informed by input from the experts, on when some of the most-gifted spirits categories are likely to hit their stride. The rules aren’t always hard-and-fast, but it’s easy to tell when your pour is past its prime: as Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott explains, it’s “when the barrel influence is so strong that it has become bitter, astringent and has lost complexity.” Two key factors dictate how a spirit will mature: the barrel used to age the spirit (new barrels age a spirit fastest), and the climate where the spirit is aged (heat can accelerate the aging process). Yet, every barrel-aged spirit has a sweet spot in terms of the maturity where it tastes best. If you sip a 40-year-old Bourbon or 50-year-old Scotch, you’re basically sipping on oak tannins, bragging rights, a sense of history and little else. After 72 years, you might as well go suck on an oak stave. It’s an interesting nod toward history to own a World War II-era whiskey but forget about drinking it. Which is why it’s so perplexing to see producers and others rolling out bottles that are decades past drinkability-think stunt Scotches like a 72-year-old Macallan single malt, produced in 1946 and that fetched $110,085 at auction. The effect can be even more pronounced with spirits that tend to age more quickly, like Bourbon. Beyond that, the oak tends to overpower everything else going on in the bottle. Fantastic offerings can also be found up to the 18- to 21-year-old range. Here’s why: Most good Scotch is bottled starting at around 12 years old. If I may be frank, most super-old Scotches are super awful.
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