Why Whiskey Bottling Dates are Important; Scotland

Listen to our Scottish friend James explain whiskey aging and bottling dates, why bottling dates are precisely tracked and what the "Angel's Share" of whiskey is. Learn why it is such a big risk it is for whiskey distillers to go for that prized, high-value 50-year single malt whiskey.

From this episode:

"..the Government official can then take the count of the literage that went through that day and then count the bottles. If they don't add up, that whisky does not leave the distillery until they find the missing whisky."

A 10 year cask will lose a third of the contents of the barrel to evaporation. We refer to that as the Angel's Share. It's quite nice. Hopefully I've lived a good enough life, I'll become a whisky angel.

"If they unearth a 50 year and it tests below 39.5% alcohol it will not be classed as a neat spirit, therefore it cannot be classed as single malt and you've just wasted 50 years."

"So it can be, you know, quite a skill, quite an art to make the whisky."