Questions regarding casks and maturation

bedlamborn · February 7 2017 at 10:59AM

This is a follow up to my previous question about barrels used for finishing. After watching the FAQ video yet again I have several more questions.

The term double maturation, is this legally defined? As how long a whisky need to be in a second cask to be called double matured?

Single malt whisky that are being used for the blended industry. How long are they stored in casks? Three years and a day or longer as a normal single malt?

How are the cask management for a distillery when deciding what casks to be stored for older whiskies? For example, how do a distillery choose what casks should be stored for the 18 years and for 25 years and so on.

horst_s_2 · February 13 2017 at 2:00PM

@bedlamborn
Thx for the question.

Double maturation is not regulated. E.g. Aberlour uses this term to define a whisky which was matured the full time in different casks and was married at the end. Finishing is used more often. Typical finishing periods range from 3 to 24 months.

The same regulations as for malt whiskies apply to grain whiskies. If you have a 12yrs blend then all whiskies - may they be malt or grain - have to be 12 years old.

In former time whisky casks were selected for bottling by the state of maturation. The last ones were bottled after those 18 or 25 yrs. Today casks mature more perfect and the left overs are getting less and less. Some distilleries select special casks for long maturation. At others chances apply.

bedlamborn · February 14 2017 at 4:12PM

@horst_s
Thanks for the answers. It helps me to understand more about whisky.