I am constantly surprised at the anomalies I encounter with single malt. What is considered a high-end malt in one country will be undervalued in another country and whiskies that are quite ordinary in the UK will command a premium price in other countries. I put it down to the mystique and mythology that surrounds single malt and the willingness of major brands to take advantage of this knowledge gap. So I have devoted a significant part of the last 20 or so years in trying to explain the principles of what makes a good whisky.

During my time in the US the most significant issue I came across was the prevalence of chill filtered whiskies. Although less prevalent in UK, I consider it to be an issue worth addressing here too. The process of chill filtering takes place when the temperature of whisky is dropped to near freezing so that fatty acids, proteins and natural fusel oil from the fermentation process become solid allowing them to be trapped by a fine mesh filter.

This is done by bottlers purely for cosmetic reasons. If you put ice into a non-chill filtered whisky, the cooling effect of the ice starts to change the physical state of natural oils in the malt. The first thing you will notice is that the whisky becomes cloudy. In the past this was perceived to be a ‘quality’ issue, it is not. This cloudiness can also happen on the sales shelf when the whisky is displayed for sale in a room which is cold. These natural oils carry the heart of the flavors and aromas, they create texture, mouth-feel and contribute to what an American lady from the south I know describes as a loooooooong, sloooow finish. When described like this why would you not want these qualities? 

A recent trend in the whisky industry is to move to non-chill filtered bottlings for the better single malts and also to raise the alcohol by volume (ABV) from 40% to 43% or 46%, which is another way of making sure the whisky does not cloud up and gives drinkers a more flavorful whisky. This leads us to another temperature related question; ice or no ice but maybe that is one for another day?

If you really want to get the best from your whisky and enjoy those amazing characteristics a non-chill filtered malt will generally be more rewarding. The oils will deliver the complex flavors in an even, orderly way over a longer period because they resist being washed away as you taste the whisky. This gives you more opportunity to identify and savor those wonderful flavors. In addition, a creamy texture and mouth-feel is far more enjoyable than a watery experience that disappears within seconds.

I hope you find these observations interesting and I’d like to thank Mark for the opportunity to connect with fellow ‘BUMS’ out there. If you have any questions relating to Non-Chill vs Chill I’d be happy to answer them: chris_allwood@hotmail.co.uk.

Kind Regards,

Chris