MYTHS AROUND WHISKEY It's difficult enough to choose a whiskey you like when scouring the shelves of off-licences and supermarkets. Then you click on another Instagram Ad that has been tailored to you since you are looking for a Single Malt whiskey. Let's debunk some of the most prevalent whiskey misconceptions you've heard your whole life. Mourne Dew Distillery is the first legal distillery to operate in the Mournes for many centuries. We are the Best Irish Whiskey in Northern Ireland, inheritors of a distilling tradition that has endured through the tumultuous history of this great island. The colour of anything denotes its age ? The colour of a Whiskey does not always indicate how old it is. The stills generate new made spirit as a completely transparent liquid, which begs the question: where does whiskey get its colour? Whiskey is often aged in oak barrels, therefore the size and form of the barrel will influence the amount of whisky that interacts with it. The quality of the barrel, whether virgin, toasted, or charred, the remnants of past liquids in the cask, the number of times it has been used or re-used, and finally the period of maturation will all influence colour. Other considerations include, but are not limited to, location, climatic conditions, wood kind, ambient air pressure, humidity, and so on. Only the barrel imparts colour to whisky There's a reason why the lines 'No additional Color' or 'Natural Color' appear on whiskey bottles; they imply that the colour contains no additions, such as spirit caramel. Spirit Caramel additive, commonly known as E150a, is a food colourant created by heating sugars without the use of any additional additives or preservatives. It has long been employed in the whiskey business to offer a consistent colour to a natural product whose colour may fluctuate owing to barrel ageing. This colouring is mostly utilised in Blends, Bulk vats, and married whiskeys, where hundreds of barrels are mixed in to give an uniform flavour. The taste of each batch may be the same, but the colour may not be. As a result, E150a is added to guarantee that consumers aren't put off by the fact that the bottles have significantly different colours. This has no affect on the taste and only a small amount is needed to colour a single bottle or even an entire batch of whiskey. Regulations are in place, by tradition and in certain sections, to ensure that nothing may be added to single malt scotch whisky, for example, a relatively pure product, without jeopardising its status. With the exception of spirit caramel, or E150a in more current law. However, different laws and regulations apply across the world, as do bottling requirements. To fulfil law, bottles of whiskey exported for sale in Germany or Denmark must have the use of colouring disclosed on the label. If it says 12 Year Old, it simply means 12 Year Old Irish whiskey must be aged for at least three years. If an age statement appears on a bottle of Irish whiskey, such as "12 Years Old," it signifies that the youngest whiskey in the bottle is at least 12 years old. Irish whiskey is bottled at various ages ranging from three to forty-five years. Grain whiskey is most commonly used in blended whiskey brands when it is between 3 and 5 years old. Malt whiskey is included in blends of any age above three years old, but commonly between five and ten years old since malt matures more slowly than grain. Age statement is still the most important consideration in purchasing decisions for customers today. All Whiskey brands' established years are correct Incorrect. Some whiskey brands have closed and restarted throughout time using the same brand names, branding, locations, logos, and so on. To list a few reasons why great whiskey brands have opened and closed over time, consider the famine, British control, economic conditions, depressions, and recessions. The resuscitation of these brands has been brought back by the likes of Pernod Ricard and Diageo, in order to bring back these long-lost mashbills and whiskeys. The previous establishment dates, on the other hand, are still used in their marketing. Older whiskey has a finer flavour Taste is a highly personal thing. Older whiskey tastes different, but different doesn't always mean better, and what you think better may not be what I consider better. That's the beauty of having different tastes and opinions. For example, one of my favourite whiskey brands produces a 12-year whiskey and a 21-year whiskey. I like both of these expressions almost equally, but not quite equally. The younger 12 year whiskey wins out for me over the elder sister, although they're quite distinct, and I enjoy them both for different reasons. A whiskey is a combination of several distinct barrels, and the age mentioned on the bottle is merely the age of the youngest whiskey in the blend, as stated in one of the preceding myths. There might be older, possibly much older, ingredients in there to obtain the overall flavour and balance they're aiming for. Even "single malt" whisky, which merely implies all of the whiskeys in the final blend came from the same distillery, is subject to this rule. True, age imparts some attributes, but whatever the label says is exactly what the label says. What counts is what you taste. Is the whiskey benefiting from the age-imbued attributes or not? They could, or they could not!