Why is 30, 40 or 50-year-old Whisky so rare?
First, it has to obtain the right to be called "Single Malt Scotch Whisky" by maturing on Scottish territory for at least 3 years in an oak cask.
Then, the majority of a distillery's output of whisky goes into the production of blends, such as Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal etc.
Only an average of mere 5% of the whisky casks are retained to go on the market as Single Malt Whisky. These casks are kept to mature longer until bottling or further finishing in Rum or Portwood casks.
Very few whisky casks are left to mature that long
Most common maturing ages for Single Malts are 10, 12, 18 or 21 years. Longer maturing times are rare, because interim vintage bottlings cut into the stock and also the "angels' share" takes its toll...
The moment of bottling a Single Malt Whisky depends on various factors:
- the whisky's maturity
(cask, storage environment etc.
affect the quality)
- marketing / demand
e.g. for certain vintages:
year 2000 – Millenium-bottlings
- re-financing of capital:
after all, quite some money is bound
in these casks for a very long time...
Thus the higher prices for long matured Single Malt seem rather understandable in view of the limitation of the actually available whisky volumes, as well as the needed longtime capital commitment.
High age = better Whisky?
This is influenced by many factors - and different manufacturing and not to forget environment conditions in earlier decades - play an important role. Nevertheless, an "old" Whisky need not be necessarily better than a younger one just because of its longer maturing time in a cask. Some Single Malts are great already at 7 or 9 years – and it is not a given that keeping them longer in a cask would further improve their taste and flavour.
In the end it is a matter of personal taste, which Whisky one prefers: young or old. Vertical or distillery tastings are a good way of testing the differences and finding one's preference in different vintages and ages of a Single Malt.
