Brand (Distillery)
Of course, the first thing to pay attention to in a bottle is the brand of whiskey. Just knowing the brand of whiskey can give you a lot of information about that expression.
A small note: Brand names usually indicate the distillery where the whiskey is produced. For example; Glenlivet, Aberlour, Lagavulin… However, in blended whiskeys (Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker) and independent bottlers (Gordon & MacPhail, Compass Box, Scotch Malt Whiskey Society), this phrase gives the name of the brand, not the distillery.
Age
Another important detail on the whiskey bottle is the year statement on the label. This year phrase gives us the age of the whiskey, that is, the time it spent/matured in the barrel. The maturation process is one of the most important (perhaps even the most important) stages of whiskey production. Because whiskey gains most of its character during the time it spends in the barrel. If you do not see any year on the bottle, this indicates that the whiskey is in the NAS category (NAS: No Age Statement / Year not specified). Whiskeys such as Glenlivet Founder's Reserve, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Chivas Extra, Talisker Dark Storm are in the Nas category.
Type of Whiskey
Although there are many types of whiskey in whiskey literature, the most common types are Single Malt, Blended, Blended Malt and Bourbon whiskeys.
Country
The country phrase on the label indicates the country where that whiskey was produced. (Scotch, Irish, American, Indian, Product of Japan, etc.) Country information alone can provide us with useful information. For example, if we see the phrase Scotch, we understand that malted barley was used in the production of that whiskey and that it matured in oak barrels for at least 3 years.
Area
Regional information is mostly included in Scottish whiskeys. To briefly remind you, there are 6 whiskey regions in Scotland. These; Speyside, Highland, Lowland, Islay, Islands and Campbeltown. Since each region has its own characteristics, knowing the region of a whiskey will provide you with a lot of information about that whiskey.
Comments