Why is “older” whiskey generally considered better than “newer” whiskey? And does this apply to all alcohol?
In: 5690
Two things happen to whiskey as it ages:
1) It picks up flavor from the casks. This…actually isn’t that hard to accelerate. Adding wood chips or a honey-comb type lattice greatly increases the exposed surface area and thus how quickly it acquires that favor.
2) Sulfates and a few other compounds are able to pass into and through the barrels, leaving the whiskey. These are responsible for a lot of the harsh/unpleasant flavor you get in cheap shooting whiskeys compare to nicer sipping ones and so far there has not been a reliable and cheap way to eliminate them discovered outside of time that doesn’t come with some other downside.
Okay and…3: you get to brag that it’s old and mark up the price. There are diminishing returns for both 1 and 2 as more time passes.
And no, it doesn’t apply to everything. It depends on what’s in the alcohol in the first place and whether you want that particular drink picking up flavors from its container.
Edit for spelling.
Second edit due to number of replies: Sorry y’all, I really should have said something like “two desirable things” or “two main things good for the taste”. There *is* more going on, significantly the evaporation several have mentioned and a small reduction in ABV that comes with it. I was trying to describe the two main reasons aging improves taste/desirability as opposed to things incidental to that effort like the evaporation loss.
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