Colors of a Well Aged Scotch – Color + Design Blog by COLOURlovers

Leafy. Floral. Nutty. Fruity. Smooth, Smokey. Buttery. Vanilla. Woody…Mmm…

These are just some of the adjectives used to describe the wide, wondrous range of Scotch whisky and on the surface it seems tasting whisky is similar to tasting wine.

Just as there are wine experts, there are whisky experts and within that title is a plethora of even more specific expertise claims; most of which becomes a dizzying array of advice and rules. I claim to be none of the previous. I simply like to enjoy a glass of Scotch whisky every now and then especially during the cool winter months of the calendar year.

It’s purely an emotional thing to prefer Scotch whisky during the winter. And the preference has everything to do with the colors.

Johnny Walker Scotch whisky image by rubicon
by rubicon

Shades of Scotch

Contrary to what some may believe, the colors of Scotch whisky generally do not give an indication of quality, but may help narrow down personal preference after having tasted a few samples.

Photo by Markus Wichmann

The colour of whisky gives clues more to the type of cask used to age the spirit. Scotch whisky starts out “as clear as gin” and only during the aging or maturation process does it start to adopt its colours: a warm-in-your-belly range of pale golds and yellows to sun-kissed bronzes or rich, decadent ambers. Whisky aged in ex-bourbon casks tend to adopt a more gold-to-yellow hue and whisky aged in ex-sherry casks usually takes on a darker, more amber appearance.

And, because no two casks produce exactly the same colour spirit, sometimes a bit of caramel colouring is added to resolve this natural variation. It’s an on-going debate as to whether the caramel colouring affects the taste and for marketing sake, it saves seeing bottles upon bottles from the same brand from looking inconsistent on retail shelves.

Talisker Scotch whisky image by Jean Lemoine
By Jean Lemoine.

Does colour give any indication of character, quality or age? Perhaps. The colour of whisky may hint at its character and this is not a hard and fast rule. Try not to let the colour pull the wool over your eyes: A pale or light whisky can be commanding and vigorous just as a dark whisky can be airy and delicate.

So, whether you prefer malt or blended; 12 or 21 years old, judging Scotch whisky only by its colouring could prove to be embarrassing.

Scotch lovers among us: grab yourself a glass and let’s meet up sometime. I can see some prefer it “on the rocks”. I prefer mine “neat”. What about the rest of you?