What Gives Whisky Its Colour?
The new make distillate starts off as a water-clear liquid without any colour. Only after being aged in oak casks for a period of time does the spirit develop its characteristic hue.
The colour of the whisky is influenced by various factors during the maturation process.
Factors That Influence Whisky’s Colour
Level Of Charring
The level of charring, burning the interior of the cask, breaks down the tannins in oak wood, which contributes to the colour of whisky.
WOOD TYPES
Whisky casks are made from oak wood, and the species of oak used impact the colour of whisky. American oak tends to impart a more amber hue, while European oak results in a light gold colour.
NUMBER OF PREVIOUS MATURATIONS
As casks are commonly reused for maturation, the whisky extracts less colour from the wood with each reuse of casks, resulting in a less intense hue.
PREVIOUS LIQUID HELD IN CASK
The Scotch whisky industry often uses casks that previously held other liquids, such as bourbon and sherry. Sherry casks add a darker hue, while bourbon casks impart a lighter colour to whisky.
CLIMATE
A hot, humid climate will result in a darker colour in less time compared to a cold, steady climate. Higher temperatures increase the solubility of dyes, allowing for faster absorption of colour, resulting in darker whisky.
ARTIFICIAL COLOURING
Scotch Whisky Regulations allow the use of plain caramel colouring, namely E150A. Some distilleries add it in small amounts to maintain a consistent colour tone to Scotch whisky.
Common Misconception About Whisky Colour
Good whisky is dark, bad whisky is light.
People often associate darker whisky with older age and better quality compared to lighter whisky. But this is not necessarily true as several factors influence the colour of whisky. The quality of whisky is determined by factors such as flavour, aroma, and texture, rather than just its colour.
How To Identify And Describe Whisky’s Colour?
Identifying and describing the colour of whisky can be subjective, even though colour chemistry is a precise science.
The whisky colour chart developed by Charles MacLean is the standard scale used to describe various colours of whisky, with numbers indicating the shade on a scale of 0 (clear) to 2 (dark).
