Does the taste deteriorate if it is kept unopened in its original glass bottle or does it get better (like wine-or so we are told). Googling just brings up cask aging etc. thanks
No cite handy, but I’ve always been told that once the whisky is bottled, the aging process stops, so no it doesn’t get any better. I’m not sure about actual deterioration, but you will get some evaporation if the bottle is left for a very long time - even sealed.
From here
Yes, it’s a truism that whiskey (or any other distilled spirit, as opposed to wine) doesn’t “age” in the bottle.
But I wonder whether the flavor changes over time. It certainly doesn’t go “bad,” however.
Check out www.whiskymag.com for more info.
If it still aged in the bottle, why would they store it in wooden barrels for up to 25 years. Many years ago there was a contest for the best use of the discarded barrels. Making furniture out of them was one of the winners, although I haven’t seen this done for quite awhile. The point being that just disposing of the barrels was an extra cost, that could be avoided if aging accured in bottles.
The aging process is an interaction between the charred oak of the barrel and the whiskey. The barrels used are usually ones that previously held wine. There’s nothing in a bottle to react to the whiskey.
I believe it is Sherry wine. It used to be that they would use casks which had been used to ship Sherry to the UK but now that sherry is shipped bottled Whisky manufacturers pay to have the casks built and seasoned in Spain with Sherry wine and then shipped to them.
Not Bourbon whiskey, which must be aged in new charred oak barrels.