‘They don’t make whisky like they used to.’ It’s the sort of thing whisky enthusiasts like to say after tasting an old bottling, usually followed by something about wax, tropical fruit or an elusive ‘old-school’ character. Taken literally, though, they’re right: whisky really isn’t made exactly as it used to be. Raw materials, production methods, casks and bottling practices have all evolved, while the liquid in those old bottles has sometimes spent another half-century sitting behind a cork or screw cap. So when an old bottling tastes noticeably different from its modern equivalent, what exactly are we tasting – and can we really know why?
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