Does Whiskey age in bottle?

I guess for that matter the question could be about all types of hard liquor. For instance I’ve had a bottle of 16 yr old Lagavulin for about a decade. Does that make it 26 yr old Lagavulin? or is it indistinguishable from a 16 yr old Lagavulin you can pick up today?

My understanding is No. Liquor stops aging once bottled.

My understanding is no also, at least, that is what I’ve been told. That said, taking The BTAC Sazerac 18 into consideration, I can tell you that the 2006 and 2014 are remarkably different ryes. These were dumped into stainless in 2005. Same distillate, in an inert container has been bottled each year for the last 9 years, and the first is very different from the last so either there’s stratas in the tank or some reaction continues.

While it doesn’t become 26 yr old, it will probably taste different. There might be some evaporation or a change of formula plus most scotch whisky is now being bottled at 80 proof. I use to drink Jack Daniels when I was younger and I found a bottle in my closet was 90 proof.

No, that doesn’t make it a 26 yr old Lagavulin… the age you see on the bottle is referring to aging in barrels.

The general belief is that whisky does not change much if it is in the bottle and unopened. However, there seems to be quite a bit of debate regarding whether small changes (oxidation, evaporation, etc.) occur in bottle. Here’s an interesting discussion on a whisky board: http://www.clubwhisky.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8041

All of that said, there may be large differences between your bottle and the bottles you could pick up at the store today… but this would likely be due to production changes over time, and not aging in the bottle.

40 Proof = 20% Abv

Surely you meant 40% Abv

I can second the “changes very little” position. That position is supported by some of the true whisky gurus out there, with whom I have been lucky enough to hob-nob from time to time.

Whisky absolutely does change once the bottle is opened, though. My experience with bottles consumed over the course of a few years shows definite changes over time, and my husband (he knows a thing or two about whisky) has bottles he has had open since college - and that wasn’t yesterday! - which he describes as noticeably changed. He uses words like “gentled” and “spread” to described those open for that long.

If the whisky changes once the bottle is opened, it would only make sense to me that it can change somewhat in bottle, as the seals are not perfect. But no aging in the wine sense.

Whiskey definitely “gets old” once opened.

As for unopened, I guess it would depend on how the seal holds. I am nearing the end of my stash of 1935 Marquis d’Angerville Clos des Ducs Marc de Bourgogne. None of the bottles I’ve opened to date show any sign of aging, but I can’t testify that they haven’t changed since they were bottled

It can pick up flavors or evaporate once opened, but it doesn’t “age” and improve. A 10yo scotch won’t become a 20yr scotch if you let it sit for 10 years.

Thanks, that’s what I thought as well.

I put up Lagavulin as my strawman, but really my kooky father in law gave me a bottle of 15 yr old Pinch which he said he’s had for many many years. So he thought there was ageing in the bottle, just like wine.

Nope.

No.

Side question: Do old whiskey bottle typically show ullage?

They will change, sometimes not for the better, but at a glacial rate.
Whisky with a cork stopper can show ullage.

Nope. It might be interesting to compare a bourbon from the 1960’s or '70’s with modern bottlings from a stylistic viewpoint. Hard booze in glass is in a time capsule.

Exactly this^. Wrapping a full bottle’s cork or screw-cap in Parafilm will slow this process significantly, if not completely. After opening, some improve for a while but all will eventually deteriorate as evaporation and oxidation occur. Decanting into smaller, sealed-cap bottles will also slow deterioration after opening.

Yes, fixed.

many years ago Darrell Corti poured me a whole assortment of spirits from an old cellar in an effort to say, Yes, whiskey etc ages in bottle. He made his case.

But enough to make me lay down Springbank for 20+ years in bottle…no.

Did you used to live in Sacramento?

I have a bottle of pre-prohibition scotch that was cached on an island off the Mass. coast during prohibition that has been very slowly being consumed. there is really nothing to compare it to, but it really isn’t showing much of any sign of deteriorating.