[removed]

[removed]

Yes. It's a constant process. They make huge batches and store them large barrels for at least 3 years. So it may not be exactly 25 years ago, but it was aged in one of those barrels for 25 years.

Not millions but thousands. And they made even more than actually will be sold because of the "angels share" which is the amount of fluid that evaporates during that time.

What do they base the age on? Like how long it has been in the barrel?

From the time it was barreled to the time it was bottled.

Yes. From any reputable and regulated maker of whiskey, if they claim the whiskey is XX years old, it has to be aged at least XX years.

A large distillery probably makes a thousand barrels a day and a small one perhaps tens of barrels a day.

Cool. So when you drink those expensive 25 year bottles, they are literally 25 years?

Please read this entire message

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

Straightforward or factual queries are not allowed on ELI5. ELI5 is meant for simplifying complex concepts.

If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the detailed rules first. If you believe this submission was removed erroneously, please use this form and we will review your submission.

They don't make one batch of whiskey and then sit on only that batch for 12 / 15 / 25 years until they can/want to sell it.

They're barreling whiskey every year, and every year they're also bottling whiskey that has been aging in barrels for X amount of time. So it's essentially just a revolving door of barreling and bottling.

So for example, a 3 year aged cycle would look like this:

Barrelled / Bottled

1 / 0

2 / 0

3 / 0

4 / 1

5 / 2

6 / 3

After the first 3 years, you then have a constant supply of 3 year old whisky. Companies putting out 15 / 25 year old bottles aren't just selling those. They definitely have more short-term aged whisky that they sell in the meantime. But they also likely have batches of 15 year old whisky that come of age on a yearly basis.

And then from these batches they bottle some for cheaper and then store others to 'age'? Then that's why there are others that doesn't say any number of years and other 10, 12, 18, and so on?

Yep. That’s what makes some aged whiskey so expensive. You can’t buy time.

[deleted]

You can Google for pictures of the storage of some of them. They're kept in a big storehouse from floor to ceiling.

Oh, yeah? Then explain parking meters, smarty-pants.

You've got to remember that many distilleries are very old, some even hundreds of years old. So keeping batches for 12, 25 years etc is nothing in the long run. They know it will sell.

The time it spent in the barrel. Once it's bottled, it doesn't age anymore.

They also don't only bottle 12 year whiskey.

The whiskey that they barrel this year, a portion of it will be bottled 12 years from now, a portion of it will be bottled 15 years from now, a portion of it 25 years from now, and so on.

They'll also barrel different portions in different types of barrels. So, of the 12 year whiskey, some will go in traditional oak barrels, but, if it's a larger production house, some in others types of cheaper barrels, and some will likely go in metal vats.

I assume that the ratio of those portions gets smaller and smaller as they get older. Like 50% of today's barrellage will get bottled in 12 years, another 30% will get bottled in 15, etc, to make whiskey more and more rare the longer it's aged. Plus, the longer you keep the whiskey in barrels, the more will evaporate.

All this plays into the price of the whiskey once it's on the shelves. With the metal-vatted whiskey being the cheapest because it won't have any taste, and because it will have evaporated the least.

If it is scotch then has to be in a barrel for a minimum of 3 years I believe. Then it will be tasted and they decide what to do with it. Mature it more, use it to be blended with other whisky etc

The age statement only relates to the youngest whisky in that bottle as well. For instance they could have 3/4 of the bottle filled with 50yo whisky, but to give it a younger taste and improve the palette of the whisky, they put 1/4 of the 25 yo in. As the 25 yo is the youngest, that is the age statement in of the bottle