What are your favorite whiskeys?

[snapper]

Apologies and fixed :).

[tankie]

At long last the drought is over.
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A label I like , Col Shek , i;m awaiting an email ref labelling from the lawyers at this society , talking on the phone today they / he , expressed his interest in my Q and has promised to get back to me ,,wait out .

Scotch Whisky Association - Regulations

[Monash]

Had an absolutely delightful Suntory 17 year old 'Hibiki' whiskey recently at a new Whiskey Bar here in Sydney. The place has become my official after work/pre home, haunt. Will definitely be buying some.

[tankie]

Had an absolutely delightful Suntory 17 year old 'Hibiki' whiskey recently at a new Whiskey Bar here in Sydney. The place has become my official after work/pre home, haunt. Will definitely be buying some.

I bet it was good , another labelled 17 years old ,,not aged 17 years , im still waiting for the info from the lawyers ?

Im in the bizz of receiving some canadian export from the UK , cant buy it here , kof kof , glen turner its called ??

[Shek]

A label I like , Col Shek , i;m awaiting an email ref labelling from the lawyers at this society , talking on the phone today they / he , expressed his interest in my Q and has promised to get back to me ,,wait out .

Scotch Whisky Association - Regulations

Thanks. Here's an excerpt:

10.1 The SWR maintain the longstanding rule regarding the use of age statements, namely that the only age which may be stated in the labeling, packaging or advertising of a Scotch Whisky is the age of the youngest Scotch Whisky in the product. In other words, if a Scotch Whisky contains a blend of 8, 12, and 15 year old Scotch Whiskies, the only age claim which may be made for that product is “8 years old”. (Similar statements such as “aged 8 years” may also be used, as long as the stated age is in years).

[tankie]

Thanks. Here's an excerpt:

And the youngest age is 3 years years old for it to qualify to be called scotch whisky ,,confusing isnt it , the lawyer still has not replied to my Q ? wait out , yamazaki aint scotch whisky which is the original one I replied to and does not purport to be , its Japanese single malt ,but ref the 10/1 Col , why would they state that aged 12 years may be used , when 12 years old would be the correct way ?? I still say its designed to to confuse

Im gonna pursue this like a dog with a bone as I do believe foul play by some is afoot forsooth

Ah well ,bottoms up :tankie:

[tankie]

The reply from their lawyer is an exact quote from your link Shek , seems as far as Scotch whisky is concerned im wrong ,but cant understand why the labeling is different if 8 years old why not just state years old , as far as other whiskies goes I still think im correct as proven it can and is aged overnight , heres the reply , and he omitted to answer my Q as to why the labeling was different , just saying aged may be used but no specific answer as to why not just use 12 years OLD and why use aged 12 years , ???

Oct 22 at 12:13 PM
Our Ref: LC-UK

Dear Mr H#####g

Thank you very much for your telephone call yesterday and for your enquiry regarding age statements.

I have set out some information below in answer to your query.

As you may know, the rules in relation to Scotch Whisky are detailed in UK legislation namely, The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 (“the SWR”).

Regulation 12 of the SWR sets out the rules regarding maturation, age and distillation statements.

The Regulation provides that the only age which may be stated in the labelling, packaging or advertising of a Scotch Whisky is the age of the youngest Scotch Whisky in the product. In other words, if a Scotch Whisky contains a blend of 12, 15 and 20 year old Scotch Whiskies, the only age claim which may be made for that product is “12 years old”.

In answer to your specific question, similar statements such as “aged 12 years” may also be used, as long as the stated age is in years.

I hope that this information is useful but please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions.

Kind Regards

Andrew

Andrew Swift
Legal Adviser
Legal Affairs Department
Scotch Whisky Association
20 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 8HF, United Kingdom

t: (+44) 0131 222 9234
f: (+44) 0131 777 8080
w: Scotch Whisky Association - Home

[Shek]

Tankie,

There's no doubt that techniques can be employed to speed the natural aging process vis a vis the traditional put it in only a cask and let it sit. Your link to Cleveland Bourbon is an example of this where they use wood shards and mechanical agitation to increase the wood surface area that the spirit interacts with, "speeding" the aging effects. However, you'll notice that it's labelled "bourbon" and not "straight bourbon," which means that it's been aged for less than two years (and if it were "straight" bourbon, it has to have an age statement if it's not aged for at least four years.

Kentucky Distillers Association

Bourbon (straight): A whiskey made from a mash containing at least 51 percent corn, distilled out at a maximum of 160° proof, aged at no more than 125° proof for a minimum of two years in new charred oak barrels. If the whiskey is aged for less than four years, its age must be stated on the bottle. No coloring or flavoring may be added to any straight whiskey.

You'll find something similar with Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye, which uses wood spirals to increase flavor in an only two year aging process. This is not uncommon with the small craft distillers in the US that are trying to get product to market quickly, and to compete, they need to take advantage of techniques to compete with whiskies that utilize "traditional" aging. What is consistent is the fact that they don't employ false age statements and are generally very open about their techniques as it provides them a way to differentiate their whiskey in the market.

In the end, for me, I'm not particularly hung up over age statements. There are many 12 year old scotches that I prefer to some 18 year old scotches. So bottoms up!

[tankie]

:tankie:

Im still not convinced tho about the wording on the labels , more investigating , im also sure this topic was on a panorama prog or something similar a a few years ago ??

[Shek]

I was just bequeathed a half bottle of Old Puteney 21 by a friend. His monogamous love for bourbon was my gain Can't say I'm too disappointed coming into the 2012 whiskey of the year!

[bolo121]

Got myself a bottle of Cardhu 12 year old.
Compared to the Balvenie it feels a bit bland and dull.

[Monash]

Had a serious run in with a 'Superior Officer' a couple of months ago. So when the dust had settled recently I dropped a present off for him with staff. It was a bottle of 'Knob Creek' 9 yr old bourbon to which I attached a a nice card saying "Saw this and thought of you". His staff seemed to appreciate the sentiment.

[Shek]

Had a serious run in with a 'Superior Officer' a couple of months ago. So when the dust had settled recently I dropped a present off for him with staff. It was a bottle of 'Knob Creek' 9 yr old bourbon to which I attached a a nice card saying "Saw this and thought of you". His staff seemed to appreciate the sentiment.

Pretty funny Should have given him some rot gut instead.

Knob Creek is actually reference to Abe Lincoln, as his first memories are "of the place on Knob Creek" in Kentucky. His dad served as a cooper at a local distillery during that time. Not quite the same as George Washington being the largest whiskey distiller in the US, but it's nice to see that at least two US Presidents had direct ties to fine libations.

[Monash]

Pretty funny Should have given him some rot gut instead.

Nope, in this case the name said it all. For that matter it wouldn't have happened at all if my view of the person concerned wasn't the general consensus across the office. I'll actually have to try a drop at a local whiskey bar. Who knows, maybe I was actually doing the bourbon in question a disservice!

[Repatriated Canuck]

I am a Balvienie fan. Got myself a nice doublewood for my wedding earlier this month. It went over well with the boys.