Why do we seek out old bottle whiskey?

Hello, I am the owner of Antique Liquor. At Antique Liquor, we carefully select and introduce delicious whiskeys that perform better than others at the same price. Therefore, we inevitably decided to introduce old bottles (aged liquors) that were in circulation in the good old days.

Some people may think that the official current product is good enough, but by learning about the appeal of old bottle whiskey, you will undoubtedly expand the world of whiskey that you can enjoy even further. Whisky production methods and recipes are often not publicly available in detail, but there is still a common reason why old bottle whiskey generally performs better than current products. It may not be the correct answer, but I would like to share my knowledge, experience, and opinions on why old bottle whiskey is delicious.

1. Changes in barley varieties (Golden Promise has disappeared)

The only ingredients for traditional whiskey are barley, water, and nature! I think I read somewhere that barley is the most important ingredient when making whiskey. Barley has been improved since before the 19th century, and its quality has improved, and by the 1960s it had become the most suitable quality for making whiskey. During this period, from around 1968 to around 1980, the variety of barley used in whiskey production was called Golden Promise. I don't know how much of the whiskey produced during this period was made with Golden Promise, but I think it was one of the reasons that made this period the golden age of whiskey. Recently, whiskey made with Golden Promise has been treated as a special whiskey, and it has become so rare and valuable that it commands a very high premium on the resale market.

However, Golden Promise began to disappear rapidly after 1980. The reason for this was the poor "efficiency" of whiskey production. More precisely, it was not suitable for mass production of whiskey.

When making whiskey from barley, the barley is first saccharified and then fermented with yeast to produce alcohol. Golden Promise was a very popular variety because it produced alcohol more efficiently through alcoholic fermentation than the varieties used before 1980 and was very suitable for making flavorful, high-quality whiskey.

However, since the 1980s, many distilleries have been shifting to a more mass production system than before, and the barley used to make whiskey has been changed from Golden Promise to other varieties with better alcohol production efficiency. As a result, the quality of whiskey distilled in the 1980s has gradually declined. With this background, I think that whiskey distilled and casked up until the 1970s was, on average, of good quality.

<Table> Changes in barley varieties used in Scotch whisky production and alcohol yields over time

2. The discontinuation of traditional floor malting

The second reason why old bottle whiskey is more delicious than current products is undoubtedly floor malting. When making Scotch malt whiskey, barley is first converted into sugar, and then alcoholic fermentation is carried out using yeast. At this time, the barley is germinated to make "malt" so that the starch conversion in the barley can proceed smoothly. This is called the malting process.

When malting, first take out the barley that has been soaked in water for a few days and spread it on the floor. After that, a specialist called a "maltman" stirs the barley with a shovel to keep the moisture of the barley constant throughout and to ensure that the malting process proceeds smoothly. This helps to ensure that the small shoots and roots that grow from the barley do not get tangled and turn into homogeneous malt. This malting process alone requires at least several years of training, and it is not just about stirring the barley with a shovel, but also requires the skills of a craftsman. The maltman's work controls the degree of dryness and malting of the barley, and is said to create the hidden flavor of the spirits (the raw liquor before the whiskey is aged in barrels) that are made later.

However, floor malting is not suitable for mass production, and it is not easy to maintain a consistent whiskey quality (a quality that maintains the unique "characteristics" of each distillery), and it requires a huge amount of labor, so in recent years, mechanical malting such as drum malting has become common. Therefore, it seems that there is inevitably a difference in flavor between old bottle whiskey and current products.

By the way, some of the representative distilleries that still maintain floor malting to this day are Springbank, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, Highland Park, Bowmore, BenRiach, etc. All of these are still popular and famous distilleries.

3. High-quality oak barrels are running out

When barley spirits are aged in barrels, they are aged in oak barrels that have been used to age other types of alcohol, such as sherry barrels, bourbon barrels, cognac barrels, and rum barrels. In the good old days, old bottle whiskey was aged in high-quality oak barrels that had stored various delicious wines and distilled spirits for sale. The oak barrels that had stored various delicious alcohols such as sherry whiskey and cognac absorbed the delicious alcohol. It is said that aging whiskey in such oak barrels often results in high-quality whiskey with a rich aroma, but recently it has become almost impossible to find such high-quality barrels due to related laws and the market supply and demand balance. This is the main reason why the quality of old bottle whiskey differs from that of current products.

In particular, the sherry casks used for the most popular sherry whiskeys these days are often not oak casks that actually held sherry wine, but rather imitation sherry casks that have been toasted to hold cheap sherry whiskey temporarily or have been coated with sherry wine. These differences also create a big difference between old bottle whiskeys and current products. I feel that old sherry whiskeys have fewer impurities and a more floral and well-balanced flavor than current products.

