LAST ORDERS
Some things just get better with age
T
he other night a good friend and I polished off a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail. The bottle was a good two years old and the remains had sat in the cupboard for at least six months. Now this particular whisky is a peaty monster. You either love the smoky notes and pungent taste or you hate it. However, this particular dram tasted slightly different, definitely coarser and considerably harsher than I remembered. This leads us to the sobering question. Does whisky go bad after you have opened the bottle? I can see everybody looking in horror at the opened bottles on the sideboard and weighing up the cost of the declining spirit! Before you consign the collection to the bin there are some key points to consider. As soon as the bottle is opened oxidation will begin, how much depends on the air/liquid ratio. So in my case where there was a lot of air and not much whisky things will happen. If the bottle is say, half full, then the effects will be less. It’s further complicated by the fact that the less whisky there is in a bottle the more seems to disappear through evaporation, either that or I have a resident population of very happy mice!
How long do we have to enjoy whiskies at their prime. The answer seems to be it all depends on the whisky. Younger whiskies may last longer than older whiskies that’s right the more expensive the whisky the less time to enjoy it – it all seems to be a bit unfair but then that’s physics for you! In any case research seems to indicate an optimum time of 6 – 12 months from opening. Looking at the sideboard I can see several old favourite 2F?B&R6??6?FW&&???FW"F??F??2&V6???V?FF??????v???rF?F?&?rF?V?v???F?R&6?2F?BF?W?????B&RWF?67&F6??FVf???FV???B??W7B&R??FgV?F?B?W7B??RW2F?W?&RvWGF??r??FW"F??v??6??W?W'BFfR?6?&B?b??B66????v??W2?F?GFV?6?"?B?s?"3s#???????B?2?????F?R???R?b&WG&??&WG&?6??6??W2?&WG&?v?W2?&??R????F?2?EdG2?4G2???G2????W2?6?76?26??72??v???W2?7F???f?wW&W0?????Bd?"UdU%? *35T?@????G2? *3v?gBf?V6?W ????66??FW&?F?fR????T?rD?2tTT??????GVW2?vVB?6B??3??R?3?F?W"?g&???3??g?7V???G??&VfW"?????VV??7Ffg25C2tU?FV?S3?3CC32wwr?&VfW&????6??V?2??W2g&???VV?F?&V7F??fbF?RS#2?VV?F?6?&?W&?R&@?r?V?F?F?RV&?2g&VR6?FRF?76???r6???G&V?( ?2&?F??r?W76??2r???'F?W2r???&?FRr???W?W&?V?6Rr??6?FR6l:?6W'f??r???R6???VB?V?2bFV?6??W26?W2?VV??fR6WFV?&W"??7F?&W"#230??V??B?6?F?f?V?B6V?G&R??VV??5C2T?rFVâS3?3?3c?wwr???G6????v?W"?6????