Age and price - what should it cost - Mads & Kristian give their take on this question

Do price and quality always go hand in hand? Read more in this blog post

Age and price - what should it cost?

Posts by Mads Thorup and Kristian Henriksen

Why does whisky get more expensive with age? And does the age and price of a whisky go hand in hand? We try to shed some light on this in this post - and we offer a suggestion for an "old" whisky at a reasonable price at the end of the post.

Let's start by explaining why whisky that has been aged longer in casks tends to be more expensive. In addition to the costs of storing casks for longer periods of time in terms of warehousing, facilities, etc., approximately 2% of the volume of liquid in the barrel is lost each year compared to the amount råsprit (new make) that is put into the cask - this is called "Angel's share". Angel's share is due to evaporation through the barrel and possible spillage through small cracks in the wood. This is not a loss of 2% of the initial volume or the volume of the barrel, but the volume of the liquid remaining in the barrel. In other words, after 50 years, it has not disappeared 100% - fortunately!

To put some numbers on this, a standard 10 year old whisky stored in a barrel will only have 82% whisky left compared to the initial volume råsprit that was poured in. After 18 years, there will be 70% left.

After

30 years there will be 55% left and after 40 years there will only be 45% whisky left.

This means that a whisky that has been aged in cask for 40 years will only yield almost half as many bottles as a whisky that has been aged in cask for 10 years. This alone makes older whisky cost more.

In addition to losses at the Angel's share, some whiskey is also lost, which penetrates the wooden cask itself, absorbing the liquid in the barrel. This shrinkage is known as 'Devil's cut'. The amount of devil's cut depends on several factors such as wood type, barrel size, and whether it is a new barrel or one that has been used for other liquids in the past. For example, if the

cask

has had another liquid stored, the wood has reached a certain degree of saturation, so the amount of liquid that penetrates the wood is less than a completely fresh cask.

This time we have tasted a 30 year cask strength single grain from North British, which can be purchased for less than DKK 1500 per bottle. The color of the whisky is reminiscent of a dark and deep amber/caramel color. On the nose, there are lovely notes of caramel, sherry, vanilla and light spice. A few drops of water in the whisky brings out some more fruity notes in the aroma. When the whisky is tasted, there is an intense sweetness with lovely caramel and sherry notes with a hint of coffee. There is also an impression of a spicy flavor, reminiscent of a spice cake with a taste of vanilla. As with the aroma, the taste also takes on more fruity notes when a few drops of water are added to the whisky.

The

aftertaste gives a nice rounded flavor, where the sherry, vanilla and caramel linger.

Overall, a really delicious dram that is affordable and, in our opinion, worth every

penny.

Definitely the gift for the person who appreciates a nicely rounded and sweet whisky. Another suggestion for an old whisky at a reasonable price is the 30 year invergordon from Wilson & Morgan, which can be found at the link below.

In addition to the amount of bottles being bottled being less for older whiskies, there is a tendency for older whiskies that were bottled years ago to have increased even more in price. This is because the number of bottles has been reduced even more as some bottles have been drunk and opened over time. This makes them even more desirable as it is harder to find an unopened bottle.