Coloured Whisky?

  • Quin
    Topic creator
    Member Quin
    Joined: 01.07.2014Posts: 91Ratings: 0

    What is your opinion about coloured whiskey?

    I like it authentic. But i can understand if the distilleries always want to have the same coloured whisky in their core range (in different batches). In that case i can understand it, and its OK as long as the distilleries don't overdo. It has to be trustworthy, but even when it's not, i give it a try. I'm a bit less happy, but I'm too curious not to taste it. :smile:

    regards.. ..and sorry for bad english
  • horst_s_2 Administrator horst_s_2 Joined: 01.07.2014Posts: 507Ratings: 661
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    The addition of color to a whisky helps the distilleries to sell more whisky. Is this alright? It depends imho.

    If the are adding color to hide small differences in color in different batches, then it helps the consumer to feel more confident with a product. If you have two bottles of an identical brand with slightly different color in your bar, you are at least irritated.

    But if a producer adds color to increase sales, then I think it is not alright. There are a few producers on the market which add color to their cheaper and younger bottles but let their more mature bottles uncolored. You are able to see this behavior in Denmark and Germany, where the producers have to indicate the use of color on their (back)labels.

    If you are living in the UK or the US and think, that your favorite Dram is uncolored, please be aware, that it is only not required to write this statement on your bottle. There are no differences between a - say Lagavulin 16y, Aberlour 10y, Glenmorangie 10y, Glenfiddich 12y, Dalmore 12y ... . All of them are colored.

    Kind regards, Horst Luening, Master Taster, Whisky.com
    ben_2 liked that
  • Donderladdich_2 Member Donderladdich_2 Joined: 13.07.2014Posts: 14Ratings: 0
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    I try to avoid buying whiskies with coloring added.
    Sometimes, I have no chance - I love Lagavulin, Talsiker or Laphroaig.
    Without the coloring, I would love them even more 8)

    cheers, Patrick
  • Budgerigar_canalis Member Budgerigar_canalis Joined: 18.07.2014Posts: 50Ratings: 0
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    I guess it's a typical "connoisseur vs occasional whisky drinker" thing. We, the single malt connoisseurs, know how the color gets into a whisky and we know that young whiskies didn't have the time to absorb as much color as older whiskies. (or that refill casks don't give off as much color as 1st fill casks and so on...) So we wouldn't care if we got a younger whisky with a light color. The occasional (single malt) whisky drinker, however, is used to their brown liquid and would assume that there's something wrong with a really light, almost clear whisky.
    So I guess the standard bottlings you can get at assorted supermarkets will still be colored for years to come, although I guess that as time goes by, "natural color" will be more and more perceived as a quality criterion, even among occasional malt drinkers. However, distilleries that know that they produce for single malt enthusiasts (such as Kilchoman) don't need to do that because they know that we know. :smile:

  • Corso_theRed Member Corso_theRed Joined: 03.08.2014Posts: 11Ratings: 0
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    "Budgerigar_canalis" wrote:
    We, the single malt connoisseurs, know how the color gets into a whisky and we know that young whiskies didn't have the time to absorb as much color as older whiskies.


    Some single cask bottlings, such as relatively young Signatory CS, or MoS bottling beg to differ. It all comes down to quality of the wood ... and how soaked the butts were prior to fillin :wink:

    But I agree in general. Color should be used in large core ranges merely to adjust badges, not to geneally "darken" whiskies. The correlation between dark and perseived quality is evident. That being said, as a seasoned whisky connoisseur, we all should know that color does not matter at all though.

  • hwchoy Member hwchoy Joined: 28.07.2015Posts: 462CollectionHeng Wah’s CollectionRatings: 3
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    I do wonder, caramel is not tasteless right? how can it not affect the taste when used to adjust colours, unless the amount used is so very small.

  • SanctTom Member SanctTom Joined: 19.07.2014Posts: 176Ratings: 0
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    Caramel colouring is used to adjust the colour of whiskys - the amount used is very, very small (less than 0,001 %) and should not be recognisable in any whisky (as long as tasted blind :evil:smile:.
    Personally I prefer uncoloured whisky because it let's me see the natural colour acquired in the cask, but I'm not adverse to drinking whisky with E150 in it - I just don't judge it by its colour...:wink:

    And malt does more than Milton can To justify God's ways to man. (A. E. Housman)
  • hwchoy Member hwchoy Joined: 28.07.2015Posts: 462CollectionHeng Wah’s CollectionRatings: 3
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    "SanctTom" wrote:
    Caramel colouring is used to adjust the colour of whiskys - the amount used is very, very small (less than 0,001 %) and should not be recognisable in any whisky (as long as tasted blind :evil:smile:.
    Personally I prefer uncoloured whisky because it let's me see the natural colour acquired in the cask, but I'm not adverse to drinking whisky with E150 in it - I just don't judge it by its colour...:wink:


    I agree, it takes the fun out of examining the colour.

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