Also, in the past, oak barrels were made from high-quality, fully grown wood that was dried over a very long period of time, whereas nowadays, barrels are made from wood that meets the minimum requirements and undergoes minimal processing. There are some places that do not do this, but there seems to be a major trend that makes this the case. Such differences affect the flavor of the whiskey, such as vanilla aroma, and result in relatively more off-flavors, which need to be eliminated by peaty aromas, high levels of alcohol, or long-term aging, and as a result, it is said that it becomes difficult to maintain a delicate and complex balance. These reasons seem to create the differences between old bottle whiskey and current products.

4. The meaning of whiskey age labeling is changing

The photo above shows the 12-year (over) aged single malt whiskey Linkwood, bottled and distributed in the 1970s and early 1980s. Is this whiskey aged for exactly 12 years? The 12-year label is a number that guarantees that the minimum age of the raw liquor is 12 years or more, and has no other meaning. In other words, to adjust the taste of the whiskey, it is sometimes made by blending whiskey raw liquors that have been aged for over 12 years. This was possible around the 1980s, when whiskey was not as popular as it is now. In fact, it was common. The first oil shock in the early 1970s, the second oil shock in the late 1970s, and the sudden temporary sharp decline in whiskey production and consumption due to the global recession probably also had an impact on the existence of a large amount of long-aged whiskey raw liquor that was unavoidably produced.

Some may say, "If you're going to mix 18-year and 30-year whiskeys, why not just release them as 18-year and 30-year aged whiskeys? Why 12-year? Are you stupid?" However, I think that's because the goals of a whiskey labeled as 12-year aged are different from those of a whiskey labeled as 18-year aged. Even with a whiskey labeled as 12-year aged, it's possible to create a different, rich character by mixing it with 18-year aged whiskey to achieve the right balance, or by mixing only whiskeys aged 18 years or older.

In the case of old bottle whiskey, even if it is labeled as 12 years old, it is not actually aged for 12 years, but rather has a stronger meaning of "single malt whiskey mixed with whiskey aged for at least 12 years." In the end, the average age is longer than 12 years. However, in modern times, the cost of whiskey production from barley to fuel to bottle has risen sharply, and there is a shortage of whiskey with a high age, so it is no longer possible to make whiskey in the generous manner of the past. Whisky labeled as 12 years old uses whiskey aged for at least 12 years, but we are now in an era where it is closer to "whisky aged for almost 12 years."

In the end, I believe that old bottle whiskey is often aged for longer than the age stated on its label, and is often more refined than current products.

5. The effects of aging whiskey in old bottles

Scotch whisky is made with a minimum of 40% alcohol, but because of its high alcohol content, it is said that the whisky does not age after bottling. Therefore, no matter how old a bottled whisky is, its age does not increase after bottling. For example, just because a whisky was bottled as a 10-year-old whisky in 1980 does not mean that it will be a 43-year-old whisky as of 2023.

but!

Based on my own experience and the opinions of many veteran whiskey lovers, I believe that whiskey will continue to mature slowly even after bottling, although it is different from barrel aging. Although there is no longer any interaction with oak barrels, it seems that the components that affect the aroma of the whiskey will gradually increase during the long bottling period. And, although this is a little bit of a delusional prediction, I think that the molecular structure of the whiskey will be firmly stabilized for a long period after bottling, improving the balance and harmony of the aroma. Whatever the reason, old bottle whiskey is often rated higher than current products in terms of taste, aroma, and balance all the way to the finish.

6. Nostalgic sensibility and the aroma unique to old bottle whiskey

Finally, there is the nostalgic sensibility that only aged liquor can have. You may say that this is an illogical reason, but I think that alcohol, food, and art are also in the realm of sensibility, and that they are works of art that can be enjoyed including their atmosphere. I think it is very fun to think about the era in which a certain whiskey was made, how the historical stories and environment surrounding the whiskey of that era led to this glass of whiskey that I am drinking now, and how this whiskey spent decades after being bottled and how it reached me. Isn't sensibility an important element in enjoying the culture of whiskey? I think that many people who enjoy old bottle whiskey also enjoy these aspects, and that they are addicted to this charm, feel its value, and pay a lot of money for it.

And if we were to talk about something more substantial from the realm of sensibility, I think there is an "aroma unique to aged liquor" in old bottle whiskey. It can be likened to things that are not food, such as old bookshelves, closets, wet newspapers, and cardboard boxes, but it can be described as a deep and unique aroma. In this way, old bottle whiskey has another aroma unique to aged liquor that is not found in current products, and it overlaps with the aromas of sherry, peat, and malt, blending together to make the whiskey's aroma more complex. I think whiskey is a drink that you can enjoy the balance of this complexity. For this reason, I think old bottle whiskey is deeper than current products and is good for enjoying slowly.

7. Summary and greetings

This article was not written to help people understand our values ​​as people who enjoy old whiskey, nor to help people who don't understand our expensive hobby. However... I wrote this article with the hope that more people will be able to try the precious and delicious old bottle whiskey, which will become less and less available in the future.

Old bottle whiskeys may seem expensive at first glance, but if you are looking for delicious whiskey without being distracted by the age of the bottle, old bottle whiskeys are surprisingly good value for money. At our shop, we would like to introduce you to such valuable and cost-effective old bottle whiskeys.